Timbers U-23s forward Mark Sherrod named to PDL All-Western Conference Team

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Timbers U-23s forward Mark Sherrod has been named to the 2012 Premier Development League All-Western Conference Team, it was announced today by United Soccer Leagues. Sherrod becomes the sixth Timbers U-23s player in team history to earn all-conference honors.

Sherrod, 21, finished the regular season as the Western Conference’s leading scorer with 10 goals and three assists for 23 points. He paced a Timbers U-23s attack that shared the Northwest Division lead in goals scored at 35 over 16 regular-season games. Sherrod helped the Timbers U-23s to a second-place finish in the Northwest Division and reach the Western Conference semifinals in 2012.

In his first season with the Timbers U-23s, Sherrod became just the third player in team history to score 10 or more goals in a single season. He finished the campaign with 11 goals, scoring in the Timbers U-23s divisional playoff win over the Kitsap Pumas. Sherrod registered a hat trick in a 4-1 win over Victoria Highlanders FC on May 19, recording the fourth hat trick in Timbers U-23s history. He was named to the PDL Team of the Week twice during the 2012 season (Weeks 2 and 3), including Player of the Week honors for Week 3. Sherrod also tallied the game-winning goal in a win over the Washington Crossfire on July 6, which clinched the team’s third postseason berth in four seasons.

Prior to the 2012 PDL season, Sherrod completed an impressive redshirt sophomore season at the University of Memphis in 2011, scoring 19 goals and totaling 42 points. The Knoxville, Tenn., native was named Conference USA’s Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, in addition to being a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, given annually to the most outstanding collegiate player.

Sherrod joins former Timbers U-23s players Freddie Braun (2010), Jake Gleeson (2010), Ryan Kawulok (2010-11), Brent Richards (2009-11) and Ryan Youngblood (2009) on the list of Portland players to receive PDL All-Western Conference selections.

2012 PDL All-Western Conference Team