Jamison Olave takes home the Defender of the Year award. (Getty Images)

There should have been no surprised in the MLS Defender of the Year award race and really we knew it would come down to one RSL player over another. Jamison Olave takes home the award over teammate Nat Borchers and LA Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez today.

The 29-year-old Colombian, helped anchor a backline for RSL that gave up 20-goals, the fewest in league history. Just a ridiculous stat for a 30 game season. Olave also helped score three goals this season and cut down on his card issue that had hurt him in the past. He was only carded eight times this season but was never suspended for any red cards unlike the three he had in 2009.

The league also handed out its awards to the Referee of the Year and the Assistant Referee of the Year. Worst. Awards. Ever. But for those who care Kevin Slott took home the Ref of the Year while Craig Lowry took home the Assistant of the year.

Make that two straight Defender of the Year awards for Columbus’ Chad Marshall. The league announced today Marshall won the award for best defender.

Marshall helped lead the Columbus defense that only allowed 31 goals during the regular season, a record low for the Crew. What’s more impressive is that he only played in 18 games for the Crew this season as he missed a few games with the US National team and a few others to injury.

The Crew won their second straight Supporter’s Shield trophy this season behind the third best defense in the goals-against category. The Crew fell behind both Seattle and Houston for the least amount of goals given up this season.

While I may have not had Marshall as my number one pick for this award (that went to Houston’s Geoff Cameron) he was a very close second for me in the voting. No doubt I have no issues with him grabbing this award for a second straight season as the Crew are certainly better with him on the pitch.

I’ll have to admit some awards were tougher to vote on than others but I tried to span the entire season’s body of work as much as I could for these awards. The way you vote for these awards is to give your first, second and third place votes for each. Now I will leave out the lesser awards like best PR from a club and best ref of the year. The rest I will list below.

Robert Warzycha was the best coach fo the year for me. (Getty Images)

Coach of the Year:

1. Robert Warzycha (Columbus): Some will definitely disagree with me on this one and I will be honest I really went back and forth on this award but at the end of the day I had to give it up to a guy that kept things just the way they were and got this club to a second straight Supporter’s Shield trophy. Consistency is key in this league and its even more amazing to see it happen after a coaching change.

2. Sigi Schmid (Seattle): I think anytime you take an expansion team to the playoffs you deserve some big time credit for it.

3. Bruce Arena (LA): I kind of have a feeling he will end up with this award but he didn’t get my top vote but not because he didn’t deserve it. The job he did in LA was definitely one of his best. I am just waiting to see if it turns into a MLS Cup before I call it his best work.

Defender of the Year:

1. Geoff Cameron (Houston): One of the easier award for me to vote on. Cameron was consistent and easily the best defender of the year in my eyes.

2. Chad Marshall (Columbus): Had he stayed healthy through the entire season he would have won back-to-back votes from me for this. It was close but his injuries hurt him I thought for this award.

3. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Seattle): The biggest X-factor on that Seattle defense is Hurtado. The guy is that good folks.

Goalkeeper of the Year:

1. Zach Thornton (Chivas USA): His stats are huge and so was his season.

2. Kasey Keller (Seattle): Keller was a very close two for me in this award. Just amazing that he is still on such good form for his age.

3. Donovan Ricketts (LA): Best pickup by the Galaxy in probably the last two years.

Rookie of the Year:

1. Darrius Barnes (New England): There is something to be said for a rookie picked in the third round to play every minute of every game in his first year. That’s consistency folks and Barnes proved he will be a big time player for years to come in this league.

2. Omar Gonzalez (LA): I expect him to actually win this award and for good reasons too. I did feel at times early on he was a little overrated but the combination of him and last year’s ROY Sean Franklin will be a good one to watch for the next couple of seasons.

3. Stefan Frei (Toronto): I think injuries got in the way of him sneaking up the board late in the year but this kid definitely had a great rookie campaign for the Reds.

Comeback Player of the Year:

1. Zach Thornton (Chivas USA): This one was tough for me between Thornton and Olsen. I just could get by the fact that Thornton had been so bad for a few years and then lost weight over the winter last year and came back stronger and better than ever.

