  Toronto FC's goalkeeper Stefan Frei (24) grabs the ball from Columbus Crew's Jason Garey (9) as Garey was going for a score in the first half of their Major League Soccer match Saturday, July 25, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Columbus Dispatch, Neal C. Lauron) |
TORONTO - Goalkeeper Stefan Frei, one of the bright spots in a disappointing Toronto FC season, is a finalist for MLS rookie of the year.
Former Toronto striker Jeff Cunningham is up for MVP along with Landon Donovan of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Shalrie Joseph of the New England Revolution.
Cunningham led the league with 17 goals.
Frei, who dislodged Greg Sutton as the team's No. 1 'keeper, started 26 games with five shutouts and a 1.49 goals-against average. A broken finger and the fine play of backup Brian Edwards kept him on the bench at the end of the regular season.
The 23-year-old from Berkeley, Calif., was picked 13th overall in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. The other top rookie nominees are Omar Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chris Pontius of D.C. United.
Goalkeeper of the Year finalists are Kasey Keller of the Seattle Sounders, Donovan Ricketts of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Zach Thornton of Chivas USA.
Keller is also up for the Fair Play award, along with Canadian goalkeeper Pat Onstad of the Houston Dynamo and Steve Ralston of the New England Revolution.
The veteran Seattle 'keeper is also in contention for Newcomer of the Year, a category that allows the MLS to recognize veterans who are new to the North American League. Other finalists are Seattle teammates Freddie Ljungberg and Fredy Montero.
Thornton, meanwhile, was also nominated for Comeback Player of the Year with Brian McBride of the Chicago Fire and Ben Olsen of D.C. United.
Defender of the Year is between Geoff Cameron of the Houston Dynamo, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado of the Seattle Sounders and Chad Marshall of the Columbus Crew.
Coach of the Year finalists are Bruce Arena of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Sigi Schmid of the Seattle Sounders and Robert Warzycha of the Columbus Crew.
The finalists were determined in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches, referees and media. Winners will be announced later this month.
