U.S. Soccer announces player of year award nominees

Voting has opened to select the best American national team players from the 2022 international and club season. Today, U.S. Soccer announced the nominees for its 2022 Player of the Year awards.

Fans can vote for the Female and Male Player of the Year and the Chipotle Young Female and Young Male Player of the Year awards on the federation’s website. The fan vote comprises 15% of the overall vote, with the rest coming from National Team players, coaches, media, and other constituents.

The 2022 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year nominees are midfielders Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle and forwards Alex Morgan, Mallory Pugh, and Sophia Smith.

Horan was last year’s winner and remains the top midfielder for the USWNT, starting all 14 matches in which she played in 2022, going 979 minutes and scoring one goal against Nigeria.

Alex Morgan is looking to win the award for the third time in her illustrious USWNT career. Morgan didn’t appear for the USWNT until the CONCACAF W Championship this year, but she scored two goals to open the tournament, along with the winning goal to send the USWNT to the 2023 World Cup.

Rose Lavelle, Sophia Smith, and Mallory Pugh are looking for their first player of the year award. Lavelle, the elder of the three, is nominated for the second straight year. Pugh and Smith had fantastic seasons as pillars of head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s youth movement. Pugh became one of the more dangerous players for the USWNT, scoring seven goals and assisting another seven in international competition. Smith led the team in goals with 11, becoming the youngest player to lead the USWNT in goals since Mia Hamm in 1993.

USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner, defenders Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream, midfielder Tyler Adams and forward Christian Pulisic form the list of Male Player of the Year Nominees. On the men’s side, the race is much different, with Christian Pulsic being the outright favorite. Pulisic’s goal against Iran was one of the most significant moments for the USMNT in recent memory. Pulisic is already a three-time winner, with five nominations in his career. One more award will see him tie Landon Donavan for most in USMNT history.

23-year-old Tyler Adams receives his third nomination after becoming the youngest player in the 2022 World Cup to rock the captain’s armband. Adams was also voted Man of the Match in both USMNT’s victories in Qatar.

Matt Turner’s seven overall clean sheets tied for third-most ever in a calendar year for a USMNT goalkeeper. In Qatar, Turner was one of three players to feature in all 360 minutes of the tournament for the USMNT, with his shutouts in the group stage making him just the second U.S. goalkeeper to keep two clean sheets in one edition of the FIFA World Cup.

Other awards include The Cerebral Palsy Female and Male Player of the Year Awards, Player of the Year awards for Female and Male Beach Soccer and Futsal, and the ADAPTandTHRIVE Disability Award.

Voting begins on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 11 a.m. ET and concludes on Dec. 22 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The winners will then be announced in January 2023. Hit the comments to discuss your picks for the various U.S. Soccer player of the year awards.