New York, NY (Sports Network) - San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski was named the MLS Most Valuable Player on Thursday.
Wondolowski scored 27 goals to equal the MLS single-season record set in 1996, earning his second Golden Boot award in the last three seasons. Over the last three years, he has 61 goals - the best three-year stretch in league history.
He is the first player to lead the league in scoring three straight seasons. Wondolowski scored 18 goals in 2010 to lead the league, tied for the lead in 2011 with 16 when he lost the Golden Boot on a tiebreaker, and had nine more goals than his closest competitor this season.
Wondolowski won four MLS Player of the Month awards this year, a first in the 16-year history of MLS, and led the Earthquakes to the best record during the regular season.
Red Bull New York forward Thierry Henry was second in the voting and Sporting Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi was third, but Wondolowski won MVP with the majority of the vote.
The award was voted on by media, MLS players and MLS club management based on regular season performance, and the weighted total for Wondolowski was 259.03, well ahead of the 14.49 Henry received and the 6.64 for Zusi.
