Cleveland City Stars are the Professional United Soccer Leagues

August, 2008

At Friday's USL-2 Awards Ceremony and Media Luncheon at Cleveland City Hall, Cleveland captain Mark Schulte was named the 2008 USL-2 Defender of the Year.  Schulte is the first ever repeat winner of the award that was established in 1998.

The 6'3" Schulte led a Cleveland defense that surrendered just 16 goals on the season.  Schulte was named to the USL-2 Team of the Week six different times throughout the season.

During his time in Cleveland, the Brecksville native has played in 38 games and captained the team to a combined record of 20-4-16, including 14-0-6 at Krenzler Stadium.

"It's a testament to Mark's work ethic and leadership that he was able to win this award again," said Cleveland Head Coach Martin Rennie.  "He's the leader of the back line and those guys all did a tremendous job for us this season.  Having Mark back there really helps us out and it allows us to possess the ball and then get out and attack.  We all are very happy for Mark to be recognized by the league and it couldn't happen to a better person."