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SOME YOUNG IDEAS: Red Bulls forward Josner Altidore was voted U.S. Soccer young male athlete of 2006.

New York Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore capped off a memorable 2006 as he was named U.S. Soccer young male athlete of the year Tuesday.

Altidore, 17, made his mark during the end of his rookie season. He scored three goals, including two game-winners against the Columbus Crew and Chicago Fire in the last seven regular-season games, helping the Red Bulls sneak into the MLS playoffs.

Against D.C. United in the home-and-away Eastern Conference semifinal series, Altidore notched the lone goal for the Red Bulls with a world-class header in the second match.

Altidore has earned a spot on the U.S. Under-20 National Team, which will try to qualify for the 2007 FIFA world championships in that age group next month.

U.S. women's forward Danesha Adams won the young female award.

She was a standout for the U-20 and U-21 Women?s National Teams and also earned her first cap for the senior Women?s National Team against Chinese Taipei.

Adams was the leading scorer for the U-21s in 2006, striking for nine goals, including a team-leading five at the Nordic Cup, which included a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Norway that sent the U.S. to the title game. Adams did her best work at the FIFA U-20 Women?s World Championship, where she won the bronze ball as the tournament?s third most valuable player and was named to the FIFA all-star team.

Online votes registered at ussoccer.com were tallied and equivalent to 50 percent of the total votes, while the other 50 percent was compiled from votes by members of the national media and U.S. Soccer representatives (from National Team coaches to the National Board of Directors). A player can only win the young athlete award once in their career.