PORTLAND
, Ore.
– Portland Timbers head coach
Gavin Wilkinson
was named the 2007 FieldTurf USL First Division Coach of the Year, it was announced Friday at the annual FieldTurf Soccer Awards.
Selected by a seven-member panel and FieldTurf Tarkett executives, the FieldTurf Coach of the Year award recognizes a coach whose dedication and effort both on and off the field is able to help improve the team’s overall efforts, performance and record from previous seasons.
In 2007, Wilkinson guided the Timbers to a second-place finish in the USL First Division and the semifinal round of the playoffs. Also selected as the league’s coach of the year, Wilkinson led the Timbers to the best turnaround season in USL First Division history after the club finished tied for last in 2006, and an unbeaten home record at PGE Park (8-0-6) during the 2007 regular season.
Wilkinson has been a member of the Timbers organization since the club joined United Soccer Leagues in 2001. The New Zealand native played in each of the club’s first six seasons, and served as a player/assistant coach during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Wilkinson ranks among Portland’s modern-franchise leaders in both games (124) and minutes played (10,181). During his 13-year playing career, Wilkinson earned 38 caps as a member of the New Zealand National Team and competed in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup.
The 2007 FieldTurf Soccer Awards were held at the 2008 National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention in Baltimore, Md. For more information about FieldTurf’s annual sports awards, visit
www.fieldturf.com/awards
.
Timbers season tickets, starting as low as $142.50, for the 2008 season are available by contacting the Timbers ticket office at (503) 553-5555. For more information on season tickets, mini-plans, group packages or party suites, visit
www.portlandtimbers.com
.
FieldTurf’s 2007 Soccer Award Winners:
MLS Coach of the Year: Preki Radosavljevic, Chivas USA
USL First Division Coach of the Year: Gavin Wilkinson, Portland Timbers
USL Second Division Coach of the Year: Bill Becher, Harrisburg City Islanders
USL W-League Coach of the Year: Keith Jones, Atlanta Silverbacks
NCAA Division I Coach of the Year (Men): Ed Kelly, Boston College
NCAA Division I Coach of the Year (Women: Garrett Smith, Univ. of Portland
MLS Team of the Year: Houston Dynamo
USL Team of the Year: Seattle Sounders
NCAA Team of the Year: Wake Forest University
