Swope Park Rangers defender Amer Didic and head coach Marc Dos Santos have been announced as finalists for two 2016 USL end-of-year awards. Didic has been nominated as a finalist for USL Defender of the Year, while Dos Santos is up for USL Coach of the Year, the league announced today.
The USL Defender of the Year will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 1, with the USL Coach of the Year named on Wednesday, Nov. 2. The 2016 USL Awards were voted on by team management and a league-wide media panel that included representation from every USL market.
Didic, who was named to the 2016 USL All-League First Team on Tuesday, is joined as a finalist for Defender of the Year by Richmond Kickers center back Hugh Roberts and Aaron Long of New York Red Bulls II – who the Rangers will face in the USL Cup Final on Sunday.
The 21-year-old rookie has made 31 appearances in regular and postseason play, scoring one goal while being named to the USL Team of the Week a league-high six times. He has also represented Sporting Kansas City in each of the team’s three CONCACAF Champions League contests.
Dos Santos earns his second Coach of the Year nomination in as many years, having been named NASL Coach of the Year after taking Ottawa Fury FC to the Soccer Bowl in 2015. Named the first-ever SPR head coach last November, Dos Santos has guided the Rangers to the USL Cup Final after a fourth-place finish in the West with a 14-10-6 record.
The Montreal, Quebec native is competing with FC Cincinnati’s John Harkes and New York Red Bulls II head coach John Wolyniec for the award. The Rangers are bidding to become the second expansion team to win the USL Cup, after Sacramento Republic FC claimed the 2014 title in their inaugural season.
The Rangers will square off against New York Red Bulls II in the 2016 USL Cup this Sunday, Oct. 23 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU and the WatchESPN app, while SiriusXM FC will carry the game on the radio.
2016 Defender of the Year Finalists – Winner announced Tuesday, Nov. 1
Amer Didic, Swope Park Rangers
Aaron Long, New York Red Bulls II
Hugh Roberts, Richmond Kickers
2016 Coach of the Year Finalists – Winner announced Wednesday, Nov. 2
Marc Dos Santos, Swope Park Rangers
John Harkes, FC Cincinnati
John Wolyniec, New York Red Bulls II
