Major League Soccer today announced that Sporting Kansas City forward C.J. Sapong has been named 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year. D.C. United's Perry Kitchen finished second in voting. The versatile 19-year old played primarily as a right back in 2011, but also time as a center back, left back and defensive midfielder. The University of Akron product became the first rookie in United's 16-year history to lead the team in minutes played (2,726), leading all MLS rookies in the categrory, as well.
United has enjoyed great performances from its rookies over the last few years, as D.C. has now had Rookie of the Year finalists in each of the team's previous three seasons. In addition to Kitchen's 2nd place finish this year, Chris Pontius (2009) and Andy Najar (2010) were both amongst the final three after their respective first-year campaigns. Pontius finished as a runner-up to LA's Omar Gonzalez, while Najar took home the top honor last season.
Below is a breakdown of this year's voting for the top five candidates:
<strong>Player (Club)</strong> |
<strong>% of Club<br>Votes</strong> |
<strong>% of Media Votes</strong> |
<strong>% of Player Votes</strong> |
<strong>Weighted Total</strong> |
C.J. Sapong (SKC) |
34.04 |
41.99 |
30.25 |
106.28 |
Perry Kitchen (DC) |
13.83 |
12.71 |
8.02 |
34.56 |
Michael Farfan (PHI) |
11.70 |
8.84 |
12.96 |
33.50 |
Darlington Nagbe (POR) |
7.45 |
7.73 |
13.58 |
28.76 |
Will Bruin (HOU) |
10.64 |
9.39 |
7.41 |
27.44 |
