MLS announces Carlos Ruiz bicycle kick named Sierra Mist Goal of the Decade
March 7, 2006 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release
NEW YORK (Tuesday,March 7 2006) - Carlos Ruiz, FC Dallas's star striker and a long-time contributor of memorable MLS goals, won the Sierra Mist Goal of the Decade, MLSnet.com announced today. Ruiz' stunning bicycle kick goal against D.C. United during the 2005 season received the most votes among a group of 30 candidates in an on-line poll of over 150,000 fans on www.MLSnet.com.
The Sierra Mist Goal of the Decade competition celebrates the many spectacular goals scored during MLS's first decade of existence. Of the 5,637 goals that have been scored in MLS games over the past 10 seasons, the 30 finalists for each season's Goal of the Year title were nominated for this competition. Three initial rounds of voting whittled the group down to five finalists. In the final round, Ruiz's goal garnered 36.1 percent of the fan vote. Over all four rounds the goal captured a remarkable 24% of the online voting.
Ruiz also earned the distinction of being the only player to have three goals among the 30 candidates for the award, despite having played only four seasons in the league. Indeed, the runner-up Goal of the Decade was another strike from the Guatemalan international. Ruiz's goal also beat out goals scored by finalists John Wolyniec, Dwayne De Rosario and Brian McBride.
The winning goal was an expertly taken bicycle kick off a cross from FC Dallas teammate Roberto Mina in the 49th minute of a game against D.C. United on May 28, 2005. Ruiz would go on to score a second goal in that game to lead the Hoops to a 2-0 victory.
Final round voting percentages:
Carlos Ruiz - 2005: 36.1%
Carlos Ruiz - 2003: 24.4%
John Wolyniec - 2003: 17.1%
Dwayne De Rosario - 2005: 15.4%
Brian McBride - 1996: 6.9%
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