GREENVILLE, S.C. – Former Furman Paladin and current United States National Team standout Clint Dempsey has been named the 2012 U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year, it was announced Monday at www.ussoccer.com.

The U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year honor is the third for Dempsey, who previously won the award in 2007 and 2011. Dempsey is the second three-time winner of the award.  Goalkeeper Kasey Keller also captured the honor three times (1997, 1999, 2005) while Landon Donovan, a four-time winner (2003, 2004, 2009, 2010), is the only player to have won more. Donovan and Dempsey are the only players to have won the award on back-to-back occasions.

Dempsey paced all U.S. players with six goals during 2012, including five during the semifinal round of 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying. On Feb. 29, he scored the lone goal in a memorable 1-0 U.S. victory over Italy in Genoa. His 30 goals in the red, white and blue are tied with Brian McBride for third all-time.

The forward wrapped up his career at Fulham FC at the end of the 2011-12 season as the club’s all-time leading scorer in the Premier League. He completed a move to Tottenham Hotspur on Aug. 31, and has scored a pair of Premier League goals for Spurs, including the game-winning tally versus Manchester United at Old Trafford last month.

A 2002 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-America choice as a Paladin, Dempsey led Furman to a Southern Conference title and NCAA round of 16 appearance before joining Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution. After scoring 25 times in 71 matches with the Revolution, the Nacogdoches, Texas, native moved to Fulham in 2007.