FC Dallas center-back Matt Hedges was named MLS Defender of the Year by the league on Friday.
Hedges, 26, started 26 games and helped Dallas win the Supporters' Shield for the best regular-season record.
With Hedges in the lineup, FCD allowed an average of 0.88 goals per game, while without him the team was hit for 2.125 goals per game.
Honored to win Defender of the Year! Thx to everyone who made this possible. Congrats to the other nominees for great seasons as well. #DOY pic.twitter.com/OFhz6f4vKf
- Matt Hedges (@Matt_Hedges) November 11, 2016
The club also lost four of the eight games Hedges missed after he tore the meniscus in his left knee in April, the same amount of defeats as in the 26 matches he played.
Hedges, last year's runner-up for the award, received an average of 24 percent of the vote to claim the honor this season, beating out the LA Galaxy's Jelle Van Damme (21 percent) and Colorado Rapids' Axel Sjoberg (17 percent).
