CARSON, Calif. (Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014) – The LA Galaxy and Major League Soccer announced today that four Galaxy players have been named finalists for 2014 MLS Awards. Forward Robbie Keane was named a finalist for the Volkswagen Most Valuable Player, Omar Gonzalez for Defender of the Year, Stefan Ishizaki for Newcomer of the Year and A.J. DeLaGarza for MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year. Additionally, the LA Galaxy were named an Xbox Team Fair Play finalist.
Awards will be announced beginning next Tuesday, Nov. 25 and continue through Thursday, Nov. 24. A full schedule is outlined below.
Keane recorded his best season in an LA Galaxy uniform during the 2014 MLS Regular Season, scoring 19 goals and recording 14 assists, both career highs. The Irish international scored the third-most goals in MLS while being tied for the second-most assists, giving him the highest combination of goals and assists in the League. Keane also led all players in game-winning assists with six on the year.
With 22 starts on the year, Gonzalez anchored a Galaxy backline that allowed an MLS-low 37 goals all season. In addition to his contributions from his position in central defense, the six-year veteran scored four goals and added two assists on the season.
In his first season with the Galaxy, Ishizaki made 30 MLS appearances while scoring five times and adding seven assists, three of which were game winners. After joining the club this offseason from IF Elfsborg, the midfielder contributed immediately with two goals and two assists in his first five appearances for the club.
DeLaGarza has volunteered numerous hours this year to support the Los Angeles community. The defender has graciously given his time to Camps for Kids, visiting patients at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and unveiling a new soccer field in South Los Angeles. When his son, Luca, was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, DeLaGarza immediately thought of the other families affected by this condition and directed all monetary support to the Heart Center at CHLA, raising over $25,000.
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
