After an outstanding inaugural season the accolades keep coming for Capital City FC.
Forward Akil DeFreitas was recognized for his fantastic first season by winning the Canadian Soccer League’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ award.
Despite only joining the team in June, DeFreitas amazed fans with his quickness and ability to elude opposing defenders. The young forward tallied nine goals in his first year.
“It feels great to win a professional award,” said DeFreitas. “I feel like all my hard work and dedication has paid off over the years. Winning a professional award in my first year as a pro player is a great achievement for me and I hope can continue my success.”
While it may have been the only award Capital City FC won at the league’s awards banquet, they still had plenty of other nominations.
Clint Irwin was nominated for top goaltender after recording 13 clean sheets and leading his team to the CSL final. He was second in voting behind Toronto SC’s Scott Cliff.
To round out the awards, striker Sullivan Silva was nominated for Most Valuable Player after a season where he led the team in goals and assists. Silva was second in voting behind reigning MVP Tihomir Maletic of Toronto-Croatia.
Capital City head coach and technical director Shaun Harris said the nominations were a testament to the total group effort Ottawa put in this year.
“I think as a whole we were a team,” said CCFC head coach Shaun Harris. “I think any player in the group would tell you if they weren't pushed and challenged by their teammates we would not have ended up where we did. It took all 25 players to get to the 2011 Cup Final.”
The Capital City FC fans, staff and players also voted on their team awards and some great athletes came away with some hardware.
Sullivan Silva won two awards – walking away with team MVP and the supporter’s choice award.
"The award means a lot to me but without staff and teammates I wouldn’t be able to achieve it on my own,” said Silva. “The team worked really hard during the whole season so now I can see that it was worth it.”
Emir Zrnic was selected as the young player of the year award. The exciting midfielder was a key part of the team and consistently set up goals while adding a few strikes of his own. He finished the year with four goals and 10 assists.
Francis LeTourneau was selected as the most determined player. At the beginning of the season, LeTourneau was a squad player. He put hours of hard work into the team and earned an impressive distinction.
"We asked each and every player to have the right attitude and to work hard and Francis did each of those each and every day. He was very coachable all season,” said Harris.
The tightest award was the defenders award. Casey Cordray proved to be the team’s ‘Defender of the Year’ but it was a close fight. The league’s top defence featured a cast which included Guyanan national player Julien Edwards, team captain Clint Irwin, ruthless defending midfielder Kenny Caceros and Bermudan national Andre Manders.
Harris said this team worked hard and deserved every award and nomination
"We had that determination day in and day out by each by everyone. It allowed the team to make the individuals better and to do what they did best,” he said.
CCFC continues their busy offseason. Stay tuned to capitalcityfc.com, twitter (@CapitalCityFC), Facebook and YouTube for season updates.
2012 Season Tickets will be released for purchase in early December and could make for a terrific christmas gift as well as Capital City FC merchandise. Order forms will also be put online just in time for the holiday season.