USL PRO News Release
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
TAMPA, Fla. – USL PRO has announced the finalists for its 2013 awards, honoring the Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year and Coach of the Year from the 2013 season.
The Charlotte Eagles and Orlando City, who will meet in Saturday night’s USL PRO Championship Game (7:30 p.m. ET, USLNation.com), are each featured on the list of finalists. The Eagles are represent by Coach of the Year candidate Mark Steffens and Goalkeeper of the Year Finalist Eric Reed, while Orlando City’s Jamie Watson is an MVP finalist and Rob Valentino is a Defender of the Year finalist. Regular season champion Richmond led all teams with five finalists.
The award winners will be announced at 2 p.m. ET Friday at the 2013 USL PRO Championship Press Conference at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Participants will include USL President Tim Holt, Orlando City President Phil Rawlins and Charlotte Eagles President Patrick Stewart, as well as both teams.
Votes for the USL PRO honors are submitted by USL PRO team management, and finalists are determined based on total All-League votes.
2013 USL PRO Award Finalists
Most Valuable Player
Jose Angulo, Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Joseph Ngwenya, Richmond Kickers
Jamie Watson, Orlando City
Rookie of the Year
Nate Robinson, Richmond Kickers
Daniel Steres, Wilmington Hammerheads
Donald Toia, Phoenix FC Wolves
Defender of the Year
Colin Falvey, Charleston Battery
Rob Valentino, Orlando City
William Yomby, Richmond Kickers
Goalkeeper of the Year
Andrew Dykstra, Richmond Kickers
Nick Noble, Harrisburg City Islanders
Eric Reed, Charlotte Eagles
Coach of the Year
Patrick Bal, Dayton Dutch Lions
Mark Steffens, Charlotte Eagles
Leigh Cowlishaw, Richmond Kickers
The 2013 USL PRO Championship Game will see the No. 2-seed Orlando City host the No. 5-seed Charlotte Eagles at the Citrus Bowl at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Eagles defeated the regular-season champion Richmond Kickers 2-1 to advance, while Orlando City held off the Charleston Battery, 3-2.
For live updates from the USL PRO Championship Game, follow the league on Twitter (@USLPRO) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/USLPRO).
USL PRO Championship Game
No. 5 Charlotte Eagles at No. 2 Orlando City, 7:30 p.m. ET, USLNation.com