SEATTLE, WASH. – Seattle Sounders FC today announced its 2017 club award recipients, as voted on by Sounders FC’s technical staff and players. Midfielder Cristian Roldan was voted Most Valuable Player for the first time, while defender Chad Marshall earned the club’s Defender of the Year award for the third time in four seasons. Forward Clint Dempsey took home the club’s Golden Boot title, and second-year pro Jordan Morris was named the club’s Humanitarian of the Year for the second consecutive season.
SOUNDERS FC MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – CRISTIAN ROLDAN
Roldan wins Sounders FC MVP honors for the first time after a breakout 2017, in which he solidified his place as one of the top players at his position in MLS and earned his first senior U.S. Men’s National Team caps. The fourth-year pro started all 33 of his regular-season appearances (tied for first on the team), while registering a career-high six goals to go along with three assists. The versatile midfielder spent the majority of the season in a holding role and ranked first among all MLS players with 90 tackles won and 229 duels won. Among the team ranks, the University of Washington product led Sounders FC field players with 229 recoveries, ranked second with 1,565 successful passes and third with 45 interceptions. Roldan was a two-time selection for MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week (weeks one and 20), playing all 450 minutes of action in the 2017 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs en route to the club’s second consecutive appearance in MLS Cup. Roldan brought consistency to the midfield after five-time team MVP Osvaldo Alonso was sidelined with an injury during the homestretch of the season.
SOUNDERS FC DEFENDER OF THE YEAR – CHAD MARSHALL
Marshall earns Sounders FC Defender of the Year for the second consecutive season and the third time in four years with the club. The only three-time MLS Defender of the Year (2008, 2009, 2014) in league history started 27 of 28 appearances this season and anchored a backline that was tied for first in MLS with 13 shutouts in 2017. The 14-year MLS veteran led Sounders FC with 58 aerials won, 22 blocks, 110 clearances and 63 headed clearances, while ranking second with 55 interceptions. For his efforts, the Stanford product earned MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week honors on three occasions (weeks 13, 23 and 24). Marshall now ranks second in club history with 18 starts in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, and has played every minute of postseason action since joining Sounders FC prior to the 2014 season.
SOUNDERS FC GOLDEN BOOT – CLINT DEMPSEY
Dempsey wins Seattle’s Golden Boot for the first time after leading the Rave Green with 12 goals in 29 appearances (25 starts) in the 2017 MLS regular season, and his 46 regular-season goals for Seattle are just one strike shy of the Sounders FC all-time club scoring record held by Fredy Montero. His 2017 campaign took off with a run of seven goals in six games this summer, beginning on June 25 when the Nacogdoches, Texas native came off the bench against Portland to score in the waning moments of stoppage time to force a 2-2 draw. He went on to score braces in two of his next three games, as the Rave Green recorded a club-record 13-match unbeaten streak (7-0-6) over the summer. Dempsey added three more goals in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, giving him six career postseason tallies with Seattle, the most in club history. Dempsey’s efforts led to him being voted 2017 MLS Comeback Player of the Year after suffering an irregular heartbeat in August of 2016 that sidelined him for the remainder of the campaign.
SOUNDERS FC HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR – JORDAN MORRIS
Morris earned Sounders FC Humanitarian of the Year honors for the second consecutive season in 2017, as the Stanford product continued to build on his commitments to the Type-1 Diabetes community. As part of his T1D Playmakers program launched this year, Morris has met with T1D youth following every home match and select away matches in 2017, sharing his experience to show them they are not alone and that every dream is achievable. He also was the face of Seattle Foundation’s 2017 GiveBIG Campaign that raised $19 million in 24 hours, then served as Ambassador for JDRF’s Beat the Bridge run and raised over $13,000 for JDRF Seattle. Morris’ charitable momentum is only continuing to build, as the Mercer Island native launched the Jordan Morris Foundation on October 13, while also beginning visits to T1D inpatients at Seattle Children’s Hospital monthly in October.
Sounders FC fell 2-0 to Toronto FC on Saturday in the 2017 MLS Cup in a rematch of the 2016 championship fixture, which Seattle won via penalty kicks. Earlier this week, Sounders FC began its offseason by announcing contract options being exercised on 11 players.
