Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 News Release -- www.whitecapsfc.com
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
VANCOUVER, B.C. -- The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency goalkeeper Marco Carducci has been named the 2013 Canadian U-17 Player of the Year.
This is the second straight year Carducci has won the award, joining Whitecaps FC midfielders Bryce Alderson (2011 and 2010) and Russell Teibert (2009 and 2008) as two-time Canadian U-17 Players of the Year. A Whitecaps FC player has now won the award in six straight seasons.
Carducci, 17, finished first in voting ahead of Hanson Boakai (FC Edmonton) and Jordan Hamilton (Toronto FC Academy). Fellow Residency players Marco Bustos and Jordan Haynes were also nominated for the award. Voting was conducted by national team coaches (50 per cent) and Canadian clubs and coaches (50 per cent).
In 2013, Carducci won a bronze medal with Canada at the CONCACAF Men's Under-17 Championship, helping Canada qualify for the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Dubai. The Calgary native was Canada’s player of the match in a 2-2 draw with Austria in their World Cup opener.
The Canadian skipper also stood tall in a 1-1 draw with Iran the following match, in which the Middle Eastern side launched 23 shots towards the goal and 12 on target. In total, Carducci made eight appearances with the Canadian men’s U-17 side this past season.
At the club level, Carducci spent most of 2013 with Whitecaps FC’s U-16 Residency side. He started 19 matches and posted four clean sheets with the U-16s during their 2012-13 United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) campaign, before making the jump to Whitecaps FC’s U-18 squad this summer. Carducci also made three appearances for the Whitecaps U-23 PDL side this past summer, recording a 0.667 goals-against average and one shutout.
On Wednesday, Canada Soccer will announce the 2013 Canadian U-20 Players of the Year. Whitecaps FC defender Sam Adekugbe and striker Caleb Clarke were both nominated, while Teibert was nominated for the 2013 BMO Canadian Player of the Year, which will be announced on Thursday.