Major League Soccer unveiled the finalists for its year-end awards on Wednesday, and the Landon Donovan Most Valuable Player features Nicolás Lodeiro and Jordan Morris as two of the five finalists.
The Seattle Sounders duo are joined by Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake, Toronto FC midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo and LAFC winger Diego Rossi. Finalists for each award were determined by polling current MLS players, MLS club technical staffs and a select group of media members.
After guiding the Rave Green to a second MLS Cup title in 2019, Lodeiro and Morris picked up right where they left off this season, putting up eye-popping statistics as the Sounders secured the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Lodeiro has posted seven goals and 10 assists from 20 starts this campaign, serving as the fulcrum for a Sounders side that finished third in goals per game. Digging deeper into the advanced analytics, Seattle’s midfield maestro led the league in big chances created (14) and finished second in touches per 90 minutes (96.01) and distance run per 90 minutes (7.38 miles).
Morris, who earned Comeback Player of the Year last season, maintained his dominant form in 2020 with 10 goals and seven assists from 18 starts, surpassing his 2019 goal contributions in about 300 fewer minutes. And according to American Soccer Analysis, he finished the season second in MLS in g+, a metric that calculates how much each individual action from a player increases the likelihood of scoring or conceding a goal.
You can find the full list of year-end awards HERE.
