US Youth Soccer Goal and Save of the Year Announced
Virginia's Marcus Curaca and Georgia's Ryan Brose honored at Awards Gala
See the videos [Goal] [Save]
SAN JOSE, Calif. (March 6, 2009) - The recipients of the 2008 US Youth Soccer Goal and Save of the Year were announced tonight at the US Youth Soccer Awards Gala, held in conjunction with the 2009 US Youth Soccer adidas Workshop at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, Calif. The Goal of the Year was awarded to Marcus Curaca of Arlington, Va. and the Save of the Year was awarded to Ryan Brose of Macon, Ga.
Hilary Kennedy, host of The US Youth Soccer Show on Fox Soccer Channel, set the stage for the night as the master of ceremonies for the more than 1,000 in attendance. Recreation and Competitive Coach of the Year, Administrator of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Male and Female Young Referee of the Year and the Dr. Thomas Fleck Award were also presented during the Gala and the US Youth Soccer Hall of Fame inductees were honored as well.
Marcus Curaca, of Arlington, Va., netted his Goal of the Year while playing with his travel team, Venom, in the 2008 Jefferson Cup in Richmond, Va. The score was 0:0, only a few minutes remained in the game and the team needed a win to get ahead in the tournament. Though he had never done it in a game, or practiced it for that matter, Curaca scored the game-winning goal with a bicycle kick. For Curaca, the goal was personally fulfilling, but most of all, he was proud of his teammates because they always work hard and play together as a true team. Soccer is both a passion and hobby for him and through it, he has learned about the rewards of hard work and team commitment while striving to have fun and compete at a high level.
Ryan Brose, of Macon, Ga., had just turned 15 years old and moved up an age group to play with Concorde Fire Under-17 Boys in a preseason tournament when he made the Save of the Year. Not only was the save essential to keeping the team alive in the tournament, but as a young member of the team, saves like his gave the new team full confidence in Brose's abilities. Brose loves every aspect of the game, from playing and practicing to helping young keepers improve on their skills. He started playing at age four and hopes to always have soccer in his life.
""Winning Save of the Year is a great honor especially since all of the other saves were so great. It is something I will remember for the rest of my life. I think it is also be a great honor for my team, coaches and soccer in Georgia as well,"" said Brose, US Youth Soccer's national Save of the Year award winner.
Nominees for Goal of the Year:
| Marcus Curaca* | U-16 Arlington Venom (VA) |
| Tyler Draovitch | U-16 92 CASL Elite (NC) |
| Kacy Dunn | U-14 California Odyssey Red (CA-N) |
| Laura Heyboer | U-19 Force FC (MI) |
| Whitney Hooper | U-19 Challenge 89 (STX) |
| Amy Johnson | U-14 Crossfire Lombard (WA) |
| Katelyn Mountjoy | U-14 Dallas Sting 95 Royal (NTX) |
| Heather Nelson | U-15 KCFC Intensity (KS) |
| Brandon Perez | U-16 Dallas Texans 93 Red (NTX) |
| Emmanuel Sanchez | U-17 YMS Xplosion (EPA) |
| Michael Baron | U-16 FC Delco Galaxy (EPA) |
| Ryan Brose* | U-17 Concorde Fire South (GA) |
| Brock Duckworth | U-19 Solar 89 (NTX) |
| Bryane Heaberlin | U-16 Clearwater Soccer Club (FL) |
| Robert Kempf | U-18 Shattuck St. Mary (MN) |
| Dana Moreno | U-16 Real So Cal White (CA-S) |
| Katie Richmond | U-15 So Cal Blues-Dodge (CA-S) |
| Courtney Smith | U-18 Sting 90 (NTX) |
| Christopher Soukup | U-16 Loudoun 92 White- Force (VA) |
| Paul West | U-16 92 CASL Elite (NC) |
Winners were chosen based on the greatest percentage of online votes.
For more information about the US Youth Soccer Awards Gala and award winners, go to USYouthSoccer.org/workshop/galaawards.
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