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Ruiz wins MLS goal of the year Posted: Friday October 18, 2002 1:53 PM
ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- Major League Soccer announced Thursday that the game-winning tally by Los Angeles Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz on July 27 has been recognized as the 2002 MLS Goal of the Year, an annual award rewarding the most spectacular scoring effort of the season. The voting was carried out online at the League's official web site. Ruiz's strike came in the 75th minute against the Columbus Crew at the Rose Bowl. Forward Alejandro Moreno delivered a cross from the top left corner of the penalty area to the far post. Ruiz, positioned at the right corner of the six-yard box, met the ball with impeccable coordination, powering a right-footed volley just inside the left post from a difficult angle. It was Ruiz's 16th goal of a campaign in which he would net a League-high 24. The goal by "El Pescadito" outdistanced a Sept. 7 shot by the San Jose Earthquakes' Ronnie Ekelund, which also came against the Crew. Faced with a free kick roughly 30-yards from goal, San Jose's Richard Mulrooney lifted the ball a few feet ahead for Ekelund, who blasted a half-volley into the top left corner of the goal. Finishing in third place was the bicycle kick goal scored by Ruiz's rival in the 2002 scoring race -- New England's Taylor Twellman, the eventual Scoring Champion. On June 22 at Arrowhead Stadium, Twellman made an acrobatic finish deep in the penalty area after a Brian Kamler header bounced off the right post and floated high in the air. The process for deciding the top 10 candidates for MLS Goal of the Year included input from the league office and each of the 10 MLS teams and was based on the player's finish, individual brilliance, creativity, along with the build-up and importance of the goal. MLS and Nick Games and Sports (GAS) also announced that Twellman's goal was voted as the fourth annual GAS Play of the Year.
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