Sporting KC

Sporting KC's Opara honored as 2017 MLS Defender of the Year

Published Nov. 9, 2017 1:52 p.m. ET

Sporting Kansas City had Major League Soccer's stingiest defense in 2017, and the man who anchored that defense, center back Ike Opara, has been honored as the 2017 MLS Defender of the Year.

Sporting KC allowed just 29 goals in the 2017 regular season, eight fewer than any other MLS team. Opara set MLS career highs with 30 starts and 2,700 minutes played, contributed to 11 shutouts and helped Sporting KC reach the MLS Cup Playoffs for the seventh straight year.

"Ever since Ike joined our club in 2013, we always believed he had this level of play in him," Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said in a team press release. "He was unfortunate to suffer season-ending injuries in 2014 and 2015, so this was the first season he played on a regular basis in our lineup. That's no doubt one of the reasons why our team had success this year. ...

"This award says a lot about how our team defended in 2017, and Ike was a big piece of that."

Sporting KC posted a 0.77 goals-against average and a 12-6-12 record in Opara's 30 regular-season matches. The team faced the fewest shots in the league. Among MLS defenders, Opara ranked second with 193 recoveries and seventh with 69 interceptions.

He also scored three goals, including two spectacular game-winners. His bicycle kick in a victory over the LA Galaxy has been nominated for AT&T 2017 MLS Goal of the Year.

"I'm already looking forward to 2018," Opara said.

Opara, an eight-year MLS veteran, joins Vermes (2000), Sporting Legend Jimmy Conrad (2005) and current teammate Matt Besler (2012) as MLS Defender of the Year winners.

Opara received nearly 30 percent of the overall vote for Defender of the Year -- more than double the total of runner-up Justin Morrow of Toronto. Besler was fifth.

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