U.S. SOCCER’S FAVORITE SONG: ERTZ SO GOOD
RED STARS MIDFIELDER AND NATIONAL-TEAM MAINSTAY NAMED U.S. FEMALE PLAYER OF YEAR
This year saw no shortage of accomplishments for U.S. women’s national team and Red Stars midfielder Julie Ertz.
Her year included a World Cup title, the Red Stars’ first NWSL championship game appearance and recognition as a member of the first FIFPro World XI and the NWSL’s best XI.
Now she can add 2019 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year to that list.
“It’s been a whirlwind of a year and one that I’m extremely grateful for,” Ertz said. “My team lifted me up in so many ways, and our experiences on and off the field in 2019 just encapsulate the love I have for the national team and for wearing this crest and what it represents.”
U.S. Soccer didn’t release the voting breakdown, but Ertz beat out Megan Rapinoe, Rose Lavelle, Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan and Red Stars teammate Alyssa Naeher for the award.
A winner in 2017, Ertz is the 10th player in the history of the award (established in 1985) to win multiple times. She is the only player to win that award and the U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year award, which she won in 2012.
To this point, Rapinoe has been claiming most of the annual awards. She won FIFA’s The Best award and the women’s Ballon d’Or, and she was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year.
The 27-year-old Ertz started 22 games for the USWNT, playing 1,755 minutes, which was third-most on the team. She finished the year with 95 career caps.
“If you look at that U.S. team and you go through position by position, you can think of somebody that can go in and replace each person and still be pretty darn good,” Red Stars coach Rory Dames said. “I don’t know who else on that roster could have gone into that position and carried out the role that Julie carried out for that team.”
Her performance in France, where she started and played in six of the seven matches for a total of 474 minutes, helped lead the USWNT to its record-breaking fourth World Cup title.
She scored her first career World Cup goal in the group stage against Chile on a header with an assist from Red Stars teammate Tierna Davidson. Ertz was the leader of a defensive unit that allowed just three goals, including a shutout of the Netherlands in the final.
“Julie was such a critical part of our success this summer,” former USWNT coach Jill Ellis said. “It’s wonderful that she’s being recognized in this way. She’s always a consummate professional regardless of the environment. Whether it’s in training, national-team games or in the NWSL, she always brings a level of professionalism, effort and talent.”
After returning to the Red Stars, Ertz didn’t let up.
She played every minute of her 14 starts this season for the Red Stars and led a defense that allowed only two goals in the final five games of the regular season.
After the Red Stars’ loss to the North Carolina Courage in the NWSL championship, Dames said of Ertz: “I know I’m biased, but I think Julie Ertz is the best player in the world.” ✶