USL PRO announced the league’s statistical award winners for the 2012 season on Monday, honoring a pair of players from regular-season champions Orlando City and another from the runner-up Rochester Rhinos. Orlando City forward Dennis Chin claimed a pair of awards, winning both the Goal Scoring and Scoring titles after a standout second season for the Lions.
Chin scored Orlando’s first goal of the season just three minutes into their opening contest against Charlotte, and went on to finish with 11 goals as he played in each of the Lions’ regular season contests. Chin edged out the Charleston Battery’s Nicki Paterson, who had 10 goals, for the Goal Scoring title, and his two assists allowed the 25-year-old to also finish as Scoring Champion with 24 points in as many games, one point ahead of the Wilmington Hammerheads’ Corey Hertzog.
Chin’s Orlando teammate Miguel Gallardo earned the Goals-Against Average award for the second consecutive season, with the 2011 USL PRO Goalkeeper of the Year finishing with a GAA of just 0.780. Gallardo was one of three goalkeepers in USL PRO to finish with a GAA below one, with Rochester’s Kristian Nicht finishing second at 0.909 and the Charleston Battery’s Andrew Dykstra third at 0.950.
Rochester’s J.C. Banks denied Orlando a clean sweep of the statistical honors as the Rhinos midfielder took the Assists title with eight in 22 games. In his second season with the Rhinos, Banks had a breakout season, also scoring five goals, as he earned Team MVP honors. Orlando City’s Kevin Molino finished one behind Banks with seven, while Hertzog and Banks’ teammate Danny Eagles finished tied for third with five.
All three award winners, and their teams, will await their opponents in the semifinals of the USL PRO Playoffs, with the Charleston Battery, Richmond Kickers, Wilmington Hammerheads and Harrisburg City Islanders set to open the postseason Saturday. The No. 4 seed Kickers will host the No. 5 seed Hammerheads at City Stadium at 7 p.m. ET, while the No. 3 seed Battery will host the No. 6 seed City Islanders at Blackbaud Stadium at 7:30 p.m. ET.
USL PRO 2012 Regular Season Honors
Scoring Champion Assist Champion
Dennis Chin, Orlando City J.C. Banks, Rochester Rhinos
Goal Scoring Champion Goals-Against Average Champion
Dennis Chin, Orlando City Miguel Gallardo, Orlando City
