(New York) St. Louis City SC’s Roman Burki was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Thursday, becoming the first goalkeeper since 1998 to win the honor with an expansion team.
The Swiss played for Borussia Dortmund for seven seasons, before joining St. Louis for his first MLS campaign.
His 17 victories are the most for a first-year goalkeeper in MLS since the league ended the shootout.
He has conceded 42 goals and made 123 saves, second in MLS.
His save percentage of 74.55% ranked him fourth among goaltenders who appeared in at least 20 games. He posted eight shutouts.
The last goalie to win this honor with an expansion club was Zach Thornton with the Chicago Fire in 1998.
SC led the West with a 17-12-5 record before being eliminated in the first round by Sporting Kansas City.
End-of-season awards are awarded following a vote among players, team technical staff and the media.
Burki received 67.48% of the votes, followed by Roman Celentano of FC Cincinnati and Pedro Gallese of Orlando City SC.