CARSON, CALIF. – Major League Soccer
announced today that LA Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez has been selected
as the MLS Defender of the Year. The first Galaxy player to win the
award since Robin Fraser did in 1999; Gonzalez beat out fellow finalists
Nat Borchers and Jamison Olave from Real Salt Lake to win the award for
the first time in his three-year MLS career. Selected as a finalist for
the award for the second consecutive season, he becomes the youngest
player in MLS history to be selected as the league’s Defender of the
Year.
One of the most physically imposing central defenders in MLS, Gonzalez
enjoyed his finest season in a Galaxy uniform, helping the Galaxy win
their second consecutive Supporters’ Shield while allowing an MLS-low 28
goals in 34 regular season contests. With Gonzalez appearing in and
starting 29 of the club’s 34 games, the Galaxy equaled a league record
by recording 17 clean sheets and setting a club record by allowing just
0.82 goals per game, which was the third lowest goals allowed per game
average in MLS history. Voted the Galaxy’s Defender of the Year by the
local media for the second consecutive season, Gonzalez has played every
minute of LA’s three postseason games so far, helping lead the Galaxy to
a second MLS Cup berth in his three years with the club.
Named to the MLS All-Star First XI for the second straight season,
though he was forced to miss the game with an injury, Gonzalez was also
instrumental in the Galaxy’s success on attacking set pieces, tying a
career-high with two goals while also adding an assist. The 23-year-old
added two more goals and another assist, all from set pieces, in
non-league competitions, scoring once in the Champions League while
recording a goal and an assist in the 2-1 win over the L.A. Blues in the
Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup, with the Galaxy recording a perfect
4-0-0 record this season when he scored a goal.
Including the postseason, the Galaxy are 25-5-9 in the 39 games that
the Dallas-native has played in all competitions, compared to 2-3-1 in
the six games that he has missed.
Gonzalez and the rest of the Galaxy will look to win their third MLS
Cup in club history and first since 2005 on Sunday, November 20 when
they take on the Houston Dynamo in MLS Cup 2011. That game, which is
schedule to start at 6 p.m., will be played at The Home Depot Center and
can be seen live on ESPN and Galavision in the United States and in more
than 100 countries around the world.
