MLS Referee of the Year and MLS Cup Referee

[MassachusettsRef]

Abbey Okulaja is MLS Referee of the Year.

Michael Kennedy is MLS Cup Referee.

Nate Clement is MLS Cup SAR, Kermit Quinsenberry is JAR, and Okulaja is the Fourth Official.

All found on page 3, here: http://www.mlsnet.com/pdf/cup_gameguide.pdf

[mutinywxgirl]

Disappointing - I thought this would be Stott's year.

[MassachusettsRef]

I'll predict--well ahead of time--that Stott gets MLS Cup 2005. That match will be two months before assignments are made for World Cup 2006 and USSF will want to send a strong signal as to who they feel their top team is. Barring injury, conflicting qualifying assignments, or a huge controversy involving Stott and one of the participating teams, I see the 2005 MLS Cup team as:

CR - Stott
SAR - Strickland
JAR - Lowry
4th - Vaughn

With the unstated but generally accepted principle that no referee gets the same cup final two years in a row anywhere in the world, Stott would be unavailable for next year's match if he worked this year's. I honestly think, too, that Kennedy is the most deserving choice for this year. From what I saw personally (and read on boards here) it seems to me as though Kennedy earned this assignment this year on merit. Stott is still my favorite referee in MLS, but had he got the assignment this year, it would have been on reputation.

[Alberto]

What happened to Brian Hall? Did he come back this year. Honestly I've been so busy with work and other things that I completely failed to notice if he had assignments.

MassRef, I beg to differ on Kevin Stott. I was of the same opinion as you until late last year. Kevin has not taken it up a notch in my view or perhaps what has happened is that some of the other FIFA panel referees have been improving. I think that Kennedy and Vaughn have been very good with Vaughn in particular making rapid improvements particularly in application of common sense to his refereeing.