Montreal Impact's Laurent Ciman named MLS Defender of the Year

Montreal Impact central defender Laurent Ciman came to Major League Soccer straight out of Standard Liege with a bang, scoring against bitter Belgian rivals Anderlecht one day before flying over to North America.

It would not be his last hurrah.

On Wednesday, Ciman was named the 2015 MLS Defender of the Year following a strong season with the Impact that saw Montreal make it to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"I would like to thank all the players, clubs, and media for their vote," Ciman said. "This is a great achievement to win this award, but we have to work harder to get even better next year. This is a nice individual honour, but I have to credit my teammates who were just as good."

The Belgian international appeared 27 times for the Impact in 2015, starting each time. He scored two goals and provided two assists, but his claim to fame will be the fact his team allowed only 44 goals, the second fewest in the Eastern Conference. He also started in all three playoff games for the Impact, and captained the team at times throughout the course of the season.

Ciman beat Vancouver Whitecaps defender Kendall Waston, FC Dallas' Matt Hedges, and New York Red Bulls up-and-comer Matt Miazga in the voting process to take the title. Ciman also featured in the MLS All-Star Game against Tottenham.