Brad Davis, Dwayne De Rosario and Brek Shea were named the three finalists for Major League Soccer's MVP award, to be announced on Nov. 18. The league also released the names of the finalists for their other postseason awards, the first of which will be announced on Tuesday.
MLS Postseason Awards Finalists: Brek Shea, Brad Davis, Dwayne De Rosario Up For MVP
MLS will start announcing award winners on Nov. 8 with MVP being announced on Nov. 18.
Davis, DeRosario and Shea all seemed to have struck a different chord with voters, which included media members, players, MLS clubs (coaches, technical directors, president and public relations). Voting was supposed to be based entirely on regular-season MLS performances.
Davis was much more of a facilitator, leading the league in assists (16), while helping the Houston Dynamo return to the playoffs after missing them last year. Davis seems to be a mix of statistical excellence and contribution to a successful team.
DeRosario's inclusion seems based almost entirely on his numbers. He won the league's Golden Boot after tying for the league lead in goals (16) and also contributing 12 assists. But DC United ultimately missed the playoffs after a late-season collapse.
Shea was widely considered the runaway winner at the season's midway point, and his midseason performances seems to be what stood out to voters. His 11 goals and four assists are not bad numbers, but neither total is among the top 10 in the league. Voters likely saw how much Shea helped keep FC Dallas from completely collapsing once David Ferreira was lost for the year.
Schedule of announcements and nominees:
Rookie of the Year Finalists - Winner to be announced Nov. 8
Perry Kitchen (D.C. United)
C.J. Sapong (Sporting Kansas City)
Defender of the Year Finalists - Winner to be announced Nov. 9
Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy)
Jamison Olave (Real Salt Lake)
MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year Finalists - Winner to be announced Nov. 9
Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo)
Referee of the Year Finalists - Winner to be announced Nov. 9
Mark Geiger
Ricardo Salazar
Kevin Stott
Coach of the Year Finalists - Winner to be announced Nov. 14
Bruce Arena (LA Galaxy)
Sigi Schmid (Seattle Sounders FC)
Peter Vermes (Sporting Kansas City)
Comeback Player of the Year Finalists - Winner to be announced Nov. 14
David Beckham (LA Galaxy)
Charlie Davies (D.C. United)
Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists - Winner to be announced Nov. 15
Kevin Hartman (FC Dallas)
Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders FC)
Faryd Mondragon (Philadelphia Union)
Newcomer of the Year Finalists - Winner to be announced Nov. 15
Mauro Rosales (Seattle Sounders FC)
Volkswagen Most Valuable Player Finalists - Winner to be announced Nov. 18
Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo)
Dwayne De Rosario (D.C. United)
Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
See More:
