#INSERT type:image caption:Montreal Impact's Laurent Ciman was named 2015 MLS Defender of Year. END#
Montreal Impact defender Laurent Ciman finished his first season in Major League Soccer by being named 2015 MLS Defender of the Year.
Ciman, 29, left Belgian club Standard de Liege to sign with Montreal in January. The veteran defender helped Belgium advance to the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 1986.
Ciman scored two goals and two assists in 27 regular season appearances and helped the Impact as they allowed 44 goals, the second fewest in the East. Ciman also played a crucial role in Montreal's run to the CONCACAF Champions League final, playing every minute in all six of the Impact's knockout matches.
Prior to joining Montreal, Ciman had spent his entire career in the Belgian first division, playing 286 matches from 2004 to 2015. He spent the previous six seasons with Standard de Liege, appearing in more than 150 matches while helping the club win the Belgian Cup in 2011, as well as participating in the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and UEFA Cup tournaments.