For much of his rookie season, Chicago Fire defender Jalil Anibaba has gone about his business
putting in work on the back line, but during his regular-season finale, Anibaba made sure to show
off his offensive arsenal as well.
Anibaba scored the first two goals of his MLS career in the opening 30 minutes against Columbus
with a pair of headers from inside the box to earn the final SBI MLS Rookie of the Week honors of
the season.
Sporting Kansas City's C.J. Sapong has seen his playing time diminish some late on in the
regular season, due in part to the resurgance of Teal Bunbury as well as his own fatigue after a
long rookie season, but that hasn't stopped the Rookie of the Year front-runner from continuing to
contribute.
Megan YorkEclipse Select Communications
CHICAGO -- Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumna and University of Pennsylvania freshman Megan York
(Chicago, Ill./St. Ignatius) was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week in women's soccer after posted
two goals during Sunday's 3-0 win over St. Francis (Pa.
Hot Streak Earns Seba An Award
Sebastien Le Toux was named Player of the Month by the North American Soccer Reporters. The
writers group has a panel that votes upon awards for MLS players.
Previous winners of the award in 2011 include goalkeeper Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake),
attacking midfielderBrad Davis (Houston Dynamo), USMNT international Landon Donovan (Los Angeles
Galaxy), midfield sniperGraham Zusi (Sporting KC) and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman (FC Dallas).
Hot Streak Earns Seba An Award
Sebastien Le Toux was named Player of the Month by the North American Soccer Reporters. The
writers group has a panel that votes upon awards for MLS players.
Previous winners of the award in 2011 include goalkeeper Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake),
attacking midfielder Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), USMNT international Landon Donovan (Los Angeles
Galaxy), midfield sniper Graham Zusi (Sporting KC) and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman (FC Dallas).
Union
The Union have not released updated injury information on Zac MacMath as of this morning.
Keon Daniel is listed as part of the T&T national team that underwent light training in Bermuda
yesterday.
Local lad and former Union trialist Jeremiah White is working out with the Montreal Impact as
they look to form a roster for their first season in MLS.
There were 22 players selected ahead of Michael Farfan in the 2011 MLS Draft. For the second
straight week, the Philadelphia Union midfielder/defender showed many of those teams that passed on
him just what a mistake they made.
Farfan's brilliant game-winning goal against D.
Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz
Union
Kevin Kinkead scouts DC United and says keep an eye on that Canadian fella, Dwayne "Famous
Dancer" De Rosario. MLSsoccer.com's Talking Tactics column looks at the evolution of his offensive
role throughout his career. Hurt him, Danny and Carlos, hurt him.
Michael Farfan's versatility has come in handy for the Philadelphia Union throughout the season,
and the rookie proved his worth again over the weekend with a standout performance and great
individual effort that led to a crucial equalizer in a big game and SBI MLS Rookie of the Week
honors.
Photo by ISIPhotos.com
When he was drafted by the New England Revolution, defender A.J. Soares was regarded by many as
the most pro-ready defender in the MLS Draft and a player capable of stepping in and contributing
right away.
Soares has been just that for the Revs this season, and this past week was a strong example of
that.
Earlier this week, we brought you news of Jimmy McLaughlin, the Union's academy star who debuted
with Colgate University with a goal and a Patriot League Rookie of the Week award. But McLaughlin
isn't the only homegrown hopeful who began the college season on a good foot this season.
McLaughlin's former FC Delco teammates Mike Gonzalez and Ryan Dodds opened their college careers
in the same conference, the Patriot League.
Philadelphia Union academy star Jimmy McLaughlin is already making an impact at Colgate, as the
freshman has impressed in his first two games in college.
The 19-year-old started his first ever collegiate game against Syracuse on August 27, scoring in
the 53rd minute to beat the Orange. McLaughlin picked up on a save that was spilled back out into
the Syracuse box and slotted it home, providing the Raiders with all the scoring they needed.
Union
What happens when you have an unexpected week off and all of the teams above you lose? Your
power ranking improves. At MLSsoccer.com and SBI, the Union moves from ninth to eighth place
while at Soccer America they move two spots from tenth to eighth. At Goal.com, they hold steady at
seventh.
