Montreal

Montreal Impact: Laurent Ciman named MLS defender of the year

Montreal Impact defender Laurent Ciman has been named Major League Soccer's defender of the year.

30-year-old Belgian signed 3-year contract with Impact in January 2015

The Impact's Laurent Ciman, left, was named MLS defender of the year on Nov. 11, 2015. Here, Ciman celebrates with teammate Ignacio Piatti after scoring against the Sounders off a header in the 88th minute for a 1-0 Impact win. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)

Montreal Impact defender Laurent Ciman has been named Major League Soccer's defender of the year.

The 30-year-old Belgian national beat out Kendall Waston of the Vancouver Whitecaps and Matt Hedges of FC Dallas in voting by the media, MLS players and MLS club management.

Ciman played in 27 regular season matches in his debut season in North America, helping Montreal surrender 14 fewer goals in 2015 compared to 2014.

He also scored two goals, added two assists and finished second on the team with 2,405 minutes played.

Ciman, a member of Belgium's national team which came in fourth in the Olympics in 2008, signed a three-year contract with the Montreal Impact in January of this year.

with files from CBC