For the second consecutive year, the Union are well represented in the MLS awards discussion.
Announced by the league on Tuesday, Union goalkeeper and reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake has been named a finalist for the accolade, while rookie center back Jack Elliott follows teammate and 2016 nominee Keegan Rosenberry as a finalist for Rookie of the Year.
Both Blake and Elliott were bright spots in the Union’s dreary season by solidifying a defensive corps that only allowed 47 goals in 34 games. The Eastern Conference average was 49.7.
Blake, who has become a bonafide MLS star, ended the 2017 campaign with force, adding his usual acrobatic flair to 88 saves in 26 starts — good for ninth in MLS. He also finished with a career-high nine shutouts, tied for fifth, despite playing fewer games than nearly all of the league’s top goalkeepers.
For Elliott, it was about consistency. The 6-foot-5 MLS newcomer out of London, England, was drafted from the University of West Virginia in the fourth round of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. Early injuries to Richie Marquez and Josh Yaro pushed Elliott into the fire early in 2017 and the 23-year-old didn’t look back. He made 29 starts and played in 30 games and scored one goal and one assist.
Yet, despite the production, neither Blake or Elliott is the favorite heading into the final selection, which will take place for rookies on Nov. 8 and goalkeepers on Nov. 16. Blake is up against Seattle Sounders’ Stefan Frei, who led MLS with 13 shutouts, and the favorite, Sporting Kansas City’s TIm Melia, who only allowed 24 goals in 31 games.
As a center back — a position that does not garner much attention in terms of individual awards — Elliott is at a disadvantage. He’s facing forward and 2017 first overall pick, Abu Danladi from Minnesota United, and attacking midfielder Julian Gressel from Atlanta United. Danladi finished with eight goals and three assists, while Gressel, the favorite to win, ended with five goals and nine assists.
MLS awards voting consists of total votes from selection media members, MLS players and MLS team front office members.