Finding minutes on a team as stacked as FC Dallas can't be easy for a rookie, so when Bobby
Warshaw gets a chance to step on the field for the reigning Western Conference champions, he has to
take full advantage.
Warshaw did just that on Saturday, coming off the bench to score a dramatic stoppage-time
game-winning goal to help FC Dallas complete an inspired comeback in a 3-2 victory against Sporting
Kansas City.
The impact of Homegrown Players in MLS has been gradual but significant, and last week the
Houston Dynamo saw the frst major contribution from one of their own homegrown players as Alex
Dixon stepped up and delivered a clutch game-winning goal against Real Salt Lake.
Dixon's goal, arguably the biggest goal of the past week, earned him SBI MLS Rookie of the Week
honors.
Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com
D.C. United's rookie crop has turned in quite the season.
This past weekend it was goalkeeper Joe Willis' turn to answer the call, as he stepped in for
the suspended Bill Hamid and delivered some top-notch saves against the Vancouver Whitecaps en
route to a clean sheet in his MLS debut and earned SBI MLS Rookie of the Week honors.
Perry Kitchen isn't naturally a right fullback, but you wouldn't have guessed it watching him
hold his own against FC Dallas standout Brek Shea.
Kitchen, the No. 3 pick in the 2010 MLS Draft, did his part in helping contain Shea as D.C.
United escaped Pizza Hut Park with a 0-0 tie last weekend.
It is rare to see a 20-year-old centerback do well on the professional level, and it's tough to
remember many doing well in Major League Soccer, but D.C. United rookie Ethan White has been an
exception to that rule, growing into a quality central defense option for the Eastern Conference
club.
Sporting Kansas City has a deep stable of forwards, including stars like Omar Bravo, and
established veterans like Kei Kamara, but rookie C.J. Sapong continues to state his case as having
the best year among the group.
Sapong added to his strong MLS Rookie of the Year candidacy by notching a goal and assist in
Sporting KC's 2-1 win against Portland, a performance that helped him earn SBI MLS Rookie of the
Week honors this week.
When the Columbus Crew used a third-round pick in January's MLS SuperDraft on South Florida
midfielder Bernardo Anor, most wrote it off as a footnote on the day. Now, that pick could wind up
being one of the steals of the draft.
Anor turned in a sparkling performance against the Houston Dynamo over the weekend, scoring a
goal, assisting on another and drawing a second yellow card on Houston's Lovel Palmer to lift the
Crew to a 2-0 victory.
Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com
Although his team didn't come out ahead, D.C. United forward Blake Brettschneider still turned
in another impressive performance to capture SBI MLS Rookie of the Week honors.
Brettschneider scored his first league goal, taking a pass at the top of the area, turning and
firing with his left foot to beat San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch and level the score at
2-2 in the first half on Saturday.
In a season that has seen some other rookies garner more headlines, Columbus Crew utility man
Rich Balchan has quietly put together one of the better rookie seasons in the league.
Balchan is a secret no more, not after his clutch last-minute equalizer in the Crew's 1-1 draw
against the New York Red Bulls last Saturday.
Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com
In what was one of the best weeks of the season for Major League Soccer rookies, one of the
least-heralded first-year players stood out the most.
D.C. United's Blake Brettschneider, a second-round MLS Supplemental Draft pick out of the
University of South Carolina, delivered two assists in the club's 3-2 victory at Portland, playing
a major role in making D.
Michael Farfan was one of the more dangerous attacking players in all of college soccer in his
final season at North Carolina, and even though he slipped to the second round in the MLS
SuperDraft, he's proving some of his doubters wrong with his play on the professional level.
In one of the tighter races to date, Houston Dynamo striker Will Bruin edged out D.C. United
defender Ethan White for this week's SBI MLS Rookie of the Week honors.
Bruin opened his professional scoring account on Sunday, delivering a beautiful finish after
racing onto a Brad Davis pass and beating Jay Nolly to the ball before slotting him Houston's third
goal in a 3-1 win against Vancouver.
