SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes announced the club’s 2011 team awards Wednesday night at the Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation Dinner at San Jose City Hall’s Rotunda. For the second straight year, Chris Wondolowski took home team Most Valuable Player honors, while he was also named the club’s Humanitarian of the Year for his charitable work in the local community. Goalkeeper Jon Busch earned the team’s Defensive Player of the Year award for the second straight year after another outstanding season in the net.
Wondolowski followed up his breakout 2010 season with another superlative year for his hometown team in 2011. The reigning MLS Golden Boot winner has scored 15 goals this season, one back of former Quakes player and current D.C. United playmaker Dwayne De Rosario for tops in the league with one game remaining. He is aiming to become the first outright back-to-back winner of the MLS Golden Boot. For the second season in a row, he has had a strong finish to the season, scoring seven goals in the past eight games and has scored the Earthquakes’ last five goals. This year he became just the ninth player in league history to score at least 15 goals in consecutive seasons. His 15 goals this year also place him in a tie for No. 2 in team history for goals in a single season, trailing only his 18 goals from a season ago. He recently surpassed Landon Donovan to become the second all-time leading scorer in team history with 36 goals for San Jose.
Off the field, Wondolowski has been just as big an impact in 2011. He became the National Ambassador for Street Soccer USA and he serves as the lead spokesman for SSUSA’s efforts to rehabilitate the homeless. Wondolowski is most heavily involved with Street Soccer USA-Bay Area, although he is expected to make appearances nationwide. He has also pledged a $50 donation for each goal he scores during the 2011 MLS campaign. In addition to his duties with Street Soccer USA, he made numerous appearances around the Bay Area and served as a spokesman for the Get Earthquakes Fit program and the Amway Kicks for Kids program.
Busch followed up a solid 2010 season with a tremendous year in 2011 to again be named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year. He has started and played 90 minutes in all but one match this season and sits in second place in saves in the league with 110. He posted seven shutouts this season for San Jose and ranked seventh in MLS in save percentage (71.0). Busch now ranks ninth in MLS history in games played in goal (197), game started in goal (196), goals against average (1.21), wins (73) and eighth in saves (798) and shutouts (60).
The SSVCF Dinner also featured a special ceremony to welcome Troy Dayak to the club’s Hall of Fame. Earthquakes General Manager of Soccer Operations and fellow club Hall of Famer John Doyle introduced Dayak with stories from their playing days before “The Beast” took the stage to deliver his own acceptance speech. Dayak joins Doyle and Ronald Cerritos as the third person in the club’s Hall of Fame. In addition to Wednesday’s banquet, Saturday’s match against FC Dallas on Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium will also feature a halftime ceremony to commemorate Dayak’s selection to the club’s Hall of Fame.
