Florida's Ameera Abdullah Named a Soccer America MVP
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 | Soccer
University of Florida senior Ameera Abdullah (Denver, Colo.) is part of the 2008 Soccer America MVP awards, the magazine announced Tuesday. A total 22 players are recognized as part of the 2008 Soccer America MVP program and Abdullah is a second team selection.
The Soccer America MVP program was introduced in 1976 to honor the players who had the biggest impact on their team's success regardless of position. Beginning in 2007, Soccer America selected first and second teams. Abdullah is the fifth Gator honored as a Soccer America MVP and the first since Abby Wambach appeared on the 2001 list.
| University of Florida Soccer America Season MVPs | |
| 1996 | Danielle Fotopoulos |
| 1998 | Erin Baxter |
| Danielle Fotopoulos | |
| 1999 | Heather Mitts |
| 2001 | Abby Wambach |
| 2008 | Ameera Abdullah |
Earlier this month, Abdullah was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) second team. In 2008, Abdullah was second among the Gators in points (25), shared UF's assists lead (9) and was third with eight goals. She was named to the All-Southeastern Conference first-team in 2008 and also was placed on the SEC All-Tournament team. In the opening weekend of SEC regular-season play, Abdullah scored the first two goals in Florida's 5-1 win versus Tennessee, earning her a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week. Abdullah finished holding the No. 7 position on Florida's Career Points chart with 25 goals, 18 assists for 68 points. She was also named to the 2008 NSCAA All-Southeast Region first team.
During the 2008 season, Florida turned in a record of 19-4-1, which included becoming the first team to post an 11-0 record in SEC play since the league started round-robin play in 2004. The Gators advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 and won its ninth SEC title.
| 2008 Soccer America Women's MVPs | ||||
| First Team |
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| Pos. | Name | Class | School | Hometown, |
| GK | Alyssa Naeher | Jr. | Penn State | Seymour, Calif. |
| D | Carrie Dew | Sr. | Notre Dame | Encinitas, Calif. |
| D | Nikki Krzysik | Sr. | Virginia | Clifton, N.J. |
| D | Marisa Abegg | Sr. | Stanford | Elk Grove, Calif. |
| MF | Christina DiMartino | Sr. | UCLA | Massapequa, N.Y. |
| MF | Megan Rapinoe | Sr. | Portland | Redding, Calif. |
| MF | Yolanda Odenyo | Sr. | Oklahoma State | Uppsala, Sweden |
| F | Lauren Cheney | Jr. | UCLA | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| F | Kerri Hanks | Sr. | Notre Dame | Allen, Texas |
| F | Casey Nogueira | Jr. | North Carolina | Raleigh, N.C. |
| F | Sanna Talonen | So. | Florida State | Tampere, Finland |
| Second Team | ||||
| GK | Erin Guthrie | Jr. | Rutgers | Sparta, N.J. |
| D | Greer Barnes | Sr. | West Virginia | Rye, N.Y. |
| D | Kasey Moore | Sr. | Texas | Mission Viejo, Calif. |
| MF | Ameera Abdullah | Sr. | Florida | Denver, Colo. |
| MF | Yael Averbuch | Sr. | North Carolina | Upper Montclair, N.J. |
| MF | Hailey Beam | Jr. | Charlotte | Charlotte, N.C. |
| MF | Amanda DaCosta | So. | Florida State | Katonah, N.Y. |
| MF | Tobin Heath | Jr. | North Carolina | Basking Ridge, N.J. |
| F | Corky Julien | Jr. | James Madison | Williamstown, Ontario |
| F | Nikki Marshall | Jr. | Colorado | Mead, Colo. |
| F | Elisabeth Redmond | Jr. | Duke | Morristown, N.J. |
