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          Matt Hedges of FC Dallas named MLS Defender of the Year

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          Video via MLS: Hedges' family support (3:43)

          FC Dallas center back Matt Hedges owes all of his success to his family, and his mother's good luck text message before every game. (3:43)

          • ESPN staffNov 11, 2016, 02:19 PM ET

          FC Dallas center-back Matt Hedges was named MLS Defender of the Year by the league on Friday.

          Hedges, 26, started 26 games and helped Dallas win the Supporters' Shield for the best regular-season record.

          With Hedges in the lineup, FCD allowed an average of 0.88 goals per game, while without him the team was hit for 2.125 goals per game.

          The club also lost four of the eight games Hedges missed after he tore the meniscus in his left knee in April, the same amount of defeats as in the 26 matches he played.

          Hedges, last year's runner-up for the award, received an average of 24 percent of the vote to claim the honor this season, beating out the LA Galaxy's Jelle Van Damme (21 percent) and Colorado Rapids' Axel Sjoberg (17 percent).