Despite being upset in the United Soccer Leagues Second Division playoffs, the regular season champion Wilmington Hammerheads saw head coach David Irving and player Jamie Watson earn postseason honors Thursday at the annual USL2 Championship Banquet in Richmond, VA, site of Saturday's championship game between the host Richmond Kickers and the Charlotte Eagles.
Irving was selected Coach of the Year after leading the team to a 12-5-3 record and 39 points, tying them with the Kickers (11-3-6), but earning their first regular season crown in the 14-year history of the franchise on a tiebreaker.
He is 109-69-40 with the Hammerheads since joining them in 1999 and has led them to back-to-back USL2 Championship finals appearances in 2002 and 2003.
Forward Jamie Watson became the first Wilmington player in team history to be named USL2's Most Valuable Player and win either the Scoring Championship or the Goal Scoring Championship in the same season.
Watson won the Scoring Championship with 30 points on 12 goals and six assists, but lost the Goal Scoring Championship by one goal over Richmond's Matthew Delicate on the final day of the regular season. Watson also tied for third with three other players -- Diego Martins and Jorge Herrera of the Charlotte Eagles, and former Harrisburg City Islanders player Tiyiselani Shipalane -- in the Assists Championship with six each, and was fourth overall in shots with 38.
Before joining Wilmington, Watson had seven goals and three assists in 13 games in 2007 for the Austin Aztex in the Premier Development League. He also played in Major League Soccer for Real Salt Lake (2005-07) and FC Dallas (2008).
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