Swiss goalkeeper Stefan Frei, the second-year standout who is asked to perform miracles game in and game out, was the top vote getter for 2010.

The 24-year-old continued his rise as arguably the best young keeper in MLS with a season full of impressive performances. Frei has posted 11 clean sheets so far in 2010, with eight of those coming in league play. Frei is among the league leaders in both shots faced and saves made, so the increased workload hasn’t deterred has progression as a premier shot stopper in the league. Despite a sometimes very leaky defence in front of him, the former UC Berkeley man always stood out as a giant in the defensive end, coming up with many world class saves to keep his side in the game.

While he was also a great shot stopper in his rookie year, Frei’s confidence grew in 2010, which could be seen by his new-found aggressiveness and superior positional play. This all-round growth contributed to a landslide victory for Frei in this year’s Player of the Year voting, with the keeper amassing 50 per cent of the votes, more than double that of the second-highest vote-getter, last year’s winner Dwayne De Rosario.

Congrats to Stefan Frei for his standout season. He will receive his award — along with De Rosario for 2009 — in a ceremony at a later date.

De Rosario broke scoring records in 2009.

Dwayne De Rosario is the 2009 U-Sector Player of the Year.

De Rosario was the overwhelming choice, garnering 52 per cent of the vote. U-Sector voters did not ignore the burgeoning talent of 20-year-old Canadian sophomore defender Nana Attakora, who claimed the second place with nearly 15 per cent. Amado Guevara, with just under 13 per cent of the votes, rounded out the top three.

Scarborough native De Rosario becomes the third straight Canadian to win the Award, following inaugural recipient Jim Brennan (2007) and 2008 Award winner Greg Sutton.

De Ro’s first season for his hometown side was an extremely productive one, with the midfielder re-writing the Toronto FC goalscoring records in just a single season. He tallied 11 goals in MLS play in 2009, along with an historic hat-trick in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship – the first ever TFC hat-trick – that secured the Voyageurs Cup and brought Toronto its first ever trophy. De Rosario’s 14 goals in competitive play in 2009 stands as both the single-season and all-time career records for TFC’s brief history.

The Canadian international is, of course, no stranger to receiving accolades for his play. He is a two-time MLS Cup MVP, a two-time consecutive MLS Goal of the Year winner (’04 & ’05), and he was named the Canadian Male Player of the Year three times running (’05-’07).

This season he added more awards to his considerable trophy case, being named the first ever Canadian recipient of the George Gross Memorial Trophy for the outstanding player in the Canadian Championship, and joining the MLS Best XI for the fourth time. In addition, De Rosario also received the TFC team MVP and Golden Boot awards.

Along with the U-Sector award, De Ro was also voted by the Red Patch Boys as that group’s Man of the Year.

The 2009 U-Sector Player of the Year Award will be presented to Dwayne De Rosario at a later date.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

Greg Sutton's 2008 Player of the Year Award.

It’s voting time.

Head to the poll on the message board and select your U-Sector 2009 Player of the Year.

Voting is open until Tuesday, November 25, at 12:00pm.