2012-13 MISL Award Winners Announced

TAMPA, Fla. – The Major Indoor Soccer League honored its top performers of the season today, announcing the Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defender of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year for the 2012-13 season. The winners were announced at an awards ceremony in Independence, Missouri, site of tomorrow’s first leg of the 2013 MISL Championship Series featuring the Missouri Comets and the Baltimore Blast.

MISL award winners were selected through a vote by MISL team management and select media members.

Most Valuable Player – Doug Miller, Rochester Lancers

Miller’s record-breaking season at the age of 43 proved the veteran still had much to offer the game. The first player in the current era of the MISL to surpass 100 points, finishing with 102, Miller also set a record for goals in a season with 44 as he led the Lancers to within one win of the playoffs. Miller also finished the season with five game-winning goals, and tied an MISL record with a six-goal game against Missouri

Rookie of the Year – Luan Oliveira, Milwaukee Wave

Quickly becoming an integral part of Keith Tozer’s squad after being suggested as a signing by Wave teammate and childhood friend Marcio Leite, Oliveira led all rookies, and the Wave, with 68 points. The Brazilian averaged a goal per game in his first season in the league, with a three-goal, two-assist night against Rochester a highlight of his first season.

Coach of the Year – Danny Kelly, Baltimore Blast

Taking the honor for the third time in four seasons, Kelly led the Blast to the top of the MISL standings in a season that saw the Blast open the season with nine consecutive victories, and end it on a six-game winning streak that allowed it to edge the Milwaukee Wave for the regular season championship. With some key offseason departures, Kelly quickly integrated the new faces in his squad seamlessly as the Blast continued their tradition of excellence.

Defender of the Year – Mike Lookingland, Baltimore Blast

Lookingland was selected for the second consecutive season after a standout two-way campaign that saw him record 49 points, make 35 blocks and commit only 16 fouls. A master of positioning in his defensive end, the Blast’s captain also showed an uncanny knack for knowing when to join the attack, and proved crucial on special teams as he led the side with four power-play goals.

Goalkeeper of the Year – Nick Vorberg, Milwaukee Wave

Claiming the honor for the second time in three seasons, Vorberg was a standout in goal for the league’s best defense. Vorberg faced an average of 18.5 shots per game, finishing with an outstanding .812 save percentage, while also leading the league with a 7.76 points-against average. In his 14 regular-season appearances, Vorberg never conceded more than five goals.

Baltimore and Missouri will face off in the best-of-three 2013 MISL Championship Series starting Thursday at the Independence Events Center in Missouri (8:35 p.m. ET, MISLNation.com), with the second leg set for Saturday at 1^st Mariner Arena in Baltimore (7:35 p.m. ET, MISLNation.com). A deciding mini-game will be played immediately following Game 2 if needed.

Blast Announces 11 Returning Players

Millwood and Lookingland are Among the Veterans Set to Return to the Field

Baltimore – Baltimore Blast President and General Manager Kevin Healey announced today that the team has re-signed 11 players from last year’s squad, pending league approval.  The returning players are forwards Machel Millwood, Adauto Neto, Lucio Gonzaga, Adriano Dos Santos and J.T. Noone; midfielder Max Ferdinand and defenders Mike Lookingland, Pat Healey, Ptah Myers, Mike Deasel and Stephen DeRoux.  The Blast will open the 2012-13 MISL season on November 3 against the Chicago Soul at 1^st Mariner Arena.

Head coach Danny Kelly and assistant coach David Bascome will also return for their seventh season together as the team’s coaching staff.  Millwood, a 2012 All-MISL Second-Team selection, becomes the team’s longest-tenured player as he prepares to return for his ninth season in Baltimore.  Millwood was among the team’s scoring leaders last season with 26 goals and 16 assists for 71 points.  Lookingland, the team captain and the 2012 MISL Defender of the Year, will be back for his eighth season with the Blast.  A three-time champion, Lookingland led the Blast’s defensive core with 34 points in 2011-12.  Ferdinand led the Blast with 72 points last year and was named First-Team All-MISL, just two seasons after being named Rookie of the Year in 2010.

“This group has a lot of offer, ” said Blast head coach Danny Kelly.  “There’s experience and youth, as well as guys that can change a game on both sides of the ball.  With the willingness to prepare and put in the work, I believe this group can help us compete for an MISL Championship.”

Healey, the 2009 NISL Rookie of the Year, moved to a defensive position last season and led the team with 33 blocks.  Neto, the 2006 MISL MVP who has won two championships with the Blast, is entering his sixth season in a Blast uniform.  He ranked third on the team with 49 points last season and boasts 150 career goals.  Gonzaga, who missed the entire 2011-12 season while recovering from knee surgery, will be back on the field for his fifth season in Baltimore.

Myers, a nine-year veteran, is back for his second season with the Blast after recording 11 points and 18 blocks last season.  Dos Santos, is back for his third season in Baltimore, and Noone, DeRoux and Deasel, rookies last season, all are returning for another season.  DeRoux was named to the MISL All-Rookie team after posting 10 goals and one assist for 22 points; Noone ranked sixth on the team with 33 points.