SEATTLE, WASH. – U.S. Soccer today announced that Jordan Morris has been nominated for 2019 U.S. Male Soccer Player of the Year. The Seattle forward is one of six nominees for the annual award, alongside Aaron Long, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Tim Ream and Gyasi Zardes, given for exploits and achievements for club and country.
Morris had a standout 2019 season in which he won Sounders FC Team MVP and MLS Comeback Player of the Year, returning from a torn ACL that caused him to miss the entirety of 2018 to record 13 goals and eight assists in MLS play in 2019 (including postseason). After tallying 10 goals and seven assists in regular season play, the Mercer Island native added three goals and an assist during the club’s postseason run en route to its second MLS Cup title. Morris also returned as a staple of the U.S. Men's National Team, making 14 appearances while recording five goals and a team-leading six assists in 2019. Morris was part of nine of the 16 goals scored in the USMNT's last five matches and finished as the leading scorer (4) in Concacaf Nations League A group play.
Voting for the awards starts today and closes on December 6, 2019 at 8:59 p.m. PT, with winners announced during the second week of December. Votes for U.S. Soccer Male and Female Player of the Year awards are collected from respective National Team coaches, National Team players who have earned a cap in 2019, members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors, U.S. Soccer Athletes' Council, National Women's Soccer League head coaches for the USWNT and American soccer league (MLS and USL) head coaches for the USMNT, select media members and former players and administrators.
The U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year has been awarded since 1984 when Rick Davis won it. Current U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Earnie Stewart won it in 2001. Landon Donovan holds the record for most awards, winning it four times, while Clint Dempsey won it on three occasions. Then 18-year-old Christian Pulisic became the youngest player to win the award in 2017.
Sounders FC won the 2019 MLS Cup on November 10 with a 3-1 victory over Toronto FC at CenturyLink Field, marking the club's second championship in four seasons. Seattle previously won the 2016 title before falling in 2017, both against Toronto at BMO Field. The crowd of 69,274 provided the largest standalone attendance for a sporting event in the history of CenturyLink Field, as well as the largest for a soccer match in the history of Washington state.
