Published: January 13, 2008 12:27 am         

Russo, Delaney voted defensive players of year

CUMBERLAND — Christina Russo, who helped lead Allegany to a triple-crown season, and Jenna Delaney, who led area goalkeepers in shutouts and save percentage at Mountain Ridge, were voted the Cumberland Times-News girls soccer Defensive Players of the Year.

The tie in the voting by area head coaches is the first in the 10-year history of the award.

Russo and Delaney will receive their awards at the 60th annual Dapper Dan Awards Banquet on Saturday, Jan. 26, 5 p.m., at the Ali Ghan Shrine Club. For Dapper Dan Banquet ticket information, call The Original Sports Shoppe at (301) 722-5490.

Christina Russo

There were plenty of reasons for the success Allegany enjoyed last year. But none may have been bigger than the team’s defensive play led by Russo.

Allegany went unbeaten during the regular season at 12-0-1, winning the first Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference championship with a 6-0-1 record, and the Cumberland City title at 4-0.

The Campers won their third Times-News Area championship in four years, finishing with a 13-1-1 overall record.

A senior defender, Russo captained a defense that yielded just 10 goals in 15 games. There were eight shutouts, and the Campers allowed one goal or less in 12 of their 15 contests.

“Christina is very deserving of the defensive player of the year award. She is a three-year varsity starter who played center defender, outside defender or sweeper depending on the opposition,’’ said Allegany coach Bob Langan.

“Christina had a tremendous senior season. I don’t recall having a player improve as much as she did from her sophomore year to her senior year. Her work ethic and tremendous attitude were the key to her success.”

Allegany held a 5-to-1 scoring advangtage on its opponents, scoring 50 goals and allowing only 10. Russo, first-team All-AMAC and first-team All-City, also chipped in on offense, and was the team’s fifth-leading scorer with three goals and an assist. All of her scoring came in AMAC games, giving her a 1.00 average in the conference and placing her 15th in scoring in the eight-team league.

In the AMAC, the Russo-led defense gave up only three scores in seven games.

“Christina is a solid, physical and very knowledgeable defender who is quite comfortable using either foot,’’ said Langan. “She and Jackie Boor did a great job for us on our goal kicks, corner kicks and all other free kicks.”

Russo is the third Allegany player in the last four years to win defensive player of the year honors. The others were Sarah Moreland in 2005 and Emily Mathews in 2004.

Jenna Delaney

Three years ago, sophomore Jenna Delaney volunteered to play in the goal for coach Martha Mauzy.

Three years later, she is one of the area’s defensive players of the year and has set a high standard for future Mountain Ridge goalkeepers to attempt to match.

This year, Delaney and the Miners defense made headlines early with seven straight shutouts and a string of 657 consecutive scoreless minutes of play.

For the season, Delaney led the area in save percentage, making 100 stops and allowing only 14 goals for an .877 save percentage. She had eight complete-game shutouts and combined with a teammate for another, giving her an area-leading 8 1/2 for the year.

Mountain Ridge gave up only 14 goals in its 17 games. But Delaney’s numbers were even better in conference play.

In the AMAC, the Miners with Delaney in goal gave up only one goal in seven games. She made 42 saves, and led the conference in percentage, at .976, and in shutouts, with six.

“Jenna is a gifted athlete, without a doubt the premier goalkeeper in the area, and a dedicated player who worked extremely hard to perfect her soccer skills,’’ said Mountain Ridge coach Martha Mauzy.

“She has proven her abilities in the goal as her statistics show, and she came up with some really super saves. All her teammates had confidence in her and know she would cover their backs no matter what happened.”

Mountain Ridge was 10-5-2 overall and 5-0-2 in the conference this year.

In Delaney’s three seasons as a starter, the first two being with Beall, her teams ran up a 34-10-4 overall record. In those 48 games, she posted 26 shutouts, and made 275 saves while allowing only 40 goals for an .873 career save percentage.

Delaney is a two-time first-team All-Area pick, and was first-team All-AMAC this year and first-team All-WMIL last year.

Mike Mathews is a Cumberland Times-News sports writer. He can be reached at Contact Mike Mathews at mmathews@times-news.com.