Berry wins MLS Rookie of the Year: Mattocks finishes third, Silva fourth By Steven Sandor Posted on November 19, 2012 1 0 704 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Austin Berry won the MLS Rookie of the Year in a landslide… sort of. The Chicago Fire central defender, who scored three times this year and became a fixture in the centre of his team’s backline, was announced as the award winner on Monday by MLS. The University of Louisville product finished ahead of his former Cardinals’ teammate, D.C. United’s Nick DeLeon. For a rookie to come into MLS out of NCAA and become a fixture in the starting lineup is one thing; but to do it as a centre back is the most unique scenario of all. Austin Berry Berry got 51.79 per cent of the vote from the clubs and 56.92 per cent of the media vote. But this is where it gets interesting. In a survey of MLS players, he got 31.96 per cent of the vote. That still finished ahead of DeLeon, who got 22.68 per cent of the player vote, but it still shows that Berry’s peers weren’t quite as sold on his elite status as were the coaches, general managers and media. Whitecap Darren Mattocks finished a distant third in the voting. Mattocks, who was selected No. 2 in the 2012 SuperDraft, made it is his mission to prove to the world that he felt he was the legitimate No. 1 pick. By the second half of the season, Mattocks — when not in card trouble — was starting for the Whitecaps. He finished the season with seven goals in 21 games, and also scored Vancouver’s lone playoff goal. Mattocks also finished at No. 1 in MLSsoccer.com’s top 24 under 24 list for 2012. Toronto FC’s Luis Silva finished fourth in the voting. Silva scored four times and added two assists in 23 games. Silva came out with a bang, scoring against the Los Angeles Galaxy in CONCACAF Champions League play. But, it’s hard to climb higher than fourth in the voting when you play for the worst team in MLS — and often Silva’s achievements would be buried by the struggles of the team around him.
