*UCLA product Sydney LeRoux and Hermosa Beach resident Abby Wambach were named by U.S. Soccer as the Young Female Athlete of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year respectively. Brek Shea and Clint Dempsey won the corresponding awards for male players.
Here’s more from the Associated Press:
CHICAGO (AP) — Abby Wambach has been voted the U.S. Soccer Federation’s female athlete of the year for the fifth time, matching Mia Hamm’s record. Clint Dempsey has been voted top male athlete for the first time since 2007.
The USSF also said Friday that Brek Shea and Sydney Leroux were the top young athletes.
Wambach won previously in 2003, 2004, 2007 and last year. Hamm won from 1994 to 1998. Wambach scored four goals at the Women’s World Cup, including one in the 122nd minute in the semifinals that forced penalty kicks and enabled the Americans to reach the final, where they lost to Germany.
Dempsey scored three goals at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Playing for Fulham, he passed Brian McBride to become the highest-scoring American in the Premier League.
Online votes counted for half the total, with the rest from media and USSF representatives.
*Toronto FC announced this morning that 35,000 tickets have been sold for the March 7 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal first leg against the Galaxy, who will make their only appearance in Toronto for the game this year. The indoor Rogers Centre holds 45,000, but ticket sales so far mean Toronto have already set a new home attendance record.
*The Galaxy open preseason training Monday, with all players undergoing physicals this weekend. Here’s who is – and is not – in camp, according to a club press release:
A total of 16 players from last year’s MLS Cup winning squad are expected to be on hand for the club’s first day of training on Monday, while five players – A.J. DeLaGarza, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, Brian Perk and Michael Stephens – are currently away on international duty or on loan.
In addition to the 16 returning players that will be in attendance, new acquisitions Andrew Boyens, Nick Noble, Pat Noonan, Marcelo Sarvas and Jose Villarreal will all train with the club for the first time.
Additionally, all seven of the club’s recent draft picks, as well as trialists, Bill Gaudette, a goalkeeper who played for the Columbus Crew, Puerto Rico Islanders and Montreal Impact, as well as defender J.T. Murray, a second round pick by Sporting Kansas City in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Louisville, will be with the club for Monday’s training session.
I’ll have more in Tuesday’s column.
*Chelsea’s Frank Lampard will not be there even though AEG head honcho Tim Leiweke is a huge fan. Who isn’t? (current Chelsea management aside, apparently). But no one should hold their breath Lampard is coming to LA anytime soon.
*If you only watch one game this weekend: Make it Norwich City-Chelsea at 4:30 a.m. Sunday on ESPN2. Those of you not biased City fans (ahem) may want to see the U.S. play Chivas USA veteran Alejandro Moreno and Venezuela at 6 p.m. Saturday on Galavision. Thank heaven for soccer-loving Spanish-language channels.
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