Soccer-New York FC's Villa earns MLS MVP honors

Dec 6 (The Sports Xchange) - New York City FC standout David Villa was named Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player on Tuesday after scoring 23 goals this season. Villa, a forward, received 25.9 percent of the vote in winning the Landon Donovan Award, the MLS announced. New York Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips (19.3) was second and Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan (17.6) placed third. Toronto FC forward Sebastian Giovinco (16.3) was fourth and Montreal Impact midfielder Ignacio Piatti (7.7) fifth. Villa, 35, completed his second season with New York City FC and helped the club finish with 54 points, an improvement of 17 from 2015. Villa finished one goal behind Wright-Phillips, the MLS leader. (Editing by Frank Pingue)