MVP (Boquete) Coach (Paul Riley, back-to-back) Sportswoman (Krzysik) Read all about it here: www.womensprosoccer.com/Home/2011-wps-awards
The Independence's press release! http://www.womensprosoccer.com/Home/philadelphia/news/general/110817-vero-poy.aspx (August 17, 2011) – As a prelude to the start of the Women’s Professional Soccer playoffs, WPS announced its 2011 Year End Award winners on Wednesday afternoon. The Philadelphia Independence has two players and a coach earning honors, including 2011 Michelle Akers Award winner Vero Boquete as the league’s MVP, team captain Nikki Krzysik who was selected by her peers as the Citi Sportswoman of the Year and head coach Paul Riley who repeats as WPS Coach of the Year. In her first season with the Independence, Boquete has scored five goals—four of them game-winners—and notched four assists for the Independence in just eleven games. The diminutive forward was honored three times during the 2011 season as the WPS Player of the Week for her outstanding play. Her cunning ability to create plays and score goals for her team has made her invaluable to the Independence lineup and has earned her the league’s top honor as MVP and recipient of the Michelle Akers Player of the Year award. “There are so many world class players in the league and for Vero to win shows the fantastic impact she has had on our team,” said Independence head coach Paul Riley. “Her training habits are unmatched and her ability to turn a game in an instant is second to none. She lives and breathes the game, and her passion for the greatest sport in the world is shown in everything she does. She has been the catalyst of our season.” Philadelphia team captain, Nikki Krzysik, was selected by her peers as the Citi Sportswoman of the Year for her exemplary leadership displayed both on and off the field. Krzysik helped lead international philanthropic efforts that took her to Honduras with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes where she led clinics with participants of the women’s soccer league in the country. On the field, Krzysik anchors a defense that leads the league in goals against average (0.96) and has played every minute of action this season. “Nikki has proved herself to be a brilliant leader this year,” said Riley. “On the field, she is a true competitor in every sense of the word, and off the field she is thoughtful, kind, generous and always puts the team and her teammates first. It is a pleasure to come to work everyday and coach a player like Nikki.” Riley earned WPS Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season after leading the Independence to a second place finish in the regular season standings and its second playoff berth in just two seasons as a franchise. Riley conducted his club to an 11-4-3 record and notably led his team to a seven-game unbeaten streak in the mid-season that vaulted Philadelphia into title contention. Independence Owner/CEO David Halstead praised the selection of Riley as back-to-back WPS Coach of the Year. “We are very proud of Paul and proud for him and his wife, Tracy,” Halstead said. “Paul Riley defines the identity, brand and hardworking spirit of our franchise. He should be coach of the year again this year because he is the best coach in the league. We don’t have a “stacked” roster with superstars at every position like a couple of the other teams in WPS. But we have a terrific group of talented, gifted and committed soccer players at every position that play as a team, and Paul knows how to get the most out of every one of them. We’ve been in business for two years and have reached top spots in the league standings in both. The reason – Paul Riley and the players he has. He is on the field, buried in technical and tactical training nearly every day, in the player lounge and training room connecting to the players and managing their physical and psychological state 5-6 days a week, in the community promoting and representing the franchise constantly, driving our player transactions and roster movements, and is dedicated to continuous improvement of himself – never satisfied with his own performance. As I have shared with our players and staff, Paul is a perfectionist in an imperfect world, and I am proud he is the coach of the Independence. Five separate awards were decided by fan voting (33%), player/coach voting (33%) and media vote (33%) during the final weeks of the regular season. The Citi Sportswoman of the Year Award is voted on entirely by players and coaches, while the PUMA Golden Boot award is presented to the top goal scorer during the 2011 WPS Regular Season.
well done, Vero and company. We knew she was a team MVP down the stretch, and what great honor it is for the league to recognize her as an all across the board impact player.
