SEATTLE, WASH. – Major League Soccer today announced the finalists for its 2019 Year-End Awards, with Sounders FC forward Jordan Morris named as one of three finalists for 2019 MLS Comeback Player of the Year. This year’s winner of Comeback Player of the Year is set to be announced on Tuesday, October 22.
The finalists earned the most votes in polling of three voting groups:
- Current MLS players
- MLS clubs (coaches, technical directors / general managers)
- Media members who consistently covered the 2019 MLS regular season
After suffering a torn ACL last February that caused him to miss the entire 2018 season, Morris came storming back in 2019 with an impressive 10 goals and career-high seven assists in 26 appearances. His campaign started with a bang, scoring twice in the 4-1 season-opening win against FC Cincinnati on March 2, before really catching stride in the summer, where he has tallied six goals and five assists in his past 10 starts dating back to July 27.
A valuable member of Seattle's attack, the club has recorded an 8-1-2 record this season in games that Morris records a goal or assist, with the lone loss coming in a 3-2 loss to Sporting Kansas City on August 4 that saw the Mercer Island native record his second brace of the season. His 24 career MLS regular-season goals currently rank sixth in club history.
Morris also returned as a staple of the U.S. Men's National Team, making 11 appearances while recording two goals and five assists in 2019. He made five appearances and three starts - including the final vs. Mexico - for the USMNT in a runner-up finish at the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where he recorded a pair of assists in a 6-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago. His two international goals this year came in his two most recent appearances, a 1-1 friendly draw vs. Uruguay on September 10 in St. Louis and a 7-0 win over Cuba on Friday in the CONCACAF Nations League. Morris also recorded three assists against Cuba, matching the USMNT single-match record. In all, Morris has 37 international appearances and seven goals for the USMNT since making his debut in 2014.
Seattle has seen two previous winners of MLS Comeback Player of the Year since entering MLS in 2009. Eddie Johnson won the award in 2012, his first season back in MLS, while Clint Dempsey earned the honor in 2017 after sitting out the end of the 2016 season with an irregular heartbeat. Morris captured the 2016 AT&T Rookie of the Year award after recording 12 goals and four assists in his first professional season.
The AT&T MLS Goal of the Year and MLS Save of the Year presented by Allstate is being decided by online voting at MLSsoccer.com or the free MLS app from now through October 22. Raúl Ruidíaz’s goal vs. Atlanta United FC on July 14 is nominated for Goal of the Year while Stefan Frei’s save vs. Toronto on April 13 is nominated for Save of the Year.
Following a 1-0 Decision Day win last Sunday over Minnesota, Sounders FC (16-10-8, 56 points) owns the second seed in the Western Conference heading into the 2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. The Rave Green are now set for a First Round matchup with seventh-place FC Dallas (13-12-9, 48 points) on Saturday, October 19 at CenturyLink Field (12:30 p.m. PT / FOX Sports, FOX Deportes). By securing the second seed in the postseason, Seattle is guaranteed homefield advantage up until the Conference Championship.
2019 MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER AWARDS FINALISTS
(Listed in alphabetical order by last name within each award category)
*Announcement dates subject to change
LANDON DONOVAN MLS MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
(to be announced the week of 2019 MLS Cup)
Zlatan Ibrahimović (LA Galaxy)
Josef Martínez (Atlanta United)
Carlos Vela (Los Angeles Football Club)
MLS DEFENDER OF THE YEAR
(to be announced Oct. 17)
Ike Opara (Minnesota United FC)
Miles Robinson (Atlanta United)
Walker Zimmerman (Los Angeles Football Club)
ALLSTATE MLS GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
(to be announced Oct. 24)
Bill Hamid (D.C. United)
Sean Johnson (New York City FC)
Vito Mannone (Minnesota United FC)
MLS NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
(to be announced Oct. 16)
For this award, “newcomer” is defined as a player with previous professional experience who made his MLS debut in 2019
Carles Gil (New England Revolution)
Héber (New York City FC)
Alejandro Pozuelo (Toronto FC)
AT&T MLS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
(to be announced Oct. 15)
For this award, “rookie” is defined as a player without previous professional experience who made his MLS debut in 2019
Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union)
Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United FC)
Andre Shinyashiki (Colorado Rapids)
SIGI SCHMID MLS COACH OF THE YEAR
(to be announced Oct. 23)
Bob Bradley (Los Angeles Football Club)
Jim Curtin (Philadelphia Union)
Domènec Torrent (New York City FC)
MLS COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Honors an MLS player who has overcome injuries and/or adversity in order to achieve success during the 2019 regular season
(to be announced Oct. 22)
Mark-Anthony Kaye (Los Angeles Football Club)
Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC)
Kacper Przybyłko (Philadelphia Union)
MLS WORKS HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR
(TBD announcement date)
Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids)
Matt Lampson (LA Galaxy)
Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls)
MLS REFEREE OF THE YEAR
(to be announced Oct. 15)
Allen Chapman
Jair Marrufo
Rubiel Vazquez
MLS ASSISTANT REFEREE OF THE YEAR
(to be announced Oct. 15)
Logan Brown
Brian Dunn
Brian Poeschel
