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U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper Tim Howard was named the 2014 U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year on Thursday.

As revealed on ESPN’s SportsCenter, Howard received the most votes as the top performer for the United States men’s national team, which reached the knockout stages of the World Cup this summer.

“It’s pretty special to have my name up there with the greats,” Howard said.

Howard garnered global attention for his performance against Belgium in the World Cup round of 16 on July 1. His 15 saves set a World Cup record and helped keep the match scoreless until extra time, when Belgium would go on to win 2-1.

Despite his excellence against Belgium, Howard said he couldn’t pick a single moment that stood out from his year.

“It’s hard to pick one moment as you can imagine,” Howard said. “That whole ride, with that team for about a month and a half, when we got together for training camp and then flew down to Brazil, we had a really good time.

“That whole month and a half felt like a blur, but if I could put that into a singular moment, that of course makes 2014 so special for me.”

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