Major League Soccer announced its 2014 award finalists as Columbus Crew Soccer Club has three individuals eligible for League honors. Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter is up for Coach of the Year following his first year at the helm; newcomer Steve Clark is a finalist for Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year; and Captain Michael Parkhurst looks to secure the Xbox Individual Fair Play award for the third time in his career.
The 2014 campaign featured a record of 14-10-10 in the regular season in Berhalter’s first campaign in Columbus. Berhalter became the only Head Coach in Black & Gold history to lead the club to the postseason in his first full year on the job without any prior interim experience. Of the three finalists for the award, Berhalter is the lone first-year MLS coach. Crew SC closed the 2014 regular season on a 6-0-0 tear at home, outscoring opponents by a 15-2 margin over the span. The Black & Gold were not shut-out in the final eight regular-season matches.
In his first season with the Black & Gold – and Major League Soccer – Clark made all 34 starts and went 14-10-10 with a 1.24 goals against average and eight shutouts, tying the goalkeeper for fifth all-time for single-season shutouts in a Crew SC uniform. He was named the Crew’s Defender of the Year and captured the Kirk Urso Heart Award and was one of just five League players to play every minute for his club in 2014. He was nominated for the League’s Save of the Week four times, and took home the award after a double-stop in the 2-1 victory over Montreal on July 19.
- VIDEO:Steve Clark’s 2014 Recap
The nomination for Michael Parkhurst is his third after securing back-to-back Xbox Fair Play awards in 2007 and 2008 with New England. In his return to Major League Soccer in 2014, Parkhurst captained the Crew and made 33 appearances on the backline. In more than 13,000 regular-season minutes in his career, Parkhurst has never been issued a red card. He was named to and represented the club with a start at the 2014 AT&T MLS All-Star Game in Portland, the club’s first All-Star since 2010.
The Xbox Fair Play award is set to be announced on November 24, Coach of the Year is scheduled to be revealed on December 2 and Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year honors are unveiled on December 3.
A complete list of the finalists and announcement timeline is below:
2014 Major League Soccer Awards Finalists
(Listed in alphabetical order by last name within each award category)
Volkswagen Most Valuable Player Finalists
- Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy)
- Obafemi Martins (Seattle Sounders FC)
- Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution)
AT&T Rookie of the Year Finalists
- Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas)
- Steven Birnbaum (D.C. United)
- Harrison Shipp (Chicago Fire)
Defender of the Year Finalists
- Bobby Boswell (D.C. United)
- Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy)
- Chad Marshall (Seattle Sounders FC)
Coach of the Year Finalists
- Gregg Berhalter (Columbus Crew SC)
- Ben Olsen (D.C. United)
- Sigi Schmid (Seattle Sounders FC)
Comeback Player of the Year Finalists
- Charlie Davies (New England Revolution)
- Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders FC)
- Rodney Wallace (Portland Timbers)
Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists
- Steve Clark (Columbus Crew SC)
- Bill Hamid (D.C. United)
- Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Newcomer of the Year Finalists
- Stefan Ishizaki (LA Galaxy)
- Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution)
- Pedro Morales (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year Finalists
- Diego Chara (Portland Timbers)
- AJ DeLaGarza (LA Galaxy)
- Zach Loyd (FC Dallas)
Xbox Individual Fair Play Finalists
- Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers)
- Michael Parkhurst (Columbus Crew SC)
- Harrison Shipp (Chicago Fire)
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
- LA Galaxy
- Philadelphia Union
- Real Salt Lake
Selected by MLS based on objective criteria such as fewest fouls committed, cards received, and on subjective evaluation of sportsmanlike behavior.
Referee of the Year Finalists
- Mark Geiger
- Jair Marrufo
- Alan Kelly
Assistant Referee of the Year Finalists
- Peter Manikowski
- Paul Scott
- Adam Wienckowski
Awards Announcements Schedule:
Schedule subject to change
November 24: AT&T Rookie of the Year, Xbox Fair Play Individual and Team of the Year
November 25: MLS Defender of the Year, MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year, and Referee/Assistant Referee of the Year
December 2: MLS Coach of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year and MLS Best XI
December 3: Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Volkswagen MLS MVP
December 4: AT&T Goal of the Year, MLS Save of the Year
