When players I’ve covered over the years earn major awards, I don’t think about the stats they’ve accumulated over the courses of their careers. I think about the moments I remember the most vividly, the marks that these athletes made on my brain.

“Ben has been one of the top young players we have had come through our Residency program and Emmanuel is a raw talent who we are interested in seeing further development,” said Whitecaps coach Martin Rennie in a release issued by the club.

The Montreal Impact confirmed Thursday that it has pulled its U21 team out of the embattled Canadian Soccer League.

Less than a week after cutting Canadian Matt Stinson from the roster, Toronto FC has added Ryan Richter, who had been trialling with the club.

Both Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact took part in full scrimmages Wednesday as they took advantage of a break in the schedule at the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando, Fla.

The USL-Pro division has announced it will allow its teams to each add five roster spots for academy players.

Within the first five minutes of Vancouver’s opening game of the Carolina Challenge Cup against the Charleston Battery, Darren Mattocks and Kekuta Manneh demonstrated their dynamic and dangerous partnership that fans are hoping will lead the Whitecaps to success this season. By the 30th minute, Manneh had already bagged a pair of goals — one with Mattock’s assistance –— en …

And, the Impact scored early and often as it overwhelmed the reigning NASL champion Tampa Bay Rowdies 4-1 at the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando, while Toronto FC overcame a terrible start in a torrential first-hald downpour to overcome USL-Pro’s Orlando City 2-0.

Make no mistake, the CSA’s decision to protect a national Div. 3 vision, while at the same time endorsing a report which backs away from a national Div. 2 strategy, represents a major, major win for NASL over USL. FC Edmonton and Ottawa will be recognized as Div. 2 in NASL, while USL can’t cross the border — at least not in a way that would be recognized as, well, Canadian.

“From the MLS side of things, I can see why this good for them. Each team can have more players under contract. They can hold on to more players. But, for the players, this limits their free-market options, when they find that they have been relegated to playing for a minor-league team.”