Former MetroStars goalkeeper Tim Howard and midfielder Michael Bradley have been named finalists for the U.S. Soccer men’s athlete of the year.
Also on the ballot are Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan, Fulham FC forward Clint Dempsey and AC Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu.
Two players from the WPS Champion Sky Blue, Forward Heather O’Reilly and defender Christie Rampone were named finalists for the U.S. Soccer women’s athlete of the year. Also on the ballot were Shannon Boxx of the Los Angeles Sol, Abby Wambackh of the Washington Freedom and Hope Solo of Saint Louis Athletica.
U.S. Soccer also announced the finalists for the young female, and young male – athlete of the year.
Fans will have the opportunity to make their selections for each of the four athlete of the year categories once a day until Dec. 13.
The male and Female athletes of the year awards are the oldest awards of their kind, dating back to 1984 for the men and 1985 for the women, while the young male and young female awards were added in 1998.
The finalists for each award were nominated on the basis of:
* Competing and excelling at the highest level (at the national team and professional level) during the calendar year
* Exhibiting decorum on and off the field that reflects well on U.S. Soccer
* Contributing toward the growth, development, credibility and popularization of soccer in the USA. A player can only win a Youth Athlete award once in his or her career (past winners).
Online votes for the annual award will be tallied and equivalent to 50 percent of the total votes. As in years past, the other 50 percent will be represented by votes compiled from members of the national media and U.S. Soccer representatives (from national team coaches to the National Board of Directors).
Fans also can vote daily for the eighth annual edition of the Best of U.S. Soccer awards until Dec. 13. The 2009 Best of U.S. Soccer Awards span 12 categories in an eclectic ballot. The winners of the 2009 Best of U.S. Soccer awards are chose entirely by online fan votes submitted during the next few weeks.
Male Athlete candidates
Michael Bradley, Midfielder, Borussia Mönchengladbach
Clint Dempsey, Forward, Fulham FC
Landon Donovan, Midfielder, Los Angeles Galaxy
Tim Howard, Goalkeeeper, Everton
Oguchi Onyewu, Defender, A.C. Milan
Female Athlete candidates
Shannon Boxx, Midfielder, Los Angeles Sol
Heather O’Reilly, Midfielder, Sky Blue FC
Christie Rampone Defender, Sky Blue FC
Hope Solo, Goalkeeper, Saint Louis Athletica
Abby Wambach, Forward, Washington Freedom
Young Male Athlete candidates
Marlon Duran, Midfielder, U17 MNT/Latino American
Luis Gil, Midfielder, U17 MNT/Pateadores
Jared Jeffrey, Midfielder, U20 MNT/Brugge (Belgium)
Brian Perk, Goalkeeeper, U20 MNT/UCLA
Tyler Polak, Defender, U17 MNT/Capital Soccer Academy
Young Female Athlete candidates
Tobin Heath, Midfielder, North Carolina
Christine Nairn, Midfielder, Penn State
Sydney Leroux, Forward, UCLA
Kelley O’Hara, Forward, Stanford
Katie Schoepfer, Forward, Penn State
Speaking of US football, Hope Solo was the goalie for the team in the 2007 World Cup. She really was brought to our attention when she was yanked in a semifinal match (despite giving up just two goals in four games) for the older Brianna Scurry, who had played well against Brazil before, but hadn’t played in three months.