MLS 2008: Who Was the Best Defender?

Tomorrow we will find out, apparently, courtesy of MLS.

Chad Marshall, Bakary Soumare, and Jimmy Conrad are up for the award. Marshall is the odds on favorite, as he should be. He anchored one of the best defenses in the league and helped secure a Supporters Shield.

Conrad is also very deserving—He played every minute of every game this year, and scored six freaking goals, which for a defender is quite proficient. His goals were usually meaningful to the result too, so he certainly could steal the hardware from Marshall.

Soumare doesn’t really belong on the list in my opinion. He had a great year, but he plays on a back line that includes Prideaux and Segares. He’s been great, but not DOY Award great.

Who got snubbed?

Michael Parkhurst is probably deserving of a nod, but missed a lot of time with the Olympics and he plays with another great defender; Jay Heaps.

Heaps doesn’t get enough credit for his contributions in NER. He is the only player other than Conrad to have played every minute of every game this year. With all of the injuries NER has suffered, that’s an amazing feat.

Bobby Boswell also continued to snuff out opposing attacks in HOU. But he’s already got one award (2006) so I’m not surprised he was snubbed.

Actually, Jimmy C. has one too (2005) so the clear favorite has to be Marshall. Tomorrow, we’ll find out for sure.