BEASLEY, BOCANEGRA, DONOVAN: 2004 HONDA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD FINALISTS

Average Age of the Finalists Is the Youngest Ever for the Honda Player of the Year Award; Winner Will Be Announced on November 18 and Will Receive a New Honda Car.

LOS ANGELES (October 25, 2004) - DaMarcus Beasley, Carlos Bocanegra and Landon Donovan were revealed as the three finalists for the 2004 Honda Player of the Year Award during today's Honda Symposium in Los Angeles.

The selection of Beasley (22), Bocanegra (25), and Donovan (22), by 204 sports journalists across the country, means that the average age of the three finalists is the youngest ever in the 14-year history of the Honda Player of the Year Award, and thereby demonstrates the emergence of a new generation of U.S. National Team players.

Beasley, a first-time finalist for the Honda Player of the Year Award, joins two of last year's finalists, Bocanegra and Donovan.

This year's winner will be announced at the 2004 Honda Player of the Year Award Ceremony, which will take place in Los Angeles on Thursday, November 18, 2004. The winner will receive a new car.

DaMarcus Beasley is the only National Team player who has appeared in each match so far this year. In June he scored two goals in a World Cup qualifying match against Grenada, and overall he has scored four goals up to this point. DaMarcus played his first game with the Chicago Fire in 2000, and in July, he left Major League Soccer in order to join European power, first division club PSV Eindhoven in Holland, which is currently grouped with Arsenal (England), Rosenborg (Norway) and Panathinaikos (Greece) in the UEFA Champions League.

As a finalist for the second consecutive year, Carlos Bocanegra is perhaps now considered the best defender on the U.S. National Team. He has played in both central defense, as well as on the left side, and in his three years as a National Team player, he has scored five goals in 30 games. After being recognized as the best defender in Major League Soccer in both 2002 and 2003, Carlos left the Chicago Fire in January in order to join Fulham of the English Premiership, where he is a regular starter.

Two years ago, Landon Donovan became the youngest Honda Player of the Year Award winner, and last year he became the first player to win the award two years in a row. This year he joins Claudio Reyna, Alexi Lalas and Kasey Keller, as the only players who have been selected as finalists in at least three consecutive years. Up to this point, Landon is the leading scorer on the National Team this year with five goals. For the last three years, he has played for the San Jose Earthquakes.

The previous winners of the Honda Player of the Year Award are: Landon Donovan (2003 and 2002), Earnie Stewart (2001), Claudio Reyna (2000), Kasey Keller (1999), Cobi Jones (1998), Eddie Pope (1997), Eric Wynalda (1996, 1992), Alexi Lalas (1995), Marcelo Balboa (1994), Thomas Dooley (1993) and Hugo Perez (1991). In 2000, Eric Wynalda was named the Honda Player of the Decade.