Sean Franklin did it. The former Matador – now playing for the hometown L.A. Galaxy – was named Rookie of the Year today.

Franklin, a defender, was taken fourth overall by the Galaxy in the 2008 Draft and through aggressive defense in just his first year in the top soccer league in the U.S. he’s received a first-ever for the club.

Franklin was a starter for 26 of the 27 games he played in. He logged 2,385 minutes for the season.

I had the opportunity to talk to him in September and he was very down-to-earth. It’s like it hadn’t hit him that he was becoming a star (Wonder if it’ll hit him now?). Then I saw him at the Northridge mall once. He was courteous. Last time I spotted him was at the men’s soccer season-ending game against UC Irvine. As you can see, he’s still got Northridge in his heart.

Northridge pride, people.