2. Ben Olsen (DC United): Again it was tough for me on this one since Olsen finally had a pretty full season with DC for a change. But something in me just didn’t give it to him.

3. Ty Harden (Colorado): Amazing to believe that when you leave the game for a year for personal reasons that you can come back and still play well with a new team. Harden proved that.

Newcomer of the Year:

1. Fredy Montero (Seattle): Very little doubt who was the best newcomer this season.

2. David Ferreira (Dallas): I didn’t care for this pickup earlier in the year but once he finally got a hold of things with Dallas in the middle of the summer things really turned around for him and for Dallas.

3. Kasey Keller (Seattle): Hard not to list him here, he would have been number two for me had Ferreira not made a late charge with Dallas.

MLS MVP:

1. Landon Donovan (LA): This one was tougher than ever but at the end of the day I just couldn’t get over Donovan’s worth to his club over the entire season. Not the final month or even the final game but the entire season. Take him away and LA is no better than Dallas or Kansas City in my mind.

2. Jeff Cunningham (Dallas): Had he helped get Dallas into the playoffs he would have won this award. I guess a Golden Boot award isn’t so bad either though.

3. Shalrie Joseph (New England): His team is in the playoffs and no doubt a lot of it had to do with him.

WVH Best XI

Keeper: Zach Thornton (Chivas)

Defense: Chad Marshall (Columbus), Geoff Cameron (Houston), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Seattle)

Midfield: Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto), Landon Donovan (LA), Shalrie Joseph (New England), Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle), and David Ferreira (Dallas)

Forwards: Fredy Montero (Seattle), Jeff Cunningham (Dallas)

Notes:

Voting structure was a 3-5-2. Oddly enough last year they had Columbus’ Guillermo Barros Schelotto as a midfielder but this year they listed him under the strikers. Had he been listed as a midfielder I would have easily voted him in as one of the best eleven on the year. Also, two months ago this would have easily been a debate between two Colorado teammates in Conor Casey and Omar Cummings. They were easily passed over by Cunningham in the end for me.

I also went back and forth on Ferreria in the midfield. At the end he scored a vote over guys like Stuart Holden and Brad Davis from Houston.

Anyways, I’ll have a full rundown next week of who I voted for and why. Not to say that I won’t take some input from you all on these matters. Tonight I wanted to go into another award race that is pretty tight as the one I discussed earlier in the day. The Defender of the Year.

This is another award that is going to be very tightly contested between a number of players. Last year we saw Columbus’ Chad Marshall run away with the award, and while he is in the running yet again for it this year I don’t believe he has completely won everyone over for it this season.

Who exactly do I see in the running? I have a few guys here listed below that I think are all candidates for this award. If you feel I left anyone out just comment below with a good reason and they may get my consideration.

Chad Marshall (Columbus): Yes Marshall is in the running and you got to believe he will get his fair share of votes this season. The thing is his injury issues will keep him off some folks ballots and at the end of it all I kind of doubt he will repeat as Defender of the Year.

Geoff Cameron (Houston): Had the season ended last weekend you could bet Cameron would be the top choice for this award. More than likely we should see Cameron walk away with the award this season for many reasons. He’s been by far one of the most consistent defenders in the league and how sick was the bicycle save last week?

Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Seattle): Some say Kasey Keller has been the reason why the expansion Sounders have been fairly solid on defense this year but I would argue that it is mostly been due to the play of Hurtado. This winter addition has been one of those that you have to give the Seattle front office credit for because he’s been a total gem of a find.

Wilman Conde (Chicago): About two months ago I would have said he was the top choice for this award but as the Fire have slipped lately so has Conde’s play. Conde is still one of the best defenders in the league but something tells me the in-house issues in Chicago still remain and Conde won’t be there next year.

Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas): One of the reasons why Chivas USA has been near the top all year is due to the consistent play of Bornstein. He missed a decent amount of time this summer with the National team but it hasn’t kept him from picking up the slack when he is with the Goats. The Chivas defense would be nothing without him I think.

