Major League Soccer has nominated Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey for 2017 MLS Comeback Player of the Year. An irregular heartbeat kept Dempsey out of the final third of the 2016 regular season and the entire run through the MLS Cup Playoffs, but he returned mightily this year with a team-high 12 goals, the second-highest goal production in his eight MLS seasons.
Ahead of the Comeback Player of the Year announcement on Nov. 15, SoundersFC.com counts down Dempsey’s top five goals of the year to date.
No. 5: At Minnesota United (8/5)
No. 4: At Chicago Fire (5/13)
No. 2: November 13
No. 1: November 14
No. 3
With the Western Conference Semifinals between the Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps scoreless through 145 minutes across two legs, Dempsey delivered. After missing the first leg due to suspension, Dempsey returned to the starting lineup and broke the deadlock in the 56th minute.
The sequence leading to Dempsey’s strike — Nicolás Lodeiro slipped in Cristian Roldan, who fed Will Bruin, who flicked to Harry Shipp before it eventually found Dempsey — was just as pretty as Deuce’s sublime finish. At the top of the 18-yard box, Dempsey cut once to his left and beat a helpless Stefan Marinovic with a seeing-eye, left-footed strike. Dempsey would also score another one late to all but clinch the series and move the Sounders on to the Western Conference Championship.
