FRISCO, Texas (Monday, Nov. 24, 2014) – Tesho Akindele has been named Major League Soccer’s 2014 AT&T Rookie of the Year, the league announced today.

The first FC Dallas player ever to earn the honor, Akindele notched seven goals and three assists during the regular season through 26 MLS appearances. The 22-year-old played every minute of FC Dallas’ playoff run and became the youngest Dallas player to score a playoff goal. The Canadian-born Akindele also became the first FC Dallas rookie to record a hat trick when he found the back of the net three times in a 5-0 win over San Jose on Aug. 16.

FC Dallas selected Akindele sixth overall in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft from the Colorado School of Mines, where he holds the school’s all-time goal-scoring record.

All first-year players in MLS, without previous professional experience, were eligible for the AT&T Rookie of the Year award, voted by media, MLS players and MLS club management, based on regular-season performance. The other two finalists were Chicago Fire midfielder Harry Shipp and D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum. Below is a breakdown of the voting for the top four candidates.

Player (Club) % of Club Votes % of Media Votes % of Player Votes Weighted Total Tesho Akindele (DAL) 29.12 26.10 31.18 86.40 Harry Shipp (CHI) 22.34 22.78 27.90 73.02 Steve Birnbaum (DC) 16.86 22.89 23.33 63.08 Chis Duvall (NY) 3.87 1.20 1.11 6.18

AT&T Rookie of the Year Winners

2014: Tesho Akindele – FC Dallas

2013: Dillon Powers – Colorado Rapids

2012: Austin Berry – Chicago Fire

2011: C.J. Sapong – Sporting Kansas City

2010: Andy Najar – D.C. United

2009: Omar Gonzalez – LA Galaxy

2008: Sean Franklin – LA Galaxy

2007: Maurice Edu – Toronto FC

2006: Jonathan Bornstein – Chivas USA

2005: Michael Parkhurst – New England Revolution

2004: Clint Dempsey – New England Revolution

2003: Damani Ralph – Chicago Fire

2002: Kyle Martino – Columbus Crew

2001: Rodrigo Faria - MetroStars

2000: Carlos Bocanegra – Chicago Fire

1999: Jay Heaps – Miami Fusion

1998: Ben Olsen – D.C. United

1997: Mike Duhaney – Tampa Bay Mutiny

1996: Steve Ralston – Tampa Bay Mutiny