Dallas’ Matt Hedges Voted MLS Defender of The Year

NEW YORK (AP) — Dallas' Matt Hedges has been voted Major League Soccer Defender of the Year after helping his team to the U.S. Open Cup title, its first championship since 1998, and the Supporters' Shield for best regular-season record.

The 26-year-old American received an average of 24.4 percent of votes in balloting by players, media and club officials announced Friday.

Jelle Van Damme of the LA Galaxy was second at 20.6 percent, followed by Colorado's Alex Sjoberg (16.7), Dallas' Walker Zimmerman (8.8) and D.C. United's Steve Birnbaum (6).

Dallas went 13-4-9 with Hedges in the lineup and averaged 0.88 goals allowed. When Hedges was sidelined, the average increased to 2.12..