Omar Gonzalez (LA): The LA rookie has been very good, so good in fact that he has a shot at two awards (other being rookie of the year).

Others in consideration: Darrius Barnes (New England), Bobby Boswell (Houston), Tyrone Marshall (Seattle).———————————————————

Playoff Scenarios Will Make Your Head Hurt

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I’ve come close to posting the playoff scenarios for this weekend but there are so damn many of them that it makes my head hurt even trying. Thankfully Beau Dure has us all covered.

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Hello Mr. Gulati

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Ever wanna know what it is like to actually talk to USSF president Sunil Gulati? Well new writer Brian Morse over at MatchFit USA has you covered. Seriously, this is real conversations between a fan like yourself and Gulati. Guess the USSF does care when you email them. Very cool read.

For each award I’ll give a quick rundown of guys in the running for the award. Each list is in no real order at this time since it would be almost silly to rank each player (or coach) at this point with so much left to do this season.

Feel free as always to give your thoughts on the awards and who you think should be at the top of each list.

MVP

Players in the running:

• Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus
• Landon Donovan (LA)
• Fredy Montero (Seattle)
• Brad Davis (Houston)
• Shalrie Joesph (New England)

This will be a very tight race if some parties stay hurt (GBS) or are gone for national team games (Donovan). I put Joesph on the list because I’ve always been a fan of how underrated he is in this league. Without him New England would be close to what Dallas and San Jose are right now in the standings. Montero gets on the list because of the excitement he has brought to Seattle this year, and his numbers are really good. Davis is another underrated guy that more people need to look at. Houston wouldn’t nearly be as well run in the midfield if it weren’t for him.

Rookie of the Year:

Player in the running:

• Chris Pontius (DC)
• Rodney Wallace (DC)
• Stefan Frei (Toronto)
• Steve Zakuani (Seattle)
• Darrius Barnes (New England)
• Omar Gonzalez (LA)

Pontius and Wallace make a tough one-two punch for this running for each other really. Both deserve a look. Frei is the only rookie keeper that starts and I’d imagine TFC wouldn’t be contending if it weren’t for him in goal. We know what Zakuani has done in Seattle, but playing may hurt him in the running here down the strech. Barnes was an amazing find late in the draft by Steve Nicol. Last and not least is Gonzalez who has really helped turn the LA defense into a very underrated bunch this season that isn’t letting in a lot of goals. He may very well be a darkhorse in this race.

Newcomer of the Year:

Players in the running:

• Fredy Montero (Seattle)
• Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle)
• Eduardo Lillingston (Chivas)
• Donovan Ricketts (LA)

In all honesty this award will have to go to a Sounder. Just make a pick really to which one. In the end it will between Montero and Alonso. Both have been just as important as the other for this club so far this season. My money would be on Montero though I know Alonso is the better pick here.

Coach of the Year

Coaches in the running:

• Preki (Chivas)
• Dominic Kinnear (Houston)
• Rob Warzycha (Columbus)
• Bruce Arena (LA)
• Sigi Schmid (Seattle)

A bunch of western coaches and one lone eastern coach (for now). I put Warzycha over the other eastern coaches for getting this club back at the top of the table here after the slow start. Plus he had to deal with a load of injuries to this club at the start of the season, he weathered the storm and is doing really well with this bunch right now.

Arena may end up with this award if LA reaches the playoffs this year with the circus that is going on in LA-land. As long as things stay semi-normal out there and the club continues to do well, I really can’t see anyone else winning this award but Bruce. A lot of games left though so we will see how he holds things together out there.

Goalkeeper of the Year

Players in the running:

• Zach Thornton (Chivas)
• Pat Onstad (Houston)
• Donovan Ricketts (LA)
• Kasey Keller (Seattle)

Some may get angry to not see a keeper from the eastern conference on the watchlist but right now not a single one has made a legitimate case like these four have. I know Thornton and Chivas have cooled off but there is no denying what they’ve done this season as a whole. Ricketts may be the single biggest reason to why LA is doing well this season and Keller and Onstad just have amazing stats right now. This one is still wide open though.

