Los Angeles Galaxy name 2005 team award winners

CARSON, CA - Forward Herculez Gomez, Defender Tyrone Marshall, forward Landon Donovan, and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman were named recipients of the 2005 Los Angeles Galaxy team awards. The awards will be presented to the winners prior to Game One of the Galaxy's Western Conference Semifinal series against the San Jose Earthquakes this Sunday, October 23 at The Home Depot Center.

"We are very excited for and proud of all of this year's recipients of the on-field awards," said Galaxy President and General Manager Doug Hamilton. "They have all distinguished themselves with their significant contributions to our success. In addition, Kevin Hartman played a vital role in our community outreach efforts as he, along with the entire team, have done amazing work all year long."

Gomez was voted the Galaxy's Honda Most Valuable Player, Marshall was selected as the Galaxy's Defender of the Year. Donovan, who led the team with 12 goals, was awarded the club's Budweiser Golden Boot. Hartman was selected as the U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year for his efforts throughout the year.

A closer look at the Galaxy's team award winners follows:

HONDA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Herculez Gomez, in his second season in Major League Soccer, was chosen as the team's Honda Most Valuable Player by the Los Angeles media. Gomez, 23, had a breakout offensive season with the Galaxy in 2005. After having played just five minutes in his MLS career prior to this season (in October of 2003), and spending 2004 with the San Diego Gauchos (D-3), he worked his way up from the Galaxy reserves at the start of the season to a permanent role in Steve Sampson's attack. He finished the regular season with 11 goals in 22 games (16 starts), second-best on the club to the 12 of Landon Donovan. His most productive month proved to be September as Gomez scored five goals in five games, missing the net only once on Sept. 21 at Dallas. He was also voted the MLS Player of the Week after scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory against FC Dallas on October 1.

DEFENDER OF THE YEAR: In his eighth season as a professional in Major League Soccer and his fourth in a Galaxy uniform, Tyrone Marshall was voted the club's MLS Defender of the Year for the second consecutive year by the press corps that covers the Galaxy. During the 2005 regular season, the 31-year-old Marshall appeared in 25 regular season matches - all starts, and logged 2,085 minutes played as he split his time between the club and the Jamaica national team, playing in a total of three CONCACAF Gold Cup matches and several friendlies with the Reggae Boyz. The veteran defender led a Galaxy defense that allowed a total of 45 goals, an average of just 1.38 per contest, with six shutouts. Over his eight-year career, the Lauderhill, Florida native has played in 175 regular season matches, 149 of them starts, a total of 13,437 minutes, while scoring 12 goals and contributing 17 assists.

BUDWEISER GOLDEN BOOT: Landon Donovan earned the club's 2005 Budweiser Golden Boot after scoring his twelfth goal on the final weekend to finish the 2005 Regular Season tied for third place in the League. Not only was Donovan's goal total impressive, but he has assisted on almost as many goals as he has scored - 10 - making him one of just two players this year in MLS to record double-digits in both goals and assists. The other was the MetroStars Amado Guevara (10G, 12A). Donovan's numbers are even more impressive when considering that he appeared in only 22 matches for the Galaxy. In addition, he missed a large amount of time due to World Cup qualifying and CONCACAF Gold Cup, appearing in 15 games with six goals and six assists. He helped the USA reach the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany. Additionally, the 5-8, 158-pound forward was voted the MLS Player of the Week after scoring two goals in a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake on April 9.

U.S. SOCCER FOUNDATION HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR: The Los Angeles Galaxy are proud to announce Kevin Hartman as their 2005 U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year. Hartman has stepped to the forefront in promoting literacy in the Southern California community. Hartman is the club's 2005 Get A Kick Out of Reading player spokesman and has made numerous appearances speaking to children and adults about the importance of literacy in both school and life. The son of educators, Hartman learned at a very young age the importance of reading and believes that books give everyone the opportunity to learn. During the off-season, Hartman completed his own children's book with a soccer theme - "Boots Saves the Day" - that gave him a vehicle to share his love of soccer and reading with children of all ages. At the 2005 NEA Read-In, Hartman debut his book and spoke to local children about his other favorite pastime reading. In this Get A Kick Out of Reading appearance, he, along with Herculez Gomez, garnered extensive media coverage and relayed the program's message about the value and fun of reading, to children and families. In addition to his role as the club's Get A Kick Out of Reading spokesman, Hartman has shown outstanding participation during the 2005 MLS season in all Galaxy outreach, grassroots, and soccer programs as well as the charitable endeavors done in conjunction with the Galaxy Foundation. He has visited children in LA area hospitals and through clinics assisted in growing the sport of soccer by demonstrating not only skills, but also character and sportsmanship to thousands of kids.

The following are the Galaxy's past team award winners:

• = Previously known as the Budweiser Scoring Champion 1996-2004.
  

One of the most bitter rivalries in Major League Soccer comes to the fore at The Home Depot Center on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills on Sunday, October 23 at 12 pm (PT) when the Los Angeles Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes open the 2005 MLS Cup Playoffs. The meeting in Carson, which will be televised nationally on ESPN2 is the first leg of a home-and-home, aggregate-goals series in the MLS Western Conference semifinals. The second game in the series will be played at Spartan Stadium in San Jose on October 29 at 7 pm (PT).

Tickets for the Galaxy-Quakes battle are already on sale. Galaxy fans looking to buy tickets for this encounter between the two Western Conference foes will be able to do so by one of three ways: calling the Galaxy ticket office toll-free at 1-877-3GALAXY, through TicketMaster or at the box office at The Home Depot Center. Additionally, the Galaxy is offering its fans a special package for the playoff meeting. For as low as $100, fans will get four (4) great seats to the Western Conference Semifinal playoff match and four (4) Galaxy Gold knit caps. Playoff 4-Packs are already on sale and great seats are moving fast, so be sure to reserve one today by visiting lagalaxy.com or by calling 1-877-3GALAXY.