PORTLAND, Ore. – T2 forward Kharlton Belmar was named as one of three finalists for the USL Rookie of the Year award, the league announced today. Belmar joins Brady Ballew of Tulsa Roughnecks FC and Ken Tribbett of the Harrisburg City Islanders as the three finalists.
The 2015 USL Awards will be announced from Oct. 26-30, alongside the 2015 USL All-League Teams. The Rookie of the Year award will be announced Thursday, Oct. 29. Voting was conducted by team management and a national panel of media in each USL market. Fans will also get the opportunity to vote this week, ahead of the final announcement.
Belmar, 22, was the leading goal scorer in T2’s inaugural season, tallying 12 goals and recording three assists in 28 games. He finished the year ranked seventh overall in goals (12) and tied for seventh in points (27) in USL. Belmar was selected to the USL Team of the Week three times this season, earning Player of the Week honors in Week 6 for scoring two goals on the road at Arizona United SC on April 25. The former Virginia Commonwealth University standout featured in all 28 of Portland’s USL matches, starting 27 games and recording three multi-goal games. He also started against England’s Newcastle United in an international friendly held at Providence Park on July 21 and featured in two 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches, scoring the go-ahead goal on May 19 against the Michigan Bucks in the second round of the tournament.
A second-round pick (No. 34 overall) by the Portland Timbers in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft out of VCU, Belmar also was a member of the Timbers U-23s Premier Development League (PDL) team in 2014 before beginning his professional career with T2 during their inaugural USL season.
