Cooper and Rocha Finalists for MLS Awards
October 30th, 2008 . 3:27 pm . By: Buzz CarrickFC Dallas forward Kenny Cooper and midfielder André Rocha have been named finalists for 2008 MLS Awards. Cooper is not up for the ward one might think, MVP, but is rather one of three finalists for the Comeback player of the year award. André Rocha is one of the three players up for Newcomer of the year. Cooper’s 18 goals the season after having his leg broken by Tyrone Marshall makes him a strong candidate for the Comeback player of the year. Coop’s up against Jon Busch who has returned from injury in 05 and 06 to be a candidate for Goalkeeper of the year and Santino Quaranta who had a good year for DC after his well publicized struggles with drug addition. Rocha’s three goals and eight assists are impressive marks and should beat out KC’s Claudio Lopez, but it may be hard to knock off San Jose’s Darren Huckerby who led the quakes in scoring in only 14 games since he joined midseason. Here’s the press release… ROCHA AND COOPER NAMED MLS AWARD FINALISTSFRISCO, Texas (Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008) – FC Dallas midfielder Andre Rocha and forward Kenny Cooper have been named as finalists for two Major League Soccer year-end Awards, as announced by MLS today. Rocha is one of three finalists for the MLS Newcomer of the Year Award, while Cooper is among the three finalists for the MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award. The finalists earned the most votes in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches, referees and members of the media. Acquired on loan from Brazilian-partner Clube Atletico Paranaense in February, midfielder Andre Rocha adapted quickly to FC Dallas and Major League Soccer. The 24-year-old finished the season with three goals and a team-leading eight assists in 27 games, playing as an attacking, holding, and right-sided midfielder. The Brazilian finished among the League leaders in assists, and his four game-winning set-ups were second-best in MLS. Kenny Cooper made a tremendous return to top form in 2008 after missing 19 games in all competitions during the second half of 2007 with a broken right tibia. The 24-year-old consistently scored key goals, and finished the season second in MLS with 18 goals, scoring nine before the All-Star break and nine afterwards. Recognized as an MLS All-Star Best XI, he also tied the team mark for goals in a season. Of his 18 goals, 14 either provided FCD a lead or tied a game, while the other four goals increased leads. FC Dallas improved to an impressive 19-1-9 all-time record when he scores. MLS Newcomer of the Year Finalists Darren Huckerby – San Jose Earthquakes (Winner announced on Nov. 11) MLS Comeback Player of the Year Finalists Jon Busch – Chicago Fire (Winner announced on Nov. 22) Click here for the all of the MLS Awards Finalists and schedule of announcements. No Comments No comments yet. Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment |