U.S. SOCCER 2003 YEAR IN REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS

JANUARY/FEBRUARY
- Fifth Year of U.S. Soccer's Full-Time Residency Kicks Off; Adu Begins to Emerge
- U.S. WNT Opens Up Year Against Japan; Take First at Four Nations Tournament
- U.S. MNT Downs Canada in First Match of the Year
- U.S. U23s Take Second in the Vale do Tejo International Tournament in Portugal
- 2002 Chevrolet Athletes of the Year Announced

MARCH/APRIL
- FIFA Postpones World Youth Championship; Tournament Rescheduled for Nov. 27-Dec. 19
- U-17 MNT Win Group A of CONCACAF Qualifying
- U.S. WNT Wins Algarve Cup in Portugal
- Chiquita Joins U.S. Soccer as a Sponsor
- Women's World Cup Draw Postponed Due to Fear of SARS
- Friedel Named to English Premier League Team of the Year

MAY/JUNE
- Women's World Cup Moved From China to USA Due to SARS Outbreak
- U.S. MNT Draw with Mexico in Front of 70,000 Fans
- U.S. U-23s Down Mexico 3-1 in Guadalajara; David Testo Scores Amazing 90-yard Goal
- U.S. Soccer's National Training Center at The Home Depot Opens in Carson, Calif.
- U.S. MNT Introduce One-Time Retro Jerseys in Send-Off Match
- U.S. WNT Beat Ireland 5-0 in First Game Ever in Utah
- U.S. Plays Tough Confederations Cup Tournament in France
- U.S. MNT Gets Top Billing in CONCACAF For First Time in FIFA World Rankings

JULY/AUGUST
- U.S. WNT Plays First Game in Louisiana, Unveil WWC Jerseys
- Women's World Cup Draw is Held at The Home Depot Center
- U.S. MNT Takes Third Place in Gold Cup
- U-21 WNT Wins Fifth Straight Nordic Cup
- Tim Howard Signs With Manchester United
- U.S. Under-17 MNT Take Fifth Place in the FIFA U-17 World Championship
- U.S. Soccer Mours the Passing of Clive Charles
- U.S. WNT Roster Announced; MacMillan Back From ACL Injury

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
- Women's United Soccer Association Suspends Operations; Hopes Still Alive to Bring League Back
- U.S. Women's National Team Finishes Third at 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup
- Chicago Fire Win Open Cup

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
- U-23 Olympic Qualifying Starts With Dominating Wins Over St. Kitts & Nevis
- 14-Year-Old Freddy Adu Signs with MLS
- San Jose Makes Remarkable Comeback to Win MLS Cup
- U.S. MNT Finds Out World Cup Qualifying Opponents
- Nike Friendlies Attracts Record Number of Teams to Bradenton
- U.S. Under-20 MNT Take Fifth Place at FIFA World Youth Championship

2003 Awards/League Champions
U.S. Top Three Finishes U.S. Men's National Team: CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA/MEX), 3rd place

U.S. Women's National Team: Women's World Cup (USA), 1st place U.S. Women's National Team: Algarve Cup (Portugal), 3rd place

U.S. Under-21 Women's National Team: Nordic Cup (Denmark), 1st place

U.S. National Team Individual Honors
Shannon Boxx, First Team (Women's World Cup, USA)
Joy Fawcett, First Team (Women's World Cup, USA)
Mia Hamm, Honorable Mention (Women's World Cup, USA)
Bobby Convey, First Team (World Youth Championship, UAE)
Steve Cronin, First Team (World Youth Championship, UAE)
Ed Johnson, Golden Ball (World Youth Championship, UAE)
Freddy Adu, First Team (U-17 World Championship, Finland)
Danny Szetela, First Team (U-17 World Championship, Finland) 2003

Best of U.S. Soccer
Best Soccer Bar: Ginger's Ale House (Chicago, Ill.)
Best Soccer Store: Gotshalk's Soccer (Boston, Mass.)
Best Soccer Stadium: The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif.)
Best Soccer Fans: Chicago, Ill.
Best Game Promotion: U.S. MNT Retro Jerseys
Best U.S. Soccer Story: U.S. MNT Goalkeeper Tim Howard Signs with Manchester United; Red Devils Tour America
Best U.S. Crowd: May 8 @ Reliant Stadium (69,582; SO)
Best U.S. Goal (Youth National Team): Freddy Adu (June 4)
Best U.S. Goal (National Team): Kristine Lilly (Sept. 21)
Best Game Performance (Player): Abby Wambach (Oct. 1)
Best Game Performance (Team): U.S. WNT 3, Sweden 1 (Sept. 21) 2003

Pro League Champions and Awards
Major League Soccer Champion: San Jose Earthquakes
Runner-up: Chicago Fire

MLS Award Winners
MVP: Preki, Kansas City Wizards
Goalkeeper of the Year: Pat Onstad, San Jose Earthquakes
Defender of the Year: Carlos Bocanegra, Chicago Fire

Women's United Soccer Association Champion: Washington Freedom Runner-up: Atlanta Beat WUSA Award Winners MVP: Maren Meinert, Boston Breakers Goalkeeper of the Year: Briana Scurry, Atlanta Beat Defender of the Year: Joy Fawcett, San Diego Spirit

United Soccer Leagues
A-League Champion: Charleston Battery
MVP: Thiago Martins, Pittsburgh Riverhounds

USL Pro Soccer League Champion: Wilmington Hammerheads
MVP: Rob Jachym, Western Mass Pioneers

Premier Development League Champion: Cape Cod Crusaders
MVP: Tomas Boltnar, Des Moines Menace

W-League Champion: Hampton Roads Piranhas
MVP: Phebe Trotman, Vancouver Whitecaps

Super Y-League
U-14 Boys: Chicago Magic
U-15 Boys: Chicago Magic
U-16 Boys: Santa Rosa United
U-17 Boys: West Kendall
U-19 Boys: Cleveland Force Jrs.
U-14 Girls: Mustang SC
U-15 Girls: Parsippany SC
U-16 Girls: Cape Cod Crusaders
U-17 Girls: Intense Soccer Academy

Major Indoor Soccer League Champion: Baltimore Blast
MVP: Dino Delevski, Kansas City Comets

Information Courtesy of U.S. Soccer. All Right Reserved.

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