Richmond, VA – (Tuesday, July 29, 2008) – The Richmond Kickers are pleased to announce that Andrew Dykstra is the recipient of the 2008 Richmond Kickers Future Coach’s Award, while Chantel Jones and Emma Delves share the 2008 Richmond Kickers Destiny Coach’s honors.
Goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra protected the nets in 13 games this season and posted the Future’s lone shutout in a 1-0 upset over one of the top teams in the division, Fredericksburg Gunners. Over four seasons with the Future, the native of Woodbridge, Virginia has made 50 appearances, recording eight shutouts while posting an overall goals against average of 1.75. A rising senior at Virginia Commonwealth University, Dykstra has made 52 starts in 55 games played, posting a career best 0.90 goals against average for the Rams in 2007.
New to the Destiny this season, Emma Delves is a versatile midfielder/defender who played with Chelsea Ladies FC for over three seasons, securing a position on the starting lineup last year. Doubling as an offensive threat with three goals and one assist for the Destiny, she concluded her first W-League season second on the team in scoring with seven points. Earning more starts than any other Destiny player with 12, Delves led the team in minutes played, anchoring the midfield for 990 minutes. Delves is one of 128 elite players selected to participate in the first annual USL W-League Combine to be held in Tampa, Florida September 4-7. The combine serves as a showcase for Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), slated to begin operations in 2009, and will consist of invited W-League players and selected players from an open application process.
Goalkeeper Chantel Jones returned as starting goalkeeper in 2008 for her fourth season with the Destiny. Finishing the season with a winning goalkeeper record of 6-4-0, Jones recorded a goals against average of 1.40 and posted four shutouts on the season. A rising University of Virginia sophomore, Jones has made 26 appearances with the Destiny over the past four seasons, splitting time with the U-20 National Team, as she was called up last summer for the Pan Am Games. The redshirt freshman at UVA started all 23 games played, posting three shutouts and allowing just 10 goals, good for a goals against average of 0.41. She earned VaSID Women’s All-State First Team honors for her efforts. The native of Midlothian, Virginia has represented the U.S. at the U-16 and U-17 levels and was earned NSCAA Youth All-American honors, leading Clover Hill High School to the 2003 state final.
Although the Richmond Kickers Future finished the 2008 season in the Mid-Atlantic Division standings basement, they rallied to a 2-8-6 record. Meanwhile, the Richmond Kickers Destiny opened the season 1-7-0, but posted a 5-1-0 comeback to end the season mid-table in the Atlantic Division standings. Both the Future and the Destiny missed postseason play this season as the Mid-Atlantic Division champion Reading Rage represented the PDL Eastern Conference while the top two teams from the Atlantic Division, Atlanta Silverbacks and Charlotte Lady Eagles, qualified for the W-League Eastern Conference.
