From today's Sounders news release:
The Seattle Sounders today announced their 2003 team awards including the leader in goals, assists and minutes played, the Defensive Player of the Year and the Community Relations Player of the Year.
Kyle Smith's eight regular season goals led the team. Smith, a first-year regular in the starting line-up, got the season off to a great start scoring three goals in as many matches. He poured in the match winning goal on May 1st at Portland, nailed the first goal in route to a 2-1 victory on May 2nd against Portland at Seahawks Stadium and then scored in a downpour against Calgary on May 4th.
The assist leader went to center midfielder Andrew Gregor. Gregor's seven assists were all dazzling, his touch and vision second to none across the A-League. His seven goals were second on the team, his 21 points tied for 8th in the league.
Defender Ryan Edwards walked away playing the most minutes during the 2003 season. Logging almost 2,500 minutes, Edwards also tallied three goals and an assist. The Sounder defensive staple was solid all year.
Newcomer Danny Jackson won Defensive Player of the Year honors despite missing the last full month of the season. A torn ACL and subsequent surgery left Jackson out of the Sounders seasoning ending playoff push. Signing with the Sounders after playing the 2002 season with the Colorado Rapids of MLS, Jackson solidified the defensive core from his center back position. An excellent communicator and organizer, Jackson had successful surgery in August and expects to be ready for training camp next April.
Craig Tomlinson was the Sounders Community Relations Player of the Year. A regular at Sounder appearances, Tomlinson's personality stands out in a crowd. An electric player on the field, Tomlinson adds vibrance off the playing surface whether at a camp, YMCA, hospital or school. This lethal substitute scored two goals and added two assists for six points.
"We had a good group of guys this year, both on the field and off," said Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer. "Danny was a great pick up for us, Andrew and Kyle put some points on the board and Craig and all the guys did a great job getting out in the community."
The Sounders plan on announcing a venue for the 2004 season sometime in the next few weeks.
