MVP finalist Blake among four award candidates
Union manager Jim Curtin has beaten the drum all year for his players to garner postseason accolades, something he has promised will come with results.
The results are in as of last weekend, and the promise has held true for the Supporters’ Shield winners.
Four Union players are among the finalists for MLS postseason awards, led by MVP candidate Andre Blake, announced Wednesday.
Blake is a finalist for both the Landon Donovan MVP Award and Goalkeeper of the Year. Mark McKenzie is up for Defender of the Year, Brenden Aaronson for the inaugural Young Player of the Year award and Curtin is a Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year finalist.
The finalists earned the most votes among current players, coaches/front office personnel and media. The playoffs start Nov. 20 af ter the international break, and awards will be announced in the coming month.
Blake is the only nongoalscorer among five finalists for MVP and one of three finalists for Goalkeeper of the Year. He played 21 games, posting a goals-against average of 0.86 and a save percentage of 77.8. Both are second among goalies with at least 10 games played. He’s second in MLS with eight clean sheets and earned the Golden Gloves award at the MLS Is Back tournament in August.
McKenzie led the Union in minutes played at 1,980. He’s become a defensive standout on the team that allowed the fewest goals in MLS (20). The 21-year-old Homegrown also scored two goals (including a stunning equalizer from outside the box late in a draw at D.C. United) and three assists. He entered the year without a goal or an assist in 26 appearances.
Aaronson is a finalist for the first Young Player of the Year award, a new accolade that replaces the Rookie of the Year honor of which he was runner-up last year. It rewards the best player age 22 or younger. He’s joined by Golden Boot winner and MVP candidate Diego Rossi, a veteran of three MLS seasons and 42 goals with LAFC, and true rookie Darryl Dike of Orlando City.
Aaronson started all 23 games this season, one of only two players to do so (with Kacper Przybylko).
He scored four goals and seven assists, leading the team in the latter category. Aaronson, 20, is bound for Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg at season’s end, the Union having agreed a $6 million initial fee with clauses that could increase it of $9 million. It’s the highest fee ever paid for a Homegrown player from an American MLS club.
Curtin has been at the helm since the summer of 2014, the Philadelphia-area native and Bishop McDevitt/Villanova grad the second-longest tenured manager in MLS. He guided the Union to their first trophy with the Supporters’ Shield for best regular-season record. The 2.04 points per game is the highest in franchise history. Curtin has an 84-79-48 all-time record in MLS. He’s guided the Union to the postseason in four of the last five seasons.