Costa Rica star goalkeeper Keylor Navas was named 2014 CONCACAF Player of the Year on Tuesday, but the votes fell in favor of his US counterpart Tim Howard, who claimed the honor as the confederation's top netminder as CONCACAF unveiled its second annual year-end award winners.
In addition to Howard's silverware, Americans also came away with the Female Player of the Year (Abby Wambach) and Referee of the Year awards (Mark Geiger). Costa Rica claimed the other three award categories as Canada and Mexico came up dry.
According to the official CONCACAF statement, votes were tallied among CONCACAF women’s and men’s national team coaches and captains, media and fans, each counting for a third of the final vote. In addition to official CONCACAF competitions, voters also took into account performances for club teams within CONCACAF, as well as the CONCACAF Champions League.
The Top 3 finishers for each of the six 2014 CONCACAF awards follow below:
MALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
1. Keylor Navas, Goalkeeper (Real Madrid/ESP & Costa Rica)
2. Bryan Ruiz, Forward (Fulham FC/ENG & Costa Rica)
3. Tim Howard, Goalkeeper (Everton/ENG & United States)
FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
1. Abby Wambach, Forward (Western New York Flash/USA & United States)
2. Shirley Cruz, Midfielder (Paris Saint Germain/FRA & Costa Rica)
3. Veronica Charlyn Corral (Merilappi United/FIN & Mexico)
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
1. Tim Howard (Everton/ENG & United States)
2. Guillermo Ochoa (Malaga/ESP & Mexico)
3. Keylor Navas (Real Madrid/ESP & Costa Rica)
COACH OF THE YEAR
1. Jorge Luis Pinto (Costa Rica)
2. Luis Fernando Suarez (Honduras)
3. Oscar Ramirez (LD Alajuelense/CRC)
REFEREE OF THE YEAR
1. Mark Geiger (USA)
2. Marco Antonio Rodriguez (Mexico)
3. Walter Quesada (Costa Rica)
GOAL OF THE YEAR
1. Bryan Ruiz, Costa Rica v Italy, 44th minute (June 20, 2014)
2. Esteban Ramirez, Herediano v Saprissa, 20th minute (November 2, 2014)
3. Joel Campbell, Costa Rica v Uruguay, 54th minute (June 14, 2014)
