Olivia Bloemke and Noelle Pineiro awarded All Sunshine Conference honors for the Brandon FC WPSL team. In its inaugural year, the Brandon FC franchise finished second in the Sunshine Conference, narrowly missing out on the conference championship. Pineiro also was voted Sunshine Conference Player of the Year. Pineiro, a junior at the University of South Florida scored 6 goals in 8 games to lead the conference in scoring. A product of the Brandon FC youth system, Bloemke capped off her senior year in high school with an outstanding campaign for Brandon FC where she scored 3 goals and notched 2 assists. Bloemke is set to begin her college career at Rollins College in the fall. Brandon FC is extremely proud of our players’ accomplishments.
2010 ALL-BIG SKY & SUNSHINE CONFERENCE TEAMS
Dria Hampton of Oklahoma Alliance F.C. takes home Big Sky Player Of The Year honors
SACRAMENTO, CA (08/03/10) - Even though the 2010 Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) National Championship has been decided, we are still rolling out our annual conference awards. In this final installment before the announcement of our 2010 All-WPSL Teams on Wednesday, August 4, we take a look at the Big Sky & Sunshine Conferences and those players & coaches who were instrumental in their teams’ success.
In the Big Sky Conference, WPSL Final Four participant Oklahoma Alliance F.C. grabbed three All-Conference selections plus the Player & Coach Of The Year honors. In the Sunshine Conference, the FSA Freedom took the title this season and also took home four All-Conference selections with their goalkeeper & head coach nabbing top honors. For the full list of honors, see below:
BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE YEAR
MF Dria Hampton (OKLAHOMA ALLIANCE F.C.)
The two-time All-Big Sky Conference selection may receive all the extra attention & praise that’s usually heaped upon the quarterback in the other game of football, but the Oklahoma University star deserves it. The deft central midfielder scored five goals in 2010, but more than that, assisted and set up numerous others for the Big Sky-South Division winners this season. Battling an elbow injury, all Hampton did in the Big Sky Final vs. Phoenix was score the game-winning goal to send her team into the Final Four.
BIG SKY GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
GK Haley Kopmeyer (ARIZONA RUSH)
The casual observer could easily have assumed that if a team didn’t lose a match all season in divisional play, said team would be the division champion. Unfortunately, that was not so for the 4-0-4 Arizona Rush (the only undefeated team in the WPSL this summer) in the Big Sky-North Division. In the end, though, the lack of scoring was not the fault of the U.S. U-20 & University of Michigan shot-stopper, who conceded only one goal all season.
BIG SKY COACH OF THE YEAR
Jimmy Hampton (OKLAHOMA ALLIANCE F.C.)
The firey & enigmatic mentor of the Big Sky Conference champions led his team to their second divisional crown in the past three seasons. Not only was the team successful in the win-loss column under his stewardship this year, Oklahoma also brought an up-tempo & entertaining brand of soccer to the pitch. If it weren’t for some bad luck around the opponent’s goal in the National Semifinal - where his team drew high praise from multiple WPSL Coach Of The Year recipient Brian Boswell of Ajax America - OAFC would very likely have been playing for the WPSL Championship the next day.
ALL-BIG SKY CONFERENCE TEAM
F Chelsea Bednarz (PHOENIX DEL SOL)
F Alyssa Oldenkamp (PHOENIX DEL SOL)
MF Dria Hampton (OKLAHOMA ALLIANCE F.C.)
MF Chelsea Cody (OKLAHOMA ALLIANCE F.C.)
MF Kim Abbott (FORT WORTH F.C.)
MF Karina Camacho (ARIZONA RUSH)
D Melinda Mercado (OKLAHOMA ALLIANCE F.C.)
D Alicia Marshall (DALLAS PREMIER)
D Jessica Maxwell (DALLAS PREMIER)
D Lindsey Johnson (FORT WORTH F.C.)
GK Haley Kopmeyer (ARIZONA RUSH)
SUNSHINE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
MF Noelle Pineiro (BRANDON F.C.)
The University of South Florida star was the straw that stirred the drink for first-year Brandon F.C., where she scored over half of the team’s total goals (6 goals in 8 games) from the midfield and led the team in assists (3) as well. Going into the final weekend of the season, the team had a chance to still win the Sunshine title but would have to settle for second place - which is still a nice accomplishment as they finished above defending conference champion Miami with a 4-3-1 record.
SUNSHINE GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
GK Kelly Sisley (FSA FREEDOM)
The Brevard College All-American recorded five shutouts for the Sunshine champion FSA Freedom and was the anchor of the team’s defense. Not only did she serve as the No. 1 goalkeeper for the Freedom on the field, she also was the team manager off the field for the WPSL Playoff participants. Her team was win away from competing in the 2010 WPSL Final Four and Sisley was a big reason why.
SUNSHINE COACH OF THE YEAR
Kim Montgomery (FSA FREEDOM)
For the past few seasons, the 2010 Sunshine Conference champions - formerly the Florida Surge - were a mere result or two away from claiming the title. This season, the team took the next winning step up with kudos to the former North Carolina State University & WUSA star. The ACC All-Time Team selection was a winner on the field as a player, and brought that winning mentality to her off the field endeavor as chief mentor for the Freedom.
ALL-SUNSHINE CONFERENCE TEAM
F Sally Palmer (FSA FREEDOM)
F Laura Weinberg (MIAMI KICKERS F.C.)
F Olivia Bloemke (BRANDON F.C.)
MF/F April Perry (MIAMI KICKERS F.C.)
MF Chantelle Goodson (FSA FREEDOM)
MF Noelle Pineiro (BRANDON F.C.)
MF Olivia Elias (MIAMI KICKERS F.C.)
MF/D Katheryn Donnelan (FSA FREEDOM)
D Kiersten Harpe (FSA FREEDOM)
D Rochelle Willis (MIAMI KICKERS F.C.)
GK Kelly Sisley (FSA FREEDOM)
About the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL):The WPSL is a 50-plus team national league with five conferences starting in 2010 and is the largest women’s soccer league in the world. The league is sanctioned by the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) as an affiliate of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). The WPSL’s mission is to provide the highest level of soccer in our effort to: bring affordable & quality family entertainment to the community; display positive role models for our youth; while, being a stepping stone for aspiring professional & international-level players.
For more information, visit our official website at http://www.wpsl.info, phone us at 1-800-854-0913 or contact us via email at media@wpslsoccer.com. You can also keep up with our league on our social media networking sites on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter!!
Eurosport & SOCCER.COM is a Proud Partner of the WPSL, who feature a wide selection of top-of-the-line soccer merchandise, serving as an important communication vehicle for organizations including the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF), Major League Soccer (MLS), U.S. Youth Soccer (USYSA) and many more! For more information, visit their official website at http://www.soccer.com.
Molten is the Official Championship Ball of the 2010 WPSL Final Four and is also a Proud Partner of the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), and is the Official Soccer Ball of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). Visit their official website at http://www.moltenusa.com for more information on their full line of products.
