United States Soccer on Tuesday nominated Seattle Sounders forwards Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris 2017 Male Player of the Year. Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 12.
Votes will be collected from national team coaches and staff, national team players who have earned a cap in 2017, members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors, U.S. Soccer’s Athlete Council, professional soccer league coaches, select college head coaches and select media members. The current voting format has been in place since 2014.
Dempsey and Morris are joined by Toronto FC’s Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore, as well as Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic. Dempsey and Morris will take take on TFC’s Bradley and Altidore in a rematch of MLS Cup 2016 on Saturday at BMO Field (1 p.m. PT; ESPN, UniMás, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
Dempsey returned to the U.S. national team fold in a huge way after missing seven months while sidelined with an irregular heartbeat, which shut him down indefinitely in August 2016. He scored six goals in 14 matches, including a hat trick in his first game back in a 6-0 win in March over Honduras in FIFA World Cup Qualifying. He also scored a team-high 12 goals for the Sounders and was named the 2017 MLS Comeback Player of the Year.
Dempsey is a three-time U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year (2007, '11, '12) and was a finalist for the 2016 award, which went to Altidore.
Morris had a breakout year on the international stage, scoring four goals in 15 matches, including the 88th-minute game-winner over Jamaica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final. He battled an ankle injury and hamstring strain during this club season, but he still remains one of the best young talents in the U.S. pool. Morris was nominated for the 2016 Young Male Player of the Year award last year, which went to Pulisic.
