December 19, 2006

WeaverSeattle Sounders.net

The Seattle Sounders have announced that 2006 USL 1st Division Rookie of the Year Cam Weaver has been transfered to Norwegian 1st division club FK Haugesund.

Weaver tied for the USL 1st Division lead in both goals (18) and points (39) during his rookie season. He shared the league league in both categories with Brazilian legend Romario from Miami FC.

The 2006 season was a great "Out of nowhere" story for Weaver as he was not only a rookie, but also the last player to make the Sounders squad.

An early season injury to Cuban forward Maykel Galindo created an opportunity for Weaver and he seized upon it.

It will be interesting to see if Seattle can replace the offensive production that they will be losing with Weaver's move abroad.

 

Marta named FIFA World Player of the Year over Lilly - Wambach finished fourth in voting

FIFA.com

Brazil's Marta beat out US captain Kristine Lilly for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Award that was announced yesterday.

Marta received 64 first place votes to Lilly's 44. The finally tally was 475 points for Marta to 388 for Lilly.

Abby Wambach finished fourth in the voting behind Germany's Renate Lingor. Wambach received 22 first place votes and 182 points.

The voting was done by the coaches and captains from over 200 federations.

 

Vancouver opts not to bring back six players

WhitecapsFC.com

2006 USL First Division Champions Vancouver have opted not to bring back forwards Gary Brooks and Corey Woolfolk; defenders John Jones, Anthony Noreiga, and Ryan Suarez; and goalkeeper Josh Wicks.

Woolfolk, a former Rhino, has already hooked up with another one of his former clubs in the Puerto Rico Islanders for the CONCACAF Champion's Cup qualifying.

With the Rhinos looking thin in back, it will be interesting to see if they go after Ryan Suarez this offseason.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.