FRISCO, Texas (Monday, Nov. 24, 2014) –
Tesho Akindele
has been named Major League Soccer’s 2014 AT&T Rookie of the Year, the league announced today.
The first FC Dallas player ever to earn the honor, Akindele notched seven goals and three assists during the regular season through 26 MLS appearances. The 22-year-old played every minute of FC Dallas’ playoff run and became the youngest Dallas player to score a playoff goal. The Canadian-born Akindele also became the first FC Dallas rookie to record a hat trick when he found the back of the net three times in a 5-0 win over San Jose on Aug. 16.
FC Dallas selected Akindele sixth overall in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft from the Colorado School of Mines, where he holds the school’s all-time goal-scoring record.
All first-year players in MLS, without previous professional experience, were eligible for the AT&T Rookie of the Year award, voted by media, MLS players and MLS club management, based on regular-season performance. The other two finalists were Chicago Fire midfielder Harry Shipp and D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum. Below is a breakdown of the voting for the top four candidates.
<u>Player (Club)</u> |
<u>% of Club Votes</u> |
<u>% of Media Votes</u> |
<u>% of Player Votes</u> |
<u>Weighted Total</u> |
<strong>Tesho Akindele (DAL)</strong> |
<strong>29.12</strong> |
<strong>26.10</strong> |
<strong>31.18</strong> |
<strong>86.40</strong> |
<p>Harry Shipp (CHI)</p> |
<p align="center">22.34</p> |
<p align="center">22.78</p> |
<p align="center">27.90</p> |
<strong>73.02</strong> |
<p>Steve Birnbaum (DC)</p> |
<p align="center">16.86</p> |
<p align="center">22.89</p> |
<p align="center">23.33</p> |
<strong>63.08</strong> |
<p>Chis Duvall (NY)</p> |
<p align="center">3.87</p> |
<p align="center">1.20</p> |
<p align="center">1.11</p> |
<strong>6.18</strong> |
AT&T Rookie of the Year Winners
2014: Tesho Akindele – FC Dallas
2013: Dillon Powers – Colorado Rapids
2012: Austin Berry – Chicago Fire
2011: C.J. Sapong – Sporting Kansas City
2010: Andy Najar – D.C. United
2009: Omar Gonzalez – LA Galaxy
2008: Sean Franklin – LA Galaxy
2007: Maurice Edu – Toronto FC
2006: Jonathan Bornstein – Chivas USA
2005: Michael Parkhurst – New England Revolution
2004: Clint Dempsey – New England Revolution
2003: Damani Ralph – Chicago Fire
2002: Kyle Martino – Columbus Crew
2001: Rodrigo Faria - MetroStars
2000: Carlos Bocanegra – Chicago Fire
1999: Jay Heaps – Miami Fusion
1998: Ben Olsen – D.C. United
1997: Mike Duhaney – Tampa Bay Mutiny
1996: Steve Ralston – Tampa Bay Mutiny
