Socceroo superstar Tim Cahill has been named best MLS player at the prestigious ESPY awards in LA after his stellar 12 months with New York Red Bulls.
The Socceroo talisman has just come off a successful World Cup where he scored twice, including a volley against Holland rated by many as the tournament’s best.
And now his star has risen even higher with this award after a goal-laden last 12 months with his MLS club.
Montreal Impact’s Marco Di Vaio, LA Galaxy’s Robbie Keane and Chicago Fire’s Mike Magee were also nominated but it was the 34-year-old Socceroo who prevailed.
Other winners included:
- Best Moment: The U.S. men's soccer team defeating Ghana 2-1 in it's opening game of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. After Ghana tied the game, 21-year-old defender John Brooks headed in a goal off a Graham Zusi corner kick in the 86th minute for the game-winning goal.
- Best Upset: Mercer, the 14th-seeded Bears toppled third-seeded Duke, 78-71, in the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
- Best Coach/Manager: Gregg Popovich, who led the Spurs to a league-best 62-20 regular-season record and their fifth NBA championship, earning his third coach of the year award.
- Best Championship Performance: Kawhi Leonard, who led the Spurs past Miami in the NBA Finals, averaging 17.8 points and 6.4 rebounds on 61 percent shooting. He exploded in the last three games of the series, scoring 71 points on 24-for-35 shooting.
- Best Comeback Athlete: Russell Westbrook, who missed two months because of a reinjured knee, then returned to the Thunder lineup to help Oklahoma City finish the season with a 59-23 record and the second seed in the Western Conference.
- Best NHL Player: Sidney Crosby, who led the NHL with 104 points on the season, including a league-high 68 assists, 17 points ahead of his closest competitor.
- Best Driver: Ryan Hunter-Reay, who became the first American to win the Indianapolis 500 since 2006.
- Best International Athlete: Cristiano Ronaldo, the star forward for Portugal and Real Madrid who scored 66 goals in 56 games on his way to winning FIFA's Ballon d'Or Award as World Player of the Year.
- Best Male College Athlete: Doug McDermott, winner of the Wooden, U.S. Basketball Writers Association and AP Player of the Year awards who led the country in scoring, averaging 26.7 points per game on 52.6 percent shooting from the field.
- Best Female College Athlete: Breanna Stewart, the Naismith Trophy winner and AP National Player of the Year who averaged 19.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists to lead UConn to a perfect 40-0 record and NCAA title.
- Best Male Tennis Player: Rafael Nadal, who racked up a total of 10 ATP tournament wins, including both the French and US Opens, ending the year with the No. 1 ranking.
- Best Female Tennis Player: Maria Sharapova, who won the 2014 French Open crown. It was her third consecutive French final and her second title.
- Best Male Golfer: Bubba Watson, who earned his second green jacket, taking the 2014 Masters title.
- Best Female Golfer: Michelle Wie, who earned her first career LPGA major title by taking the U.S. Women's Open at Pinehurst.
- Best WNBA Player: Maya Moore, who led the Minnesota Lynx to the WNBA championship by averaging 20 points, 6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the Finals.
- Best MLS Player: Tim Cahill, who led the New York Red Bulls in scoring with 11 goals, five of them game winners.
- Best Male U.S. Olympian: Sage Kotsenburg, the snowboarder who threw down a fearless and unmatched first run in the slopestyle final to win the gold medal and become the first Olympic champion of the Sochi Games.
- Best Female U.S. Olympian, Best Female Action Sports Athlete: Jamie Anderson, who scored a near-perfect 95.25 on her final run to win the inaugural women's snowboard slopestyle at the Sochi Olympics.
- Best Male Action Sports Athlete: Nyjah Huston who successfully defended his 2013 Skateboard Street title with a gold medal at X Games Austin in 2014.
- Best Bowler: Pete Weber, who won the Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions to become the first bowler to complete the PBA Triple Crown for a second time.
- Best Jockey: Victor Espinoza, who rode California Chrome to victory in both the 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
- Best Male Athlete with Disability: Declan Farmer, the 16-year-old who helped the U.S. defeat Russia for the sled hockey gold medal at the 2014 Winter Paralympics.
- Best Female Athlete with Disability: Jamie Whitmore, who won gold medals in the time trial and pursuit events with world-record times at the 2014 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships.