With Houston Dynamo in the midst of a heated playoff series against FC Dallas, it went almost unnoticed that three of the Orange were announced as the finalists in voting for three MLS awards.
Goalkeeper Pat Onstad, defender Eddie Robinson and head coach Dominic Kinnear are in the final three for their respective awards.
Knowing they are nominated is nice, but Dynamo's concern right now is Dallas.
"It's nice to be nominated. I guess it's the top three votegetters among the coaches and players, so it's nice to be recognized," Onstad said. "But, if we lose Friday, the award doesn't mean anything."
Onstad, however, did not win the Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year award as Chivas USA's Brad Guzan earned that honor. Onstad was vying for his third Goalkeeper of the Year award since 2003.
On the season, Onstad was one of the league's best in saves with 85, goals against average at 0.82 and shutouts with 11. In 27 games, Onstad went 13-8-6.
Robinson is up for the Visa Defender of the Year award against New England's Michael Parkhurst and Chivas USA's Claudio Suarez. Robinson is one of the reasons Dynamo had the best defense in the league with a goals against average of 0.77 as a team and only allowing 23 goals on the season.
Onstad and Robinson were both major players in the Dynamo's MLS record 785-minute scoreless streak set earlier this season.
For Robinson, the focus right now is on Friday night and defeating Dallas to advance to the Western Conference Championship.
"It's awesome. It's a great award," Robinson said. "Look at the history of the award and guys who have won it, and it would sure be nice to win it. That being said, I don't really care about it right now. If we get knocked out this weekend, then I'll have time to worry about. But, right now, the only thing I care about is beating Dallas."
Kinnear is vying for the MLS Coach of the Year with Chivas USA's Preki and D.C. United's Tom Soehn.
Kinnear coached an often undermanned team at times as injuries, suspensions and international call-ups forced Kinnear to delve deep into the Dynamo bench and give ample playing time to rookie midfielder Corey Ashe and rookie defender Patrick Ianni along with second-year midfielder Stuart Holden.
After Dynamo started 2-5-2 in the first two months, the Orange reeled off an 11-game unbeaten streak and stayed in the thick of the Western Conference race up until the final minute of the final game against Chivas.
Kinnear, however, won't take credit for Houston's season.
"I'm not nominated without a good team, so all the credit goes to the team," Kinnear said.
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
