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Five Union members find themselves on the MLS Awards finalist list

Goalkeeper Andre Blake is up for Goalkeeper of the year and MVP

By Sean Sullivan
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MLS: Toronto FC at Philadelphia Union Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Major League Soccer award season is upon us, and this year there is plenty of familiar faces Philadelphia Union fans will find on the finalist list. Five members of the team are finalists for five different categories.

Andre Blake is up for Goalkeeper of the year. But the stellar Goalkeeper, who had a career-high of 15 clean sheets, is also up for the Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player award.

The Union has a 66% chance to take home the hardware for Defender of the year. This is because two of the three finalists are on the U’s back line. The boys in blue that are up for the award in this category are Jakob Glesnes and Kai Wagner. One reason for hogging the finalist spots is probably because the U will be known as the most formidable defense in history. Besides the 15 shutouts, they had a goals-against average of .76.

What should come as no surprise to people is that Jim Curtin is up again for Coach of the year. Under Curtin’s guidance, the team has put up a lot of new records for Major League Soccer.

The final Union player nominated for some hardware is the captain, Alejandro Bedoya. After the tragedy in Uvalde, the U’s captain leads the team in “End Gun Violence” T-shirts for warmups. He is also a huge advocate for gun safety as he participates in PSAs and speaking engagements.

A complete list of the finalists can be seen below.

Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player Finalists

  • Cristian Arango (Los Angeles FC)
  • Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union)
  • Sebastián Driussi (Austin FC)
  • Javier Hernandez (LA Galaxy)
  • Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC)

Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists

Defender of the Year Finalists

  • Alex Callens (New York City FC)
  • Jakob Glesnes (Philadelphia Union)
  • Kai Wagner (Philadelphia Union)

Newcomer of the Year Finalists

For this award, “newcomer” is defined as a player who made his MLS debut in 2022.

Young Player of the Year Finalists

For this award, “young player” is defined as a player age 22 (born on or after Jan. 1, 2000).

  • Thiago Almada (Atlanta United)
  • Brenner (FC Cincinnati)
  • Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas)

Comeback Player of the Year Finalists

Honors an MLS player who has overcome injuries and/or adversity in order to achieve success during the 2022 regular season.

MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year Finalists

  • Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union)
  • Kei Kamara (CF Montréal)
  • Brad Stuver (Austin FC)

Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year Finalists

  • Steve Cherundolo (Los Angeles FC)
  • Jim Curtin (Philadelphia Union)
  • Wilfried Nancy (CF Montréal)

Referee of the Year Finalists

Assistant Referee of the Year Finalists

  • Ian Anderson
  • Chris Elliott
  • Corey Rockwell

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