KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City Wizards announced today their 2006 regular season award winners, highlighted by defender Jose Luis Burciaga Jr.'s being recognized as the Wizards' Honda Most Valuable Player. Altogether four separate Kansas City players took home season-end accolades from the club.
Burciaga Jr. led all defenders in Major League Soccer with eight goals and eight assists, his assist total was a Wizards team-high while his goal total was second-best on the squad. In the 30 matches that he appeared in the lethal lefty also netted a team-high four game-winning goals.
Kansas City's Defender of the Year award went to veteran Nick Garcia who played more minutes in the backline than any other Wizard this season, logging 2,519 on the year, the fourth most on the team. Arguably Kansas City's most consistent defender of 2006, Garcia made 29 appearances on defense, more than any other player on KC's roster.
The recipient of the Wizards' Golden Boot award was second-year striker Scott Sealy who led the team with ten goals on the season following a late season push. After spending the first portion of the season primarily as a bench player for Kansas City, Sealy became the Wizards' full-time starter with eleven games left and went on to net six goals in those final eleven matches.
Goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi was selected as Kansas City's US Soccer Foundation
Humanitarian of the Year for his continued efforts to use the platform of
professional soccer to promote philanthropic causes. His greatest
contribution this season is currently ongoing as he is auctioning off a
specially made game worn jersey to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast
Cancer Foundation Greater Kansas City Affiliate. Oshoniyi felt that dawning
a pink adidas jersey throughout the month of October, Breast Cancer
Awareness Month, and then holding an online auction to raise money for
research and awareness was one of the best ways he could bring awareness
himself. The auction goes through November 17th on www.kcwizards.com
.
Burciaga Jr. along with teammate Jimmy Conrad are also up for Major League Soccer's Defender of the Year award which will be announced on Tuesday, October 24th.
