Major League Soccer on Wednesday announced that Seattle Sounders Stefan Frei, Chad Marshall and Osvaldo Alonso are finalists for annual End of Year Awards.
Frei has been nominated for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year following a career season. He finished first in MLS in Save Percentage (76 percent) and second in Goals Against Average (1.03). He also set a Sounders record with 114 saves, surpassing his own mark he set in 2015.
Marshall has been nominated for Defender of the Year — he is already the only three-time winner — after helping lead the Sounders to the second-best defense in MLS. The Sounders had a 1.07 GAA while the 34-year-old center back was on the field, and he surpassed 400 career MLS matches and 35,000 minutes, becoming just the second outfield player in league history to do each. Marshall also tied a career high with four goals.
Alonso has been nominated for Comeback Player of the Year after enduring two long layoffs last season, including being sidelined from Oct. 1 through MLS Cup. Alonso battled a few injuries in 2018 as well, but he played in 25 matches and led MLS in passing accuracy (for players who played at least 1,000 minutes) at 92.11 percent. He has been an integral part of the Sounders’ second-half success and surge to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Voting is split between three groups: players, coaches/general managers and media. The full list of nominees can be found HERE.
