NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



 Major League Soccer

MLS Announces 2012 Awards Finalists

November 15, 2012 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


NEW YORK (Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012) - Major League Soccer today announced the finalists for its 2012 postseason awards. The winners for each award will be revealed in the coming weeks.

The finalists, listed in alphabetical order below for each award, earned the most votes in polling of three voting groups:

- Current MLS players

- MLS Clubs (Coaches, Technical Directors, Chief Business Officers and PR/Community Relations)

- Media members who covered MLS regularly in 2012

This season's most outstanding individual plays will be honored on Thursday, Nov. 29 when the AT&T Goal of the Year and the Save of the Year are announced. Voting for the Goal and Save of the Year is conducted on the League's official web site MLSsoccer.com .

The awards announcements conclude on Thursday, Nov. 29 with the unveiling of the 2012 Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player.

2012 Major League Soccer Awards Finalists

(Listed in alphabetical order by last name within each award category)

Rookie of the Year Finalists

Austin Berry (Chicago Fire)

Nick DeLeon (D.C. United)

Darren Mattocks (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

Xbox Individual Fair Play Finalists*

Ante Jazic (Chivas USA)

Logan Pause (Chicago Fire)

Heath Pearce (New York Red Bulls)

*Selected by MLS based on objective criteria such as fouls committed, cards received, games & minutes played, as well as subjective evaluation of sportsmanlike behavior.

Xbox Team Fair Play Finalists*

Chicago Fire

Houston Dynamo

New England Revolution

*Selected by MLS based on objective criteria such as fewest fouls committed, cards received, and on subjective evaluation of sportsmanlike behavior.

Defender of the Year Finalists

Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes)

Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City)

Aurelien Collin (Sporting Kansas City)

MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year Finalists

Kei Kamara (Sporting Kansas City)

Michael Lahoud (Philadelphia Union)

Chris Seitz (FC Dallas)

Referee of the Year Finalists

Silviu Petrescu

Baldomero Toledo

Armando Villarreal

Assistant Referee of the Year Finalists

Ian Anderson

Gregory Barkey

Corey Parker

Coach of the Year Finalists

Ben Olsen (D.C. United)

Peter Vermes (Sporting Kansas City)

Frank Yallop (San Jose Earthquakes)

Comeback Player of the Year Finalists

Alan Gordon (San Jose Earthquakes)

Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC)

Chris Pontius (D.C. United)

Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists

Michael Gspurning (Seattle Sounders FC)

Dan Kennedy (Chivas USA)

Jimmy Nielsen (Sporting Kansas City)

Newcomer of the Year Finalists

Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes)

Michael Gspurning (Seattle Sounders FC)

Federico Higuain (Columbus Crew)

Volkswagen Most Valuable Player Finalists

Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls)

Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

Awards Announcements Schedule:

Schedule subject to change

November 19: MLS Rookie of the Year, Xbox Fair Play Individual & Team of the Year

November 20: MLS Defender of the Year, MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year, and Referee/Assistant Referee of the Year

November 26: 2012 MLS Best XI

November 27: MLS Coach of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year

November 28: Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year and Newcomer of the Year

November 29: AT&T Goal of the Year, MLS Save of the Year and Volkswagen MLS MVP


• Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board...

Major League Soccer Stories from November 15, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central