Sapong voted as MLS rookie of the year

U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) on Tuesday announced Sporting Kansas City forward C.J. Sapong as the winner of the 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year. Statistics show that Sapong scored five goals and dished out five assists for Sporting Kansas City in 2011, leading all rookies in points, and appeared in all 34 regular-season matches for the club, the only Sporting player to do so. He also scored in the club's Eastern Conference Semifinal against the Colorado Rapids. D.C. United's Perry Kitchen finished second in the voting followed by Michael Farfan (Philadelphia Union), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers) and Will Bruin (Houston Dynamo). Sapong garnered more than 30 percent of the votes collected from media, MLS players and MLS club management to win the award by a wide margin. Kansas City selected the 22-year-old striker with the 10th pick in the first round of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft out of James Madison University. Sporting Kansas City began the 2011 season with 10 consecutive road games, leaving them in last place, but turned the season around to finish the regular season atop the Eastern Conference. They won all five games in which Sapong found the back of the net. Before joining to Sporting Kansas City, Sapong was starter of Two-time NSCAA First Team All-South Atlantic Region in 2009 and 2010. NSCAA or National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941 and has since grown to the largest coaching organization in the world with more than 22,000 members. The NSCAA presents player of the year awards at all other levels of intercollegiate play, as well as recognizes outstanding coaches with its Coach of the Year Award.