Defender of the Year

Players in the running:

• Wilman Conde (Chicago)
• Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Seattle)
• Bobby Boswell (Houston)
• Geoff Cameron (Houston)

Boswell and Cameron may end up canceling each other out by the end of the year for this award. Hurtado is a beast that more people need to start talking about here. And Conde is what he is, some games he is just so amazing in the back for the Fire.

For most people Chad Marshall was the best defender in the league this year. I may have not voted for the guy but I can’t argue that fact that he was so dominate this year for Columbus. He’s big, physical and a guy that should get looked at for minutes by the US National Team.

Marshall just edged out Kansas City’s Jimmy Conrad and Chicago’s Bakary Soumare.

His stats should speak for themselves. Marshall started and played 29 games during the regular season. He helped the Crew capture their second Supporters’ Shield trophy. Marshall scored four goals in 2008, tied for fifth on the team with striker Steven Lenhart.

Marshall goes down with some of the best defenders in the league history by winning this award. Here are the past winners:

2008: Chad Marshall – Columbus Crew
2007: Michael Parkhurst – New England Revolution
2006: Bobby Boswell – D.C. United
2005: Jimmy Conrad – Kansas City Wizards
2004: Robin Fraser – Columbus Crew
2003: Carlos Bocanegra – Chicago Fire
2002: Carlos Bocanegra – Chicago Fire
2001: Jeff Agoos – San Jose Earthquakes
2000: Peter Vermes – Kansas City Wizards
1999: Robin Fraser – Los Angeles Galaxy
1998: Lubos Kubik – Chicago Fire
1997: Eddie Pope – D.C. United
1996: John Doyle – San Jose Earthquakes

Not bad company really. Congrats to Marshall and the Crew for this award. He definitely deserved it.

Goalkeeper (Nov. 4 announcement)
Jon Busch, Chicago Fire
Will Hesmer, Columbus Crew
Matt Reis, New England Revolution

Fair Play (Nov. 4)
Juan Pablo Angel, New York Red Bulls
Michael Parkhurst, New England Revolution
Chris Rolfe, Chicago Fire

Comeback (Nov. 22)
Jon Busch, Chicago Fire
Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas
Santino Quaranta, D.C. United

Defender (Nov. 6)
Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Wizards
Chad Marshall, Columbus Crew
Bakary Soumare, Chicago Fire
(I actually voted for Gonzalo Segares, Chicago Fire)

Rookie (Nov. 13)
Geoff Cameron, Houston Dynamo
Kheli Dube, New England Revolution
Sean Franklin, Los Angeles Galaxy

Coach (Nov. 11)
Dominic Kinnear, Houston Dynamo
Sigi Schmid, Columbus Crew
Frank Yallop, San Jose Earthquakes

Most Valuable Player (Nov. 20)
Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Chicago Fire
Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Galaxy
Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Crew

Newcomer (Nov. 11)
Darren Huckerby, San Jose Earthquakes
Claudio Lopez, Kansas City Wizards
Andre Rocha, FC Dallas

A lot of end-of-season awards in Major League Soccer are just as tight as the playoff race. I’ve been tracking the Rookie of the Year and MVP races for some time now but I figured I would weigh in on all the awards for once since we are in the final few weeks of the season.

MLS MVP Award:

1. Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Crew: His club may be playing well without him but his numbers still make a serious case for MVP this season. He should be back soon, which can only mean his soccer IQ on the field will enhance the Crew even more here.
2. Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy: 19 goals in just 21 games. I think that may be all I need to say here. Earlier I thought his production wasn’t enough for the MVP this year but I am thinking otherwise now.
3. Shalrie Joseph, New England Revolution: He and his club may be stumbling but that should all work itself out once the Revs clinch a playoff spot.
4. Darren Huckerby, San Jose Earthquakes: If this were a half-season MVP I would probably have a tough time picking between Schelotto and Huckerby. Both have been stellar in the second half of the season. Huckerby has only been here for a half season, just think what he can do for a full year.
5. Juan Pablo Angel, New York Red Bulls: He’s forth in goals this season in the league but I don’t think that will be enough to get him this award this year.

