Jay Needham named USL rookie of the Year

[smufan21]

Congrats Jay!!

From USL website:

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Drafted by DC United, the Hermann Trophy finalist out of Southern Methodist University joined the Islanders despite being drafted in the third round of the MLS SuperDraft by DC United and became a fixture in the back line for the club. He was one of three players, along with fellow defender and All-League selection Marco Velez, on the club to log over 2,000 minutes on the season. He also provided a goal and two assists. He went on to help lead the Islanders to the semifinals before being eliminated in a penalty kick tiebreaker by Seattle after a 3-3 series draw on aggregate. The sixth-seed Islanders stunned the third-seeded Montreal Impact 5-3 on aggregate in the quarterfinals to register their first playoff series win. He is the second player from Puerto Rico to receive the honor in three years, following goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, who won the honor two years ago.

[mustangbill67]

Although USL is a step below MLS, his play this year puts a dent in the criticism that Jay is a step slow for professional soccer. Will be interesting to see if he gets a chance to move up to MLS and make a playing roster. There are many drafted college players in MLS who are reserves and never get to play or even suit out for games. Probably a good career move on his part to drop down to USL and get steady playing time. However, doing well in USL does not necessarily translate into a starting position on a MLS team. A good start nonetheless.

[Hal]

Hopefully he can parlay this into a nice contract, either in MLS or overseas. Congratulations, Jay!