One annual tradition we have at Sounder at Heart and Ride of the Valkyries is to have the readers of the site vote on individual awards. If you're interested in seeing all the previous award winners, that page is now live.
Young player
For the Sounders, the Young Player is a U-23, meaning they would be Olympics eligible if the Olympics were held during the season of voting. For Reign, the Young Player is a U-25 player, as the league still leans heavily on college for talent – though this is changing. The Sounders have three two-time winners in this category (Cristian Roldan, Nouhou, DeAndre Yedlin). Two previous winners are nominated in 2023. For Reign this award is new, mostly due to the team being older. The only previous winner is again eligible.
Breakout player
Breakout player is more about someone who exceeded expectations going into the season. There's no age limit. If Fredy Montero scored 10 goals in 2023 he'd be on the voting list.
Defensive player
Defensive player is the player who contributed the most to keeping the ball out of the net. For the Sounders, Osvaldo Alonso has taken that honor four times. A few previous winners are eligible. For Reign, Lauren Barnes won the honor five times. She and other previous winners are eligible.
Offensive player
Offensive player is about the player who most contributed to goal scoring. For Reign the most common winner is Megan Rapinoe (who also won MVP when we conducted that vote). She is eligible for the final time (I weep). Nicolás Lodeiro won that honor three times and two other previous winners are also available for selection.
Moment of the year
Moment of the Year will take two rounds. You are allowed multiple votes in this round. The idea is what moment defined your memories of the Seattle soccer scene in 2023 – what will you look back upon and tell stories of.
In setting up the Google Form I set the questions and the answers within to show up randomly in an attempt to not have first selection bias and to increase visibility towards Reign.
If the embedded form below doesn't work, just mash the link.