Others in the discussion:

Javier Morales, RSL; Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Chicago; Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas; Jamie Moreno, DC United; and Sacha Kljestan, Chivas USA.

Newcomer of the Year:

1. Darren Huckerby, San Jose Earthquakes: No doubt that Huckerby will win this one. In nine games with the Quakes, he has scored six goals. Not to shabby.
2. Andre Rocha, FC Dallas: A bit of a homer pick for me but I’ve loved Rocha’s play on the field this season. At times it’s been tough to watch but most of the time he has been a solid addition to the Hoop’s midfield.
3. Rohan Ricketts, Toronto FC: There has to be a bright spot in a dark season for the Reds, that bright spot is Ricketts.
4. Jorge Rojas, New York Red Bulls: Let’s face it, since the addition of Rojas the Red Bulls have looked like a whole new club. He’s a big reason for that.
5. Emmanuel Ekpo, Columbus Crew: This Olympian has given Sigi Schmid a nice addition on the wings.

Others in the discussion:

Jamison Olave, RSL; Louis Crayton, DC United; and Francisco Lima, San Jose Earthquakes.

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Rookie of the Year:

1. Kheli Dube, New England Revolution: Some think that Dube isn’t the front-runner anymore, I think otherwise. Then again, this year’s award may be anyone’s guess at this point.
2. Andy Iro, Columbus Crew: I still like Iro could sneek in and win this award. But will the voters feel the same way?
3. Geoff Cameron, Houston Dynamo: Expect to see more of him in the final weeks of the season.
4. Justin Braun, Chivas USA: He’ll get more minutes as well which could really help him out in this award race.
5. Sean Franklin, LA Galaxy: Some have him as the front-runner but I think he played himself out of that a while back. Could he sneak up again though is the question?

Others in the discussion:

Roger Espinoza, KC Wizards; Stephen King, Chicago Fire; and Steven Lenhart, Columbus Crew.

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Goalkeeper of the Year:

1. Jon Busch, Chicago Fire: Best stats in the league, to his credit though his defense in front of him is pretty darn good too.
2. Joe Cannon, San Jose Earthquakes: Cannon is a very close second right now for me in this race. Should the Quakes get in the playoffs he will earn a bunch of votes for this in the process. And rightfully so.
3. William Hesmer, Columbus Crew: Hey his club is still top dog in the league, and he is a reason for it.
4. Matt Reis, New England Revolution: I still think Reis is one of the best keepers in the league. From time to time he isn’t able to show it because of faulty defense.
5. Pat Onstad, Houston Dynamo: Onstad is in that same category as Reis. Solid every year.

Others in the discussion:

None, really outside of Busch and Cannon there isn’t much of a race going on here.

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Defender of the Year:

1. Gonzalo Segaras, Chicago Fire: There’s little doubt in my mind he will win this award this season.
2. Michael Parkhurst, New England Revolution: We know what Parkhurst can, but can he work his way to the top of this list?
3. Wilham Conde, Chicago Fire: People love Segares and hate Conde at the same time. Its a shame too because Conde is a beast.
4. Chad Marshall, Columbus Crew: Speaking of a beast, Marshall is one of those guys that probably is due for a National team call-up.
5. Bobby Boswell, Houston Dynamo: Think DC is wishing they hadn’t traded Boswell before the season?

Others in the discussion:

Jimmy Conrad, KC Wizards; Bakary Soumare, Chicago Fire; Jamison Olave, RSL; and Wade Barrett, Houston Dynamo.

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Coach of the Year:

1. Sigi Schmid, Columbus Crew: Once the Crew wrap up the Supporter’s Shield so does Sigi wrapping this award up. Or has he already done so? Maybe.
2. Preki, Chivas USA: His club may have had a rough year but you cannot deny how well Preki has handled it all this year.
3. Frank Yallop, San Jose Earthquakes: Can Yallop get his club to be the first expansion club to reach the playoffs since Chicago did so back in 1998?
4. Dominic Kinnear, Houston Dynamo: Two MLS Cups and possibly one more on the way? Simply remarkable if you ask me.
5. Steve Nicol, New England Revolution: Nicol has navigated his club through a heavy schedule.