The Houston Dynamo announced their 2013 team awards on Monday night at Dynamo Celebration, the club’s annual year-end event.
The Dynamo Charities event, presented by the Halliburton Charitable Foundation, was held at Hotel Zaza. With players, coaches, front office members, fans, and sponsors in attendance, the Dynamo honored many award winners and announced several others, from Dynamo Academy players to first team players to Dynamo Girls. A portion of proceeds from the event will benefit Dynamo Charities.
Goalkeeper Tally Hall was named Most Valuable Player for the 2013 season. It is Hall’s first career MVP selection. Hall started all 34 regular season games and all five playoff games in 2013. The Gig Harbor, Wash. native recorded nine shutouts in the regular season and two more in the playoffs. Hall, 28, was named to the 2013 MLS All-Star team (second career selection) and played every minute of the regular season for the second time in three seasons. With two shutouts and two wins in the playoffs, Hall became the franchise leader in career playoff shutouts (5) and wins (8).
The 6-foot-4 goalkeeper is the sixth MVP in club history, joining Brad Davis (2009-2012), Brian Ching (2008), Brian Mullan and Pat Onstad (co-winners in 2007) and Dwayne De Rosario (2006).
Midfielder Ricardo Clark was named Players’ Player of the Year in a vote by Dynamo players. The 30-year-old set career-highs in goals (4) and assists (4) this season while appearing in 30 games for the first time since 2006. Clark had three game-winning goals – each in 1-0 victories – and each of his assists won or tied the game for Houston. The Atlanta, Ga. native added a goal and assist in the postseason.
Kofi Sarkodie earned Defender of the Year honors for the first time in his career. The Ohio native started 33 of 34 games in his third professional season and registered four assists as a regular presence in the Houston back line.
Sarkodie also earned Ironman of the Year honors after leading all field players (goalkeepers not included) in regular season minutes. The 22-year-old is the youngest player in Dynamo history to lead field players in minutes played. Sarkodie played 2,948 of a possible 3,060 minutes in the regular season. His lone game absence was due to suspension for yellow-card accumulation.
Forward Giles Barnes earned the Dynamo’s Budweiser Golden Boot award after recording 9 goals in the regular season. Barnes sealed the Golden Boot with the game-winning goal in a 2-1 win at D.C. United on Oct. 27, a playoff-clinching win on the final day of the season. Barnes is the sixth Golden Boot winner in Dynamo history, joining Brian Ching (2010, 2009, 2008), Will Bruin (2012), Geoff Cameron (2011), Joseph Ngwenya (2007) and Dwayne De Rosario (2006).
Midfielder Warren Creavalle was named Young Player of the Year, awarded to a player 23 and under. Creavalle thrived in a variety of roles in his second professional season, playing five positions across the midfield and back line. Creavalle, 23, scored 3 goals and added an assist in 27 games this season (17 starts). The University of Central Florida product started the final 10 games of the regular season and all five playoff games.
Midfielder Andrew Driver earned Newcomer of the Year honors. Driver joined Houston in February from Heart of Midlothian in Scotland and appeared in 26 games (20 starts). Driver, 26, scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 road win against the LA Galaxy on May 5 and also scored in his MLS debut at FC Dallas on March 17.
Forward Brian Ching was selected as the MLS WORKS Dynamo Humanitarian of the Year after he spearheaded two initiatives, Ching’s Champions & The House that Ching Built. In July, he led 60 volunteers at the Houston Food Bank to pack 22,500 relief boxes. In May, he worked with volunteers to refurbish a home in Houston’s East End neighborhood. Ching also led fire station visits and fundraising efforts totaling $21,000 for the Houston Fire Department after the tragic southwest Houston fire in May.
The full list of Dynamo Awards winners:
Most Valuable Player: Tally Hall
Players' Player of the Year: Ricardo Clark
Defender of the Year: Kofi Sarkodie
Newcomer of the Year: Andrew Driver
Young Player of the Year: Warren Creavalle (U-23)
Budweiser Golden Boot: Giles Barnes (most regular season goals)
MLS WORKS Dynamo Humanitarian of the Year: Brian Ching
Ironman of the Year: Kofi Sarkodie (most regular season minutes by a field player)
Play of the Year: Kofi Sarkodie’s double-save at D.C. United on May 8 (WATCH)
Game of the Year: Nov. 6, Dynamo 2, New York Red Bulls 1 (After Extra Time), Eastern Conference Semifinals, Leg 2 (HIGHLIGHTS)
Dynamo Academy Player of the Year: Christian Lucatero
Dynamo Academy Players’ Player of the Year: Memo Rodriguez
Fan of the Year: Bernadette Payne
Team Spirit Award: Melissa Duke (Dynamo Girls)
Forever Orange Award: Rob Denton (outstanding outside contributor)
