Match Fit USA: Marshall Repeats as Defender of the Year

The American Soccer Show 4

Posted by Jason Davis On December - 7th - 2009

There's a new show available at the American Soccer Show website, or if you prefer, download it here. There's draw talk, strike talk, and USL/NASL meeting talk.

MLS Marketing: Concept Good, Execution Bad

Posted by Jason Davis On December - 3rd - 2009

I'd love to start this post by using the tired analogy of "the light finally coming on" for the organization in question; it's not every day, unfortunately, that we see a marketing epiphany on the part of an MLS club, so the plaudits should be flowing fast and furious in the direction of FC Dallas after they announced their new "We Are Not Spectators" campaign.

AmSoc World Cup Draw Special

Posted by Jason Davis On December - 4th - 2009

The American Soccer Show World Cup draw special edition is now available for download. The show included calls by Ginge, Adam Soucie (Captain Positive), Max Zeger (Goal.com), Travis Clark (Covering the Pitch), Graham Bell of CSRN, and Shane Evans (Goal.com).

American Talent Coming Home

Posted by Jason Davis On December - 7th - 2009

Staying on top of the soccer news of the day as I do, I've noticed something: every day, it seems, an American player is either confirmed to be coming to MLS or is rumored to be on his way. Among the names popping up recently are Vincenzo Bernardo and Lee Nguyen, two American youth internationals currently looking for clubs. Add the return of National Team defender Danny Califf to the mix, and a significant amount of American talent appears to be coming home.

American Soccer's Coming History Lesson

Posted by Jason Davis On December - 4th - 2009

Let's just get this over with and call 2010 "The Year of American Soccer History". Between club and country, things will all come together to bring about the revival of some old soccer memories, memories that make up a large portion of the history this country has with the beautiful game.

Union Open Tryouts Connect With Community

Posted by Matt-US Soccer Daily On December - 5th - 2009

It’s a typical December afternoon in West Philadelphia. The sky is covered by several hues of gray, and a cold drizzle is gently falling. The crisp, wet conditions, however, cannot dampen the spirits of the roughly 400 hopefuls looking to catch the attention of Piotr Nowak and his staff. Throughout the morning, different groups of players representing nearly every age and ethnicity have taken to Rhodes Field at the University of Pennsylvania, all with one goal in mind: to wear the blue and gold of the Philadelphia Union.

USA and England, Sixty Years Later

Posted by Jason Davis On December - 7th - 2009

The impending match-up between the United States and England, sixty years after the one and only other time they faced off in World Cup play, is a perfect excuse to take a look at the relative improvement of the two nations over that time. Though the US team was victorious on that fateful day in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, the disparity in the soccer level of the respective countries was such that the Americans would not again participate in the World Cup for forty years, while England would maintain their position as a leading world power (with a few hiccups along the way) up until the present day.

Marshall Repeats as Defender of the Year

Posted by Jason Davis On 11/05/2009 11:35:00 AM | View Comments

Chad Marshall has won his second consecutive MLS Defender of the Year award, holding off fellow finalists Seattle's Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Houston's Geoff Cameron.

Marshall was a steady force in the Crew's back line, and despite missing time with the USMNT team, helped Columbus win their second consecutive Supporters Shield.

Marshall was MFUSA's pick among the finalist, though I will note that I fully expect Geoff Cameron to win this award, perhaps multiple times, in the future.

The MLS press release announcing Marshall's win, as well as the Referee and Assistant Referees of the Year (jokes encouraged):

Columbus Crew’s Chad Marshall Wins Visa® Defender of the Year;
Alex Prus named adidas Referee of the Year; Greg Barkey honored as adidas Assistant Referee of the Year

NEW YORK (Thursday, Nov 5, 2009) – Major League Soccer announced today that Columbus Crew defender Chad Marshall was voted the Visa® Defender of the Year for the second consecutive season, and referees Alex Prus and Greg Barkey were voted as the adidas Referee of the Year and adidas Assistant Referee of the Year.

Marshall, the 2008 Defender of the Year and 2009 MLS All-Star, anchored a Columbus defense that allowed only 31 goals during the regular season – a record low for the Crew. Marshall played in and started 18 games during the regular season; he missed four games while serving National Team duty with the U.S. and another six games with a knee sprain at the end of the season.

Marshall’s leadership helped the Crew capture their second straight Supporters’ Shield trophy, awarded to the team that finishes with the best regular season record (13-7-10, 49 points). The Crew’s defense allowed the third fewest goals (31) behind the Houston Dynamo (29) and Seattle Sounders FC (29).

Marshall won MLS Player of the Month honors for August after leading the Crew to a 4-1-0 record during the month, which included four shutouts. The 6-foot, 4-inch, 190-pound defender proved again that he’s not only an imposing force on defense, but also poses a scoring threat whenever he gets forward. Marshall finished third on the team with four goals scored, including game-winning goals versus New York (June 27), Colorado (Aug. 1) and FC Dallas (Aug. 15).

Now in his sixth MLS season, the 25-year-old Riverside, Calif., native was the second overall pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft by the Columbus Crew. Marshall joins Carlos Bocanegra and Robin Fraser as the only two-time Defender of the Year award winners. Marshall led the voting ahead of Seattle Sounders FC defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Houston Dynamo defender Geoff Cameron, the other finalists for the award.

Prus receives the adidas Referee of the Year award for the first time in his career. A veteran center referee of MLS games, Prus has worked 169 games in 13 seasons. Prus first served as an assistant referee in MLS in 1997. He has worked five Men’s Division I NCAA Final Four soccer tournaments and was the head referee for MLS Cup 2007 in Washington, D.C.

Barkey has been honored with the adidas Assistant Referee of the Year award. Barkey was one of three assistant referees to represent the United States in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In 14 seasons with Major League Soccer, Barkey has worked 201 regular season games and 28 playoff games.

The Visa Defender of the Year earned the most votes in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches, and members of the media. The adidas Referee of the Year and adidas Assistant Referee of the Year were earned the most votes in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches, referees and members of the media.