Marshall wins second straight MLS Defender of Year

Easily one of the best players in MLS, Chad Marshall was announced as the winner of the MLS Defender of the Year award on Thursday. This is the second straight season he has won the award.

Marshall was part of a Columbus back four that allowed only 31 goals this season, a record low for the club. Playing in only 18 games this season, Marshall was absolutely dominant for Columbus and was able to shut down many of the league's top scoring threats.

Winning the award for the second year running isn't an easy feat and it was only replicated by current U.S. national team captain and Stade Rennais player Carlos Bocanegra in 2002-03 while he was with the Chicago Fire.

A native of Riverside, Calif., the 25-year-old Marshall has played 143 times for the Crew during his five year career. He was drafted second overall in the 2004 MLS Superdraft out of Stanford.

He has also been capped by the U.S. national team on 10 occasions, scoring once.