Jamaican striker Deshorn Brown finishes 2nd in MLS rookie votes

Former St. Elizabeth Technical striker Deshorn Brown has finished runner-up behind Colorado Rapids teammate Dillon Powers in the vote for the MLS Rookie of The Year award.

Brown had the goals, Powers had the body of work. In the end, the voters opted for Powers’ year-long contribution – and impressive production – over Brown’s team-leading and rookie-best 10 goals, with all three voting categories (club, media and players) choosing the midfielder as 2013’s top first-year pro.

Brown meanwhile finished second among all three voter bases after a season in which he compiled 10 goals and 4 assists to come within a goal of the MLS rookie record of 11 set by another Jamaican, Damani Ralph in 2003.

The 22 year old, who was the 6th overall pick in the 2013 MLS Superdraft, received 24.49 percent of club votes, 32.47 percent of media votes and 18.53 percent of player votes.

Among his other achievements include scoring the third fastest goal in mls history after finding net after just 15 seconds against Seattle on October 15.

He was also invited to the Jamaican national team setup and made his Reggae Boyz debut in the CONCACAF Hexagonal round World Cup qualifying match against the United States in Kansas City on October 11.

Powers, who ranked second on the Rapids with five goals and six assists in 29 games played, helped the club to fifth place in the Western Conference and a playoff berth. He garnered nearly 33 percent of club votes, 38 percent of media ballots and 23 percent of players picked the 22-year-old.

All four finalists hailed from the Western Conference, as Seattle Sounders right back DeAndre Yedlin finished third, and LA Galaxy striker Gyasi Zardes followed in fourth. That comes after Eastern Conference players earned the award for three consecutive seasons – Austin Berry (Chicago, 2012), C.J. Sapong (Sporting KC, 2011) and Andy Najar (D.C. United, 2010) – prior to Powers taking the honours.