Kansas City Wizards goalkeeper Tony Meola has been named the 2000 Honda Most Valuable Player. The 32-year-old Meola becomes the first goalkeeper to win the honor since the awards inception in 1996. The Honda Most Valuable Player Award is the third MLS 2000 end-of-season honor that Meola has garnered as he was awarded with both the Aquafina Goalkeeper of the Year and ACE Comeback Player of the Year awards. “It’s a great honor for me this year to be selected as the Honda Most Valuable Player,” said Meola. “I would like to thank everyone who voted for me, its flattering knowing the majority of the votes come from my peers and coaches around the league.” Meola had one of the best seasons of any netminder in MLS history, setting new records along the way. The 16 shutouts registered by Meola also shattered the single-season mark and were a major factor as the Wizards earned the top seed in the playoffs. The Kearny, N.J., native also set a new mark with a stretch of 681 consecutive scoreless minutes during a span of eight games from June to May. Meola led the Wizards to the best defensive performance by a MLS team over the course of the year (29 goals allowed) and capped the campaign with a Western Division championship. Meola was one of the stars on the stingiest defensive side in the league, as he registered the second-lowest goals-against-average (0.92) by a keeper in MLS history. “This was a fun season with the Wizards, our quality of play was much better than last year because of our willingness to sacrifice anything for the team,” said Meola. “When I tell my children and grandchildren about the favorite teams that I have played on, this team will be the first that I mention.” Tampa Bay Mutiny forward Mamadou Diallo (33% of votes) and MetroStars striker Clint Mathis (19% of votes) also received consideration for the Honda MVP award with record-setting seasons, while finishing first and second among MLS’s scoring leaders.