TUKWILA, Wash. – In a season full of historic team milestones for the Seattle Sounders, Chad Marshall claimed one of the biggest individual awards of them all.
The veteran center back was named the MLS Defender of the Year for the third time in his 11-year career on Tuesday, becoming the first player in league history to win the award three times.
Marshall also won the award while with the Columbus Crew in 2008 and 2009.
“It means a lot,” Marshall told reporters following Seattle’s Tuesday practice at Starfire Soccer Complex. “It’s a credit to how well we’ve done as a team this year so I look at it as a team award. I’m not winning this if we don’t do what we did in the regular season.”
Marshall – who is in his first season in Seattle after spending the previous 10 years with the Crew – actually received a smaller percentage of the vote for the award from club executives and media members than D.C. United’s Bobby Boswell.
But a commanding victory in the player voting is what ultimately propelled him over the top, a tangible sign of respect from his peers that Marshall says makes the accomplishment even more meaningful.
“When you’ve played 11 years in this league, you have a lot of friends throughout the league,” Marshall said. “It’s always nice to be voted by your peers. I’m extremely grateful to accept this award.”
Seattle coach Sigi Schmid also said Marshall’s impressive recognition from his fellow players is indicative of the type of respect he has earned throughout the league.
Schmid coached Marshall in Columbus from 2006-08 and was there when Marshall helped lead the Crew to a Supporters’ Shield and an MLS Cup title in 2008, something the Sounders are trying to replicate this season.
“I think the players know who are tougher guys to play against and who does more on the field,” Schmid said. “Those organizational things, the little things that he reads are things you can’t pick up on when you’re far away. The players recognize him for what he did and I think anytime you have a vote like that, if you’re getting a majority of the players vote I think that speaks well for the season you’ve had.”
Marshall appeared in 31 games for the Sounders during the regular season, the third time in the past four seasons he’s appeared in at least 30 matches. He’s played every minute of the postseason thus far for the Sounders, who have allowed just two goals in 270 minutes of play heading into the second leg of the Western Conference Championship against the LA Galaxy on Sunday (9:20 pm ET, ESPN, ESPN Deportes in US; TSN.ca, TSN GO, RDS2, mlssoccer.com in Canada).
“[Marshall is] big but he’s quick,” Seattle forward Chad Barrett said. “He’s fast, he can make up runs. He’s just so aerially dominant that you can’t win anything. I don’t even go for headers against him anymore. It’s not worth it.
“Pound for pound, he’s the best defender there is.”
The only other players to win the award multiple times are former US national team and Chicago Fire great Carlos Bocanegra (2002, 2003) and current New York Red Bulls assistant coach Robin Fraser (1999, 2004).
