Sounders FC Announces 2024 Team Awards

November 14, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC News Release

Sounders FC forward Jordan Morris
(Seattle Sounders FC)

SEATTLE, WASH. - Seattle Sounders FC today announced its 2024 team award recipients, as voted on by Sounders FC's players at the conclusion of the MLS regular season. Albert Rusnák was voted Most Valuable Player for first time since joining the team prior to the 2022 season. Yeimar Gómez Andrade earned the club's Defender of the Year award for the fifth consecutive season, while Jordan Morris took home Seattle's Golden Boot title and Humanitarian of the Year, each for the third time.

SOUNDERS FC MOST VALUABLE PLAYER - ALBERT RUSNÁK

Albert Rusnák wins his first Sounders FC MVP award after a career year in 2024. In all competitions, Rusnák set the club record for single-season assists with 19 while adding 11 goals. Slotting into an attacking midfield role, his 16 regular season assists were tied for third in MLS and equaled Nico Lodeiro's 2018 season for most in a single season in club history. His 26 goal contributions (10g / 16a) in MLS this year rank second in club history, trailing only Obafemi Martin's 30 in 2014, while shattering his previous best of 22 he set in 2021 while with Real Salt Lake. The Slovakian international recorded a hat trick against Columbus on September 7, earning Player of the Matchday honors. Rusnák also ranked in the league's top 10 in key passes (84), corner kicks (129) and game-winning assists (5) this year.

SOUNDERS FC DEFENDER OF THE YEAR - YEIMAR GÓMEZ ANDRADE

Yeimar started 34 of 36 appearances for the Rave Green in all competitions. The central defender helped anchor a backline that only allowed 35 goals during the regular season, the fewest in MLS while also leading the league with 13 shutouts. Yeimar was third in MLS with 82 clearances and ranked second for Seattle with 93 challenges, all while winning 70 percent of his arial duels, highest on the team. The Colombian international also scored two goals this year in all competitions. This marks the fifth consecutive Sounders FC Defender of the Year award for Yeimar in as many seasons with the club.

SOUNDERS FC GOLDEN BOOT & HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR - JORDAN MORRIS

Leading the Rave Green with a career-high 13 goals in the 2024 MLS regular season, Morris wins his third Sounders FC Golden Boot Award, also winning in 2023 and 2016 during his MLS Rookie of the Year campaign. The only Seattle player to appear in every league match this season, Morris added one goal in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play and three strikes in 2024 Leagues Cup action, setting a career high with 17 goals in all competitions. He scored a brace in Seattle's 3-2 win over FC Dallas, bagging the game-winning strike in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, adding to his team-leading five game-winning goals this year, tied for fifth in MLS. Morris also passed Fredy Montero into second on the club's all-competitions scoring list, currently sitting at 83 goals, three behind the club record held by Raúl Ruidíaz. By scoring against Sacramento Republic FC during the Rave Green's U.S. Open Cup campaign this year, Morris became the first player in club history to score in the MLS regular season, Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, Leagues Cup and Concacaf Champions Cup over the course of their career.

Morris is also the recipient of Sounders FC's Humanitarian of the Year Award. It is his third season winning the award, also doing so in 2016 and 2017. Founder of the Jordan Morris Foundation, Morris continued the foundation's work in 2024, furthering its commitment to diabetes awareness, education and connecting with those affected by Type 1 Diabetes. Since 2017, the Jordan Morris Foundation has operated the T1D Playmakers program, offering youth with T1D the opportunity to meet with Morris after Sounders FC matches, both home and away, throughout the regular season. This exclusive experience offers youth and their families the ability to experience the match pitch-side, meet Morris post-match, and ask him questions about living with Type 1 Diabetes. Morris continued to meet with a T1D Playmaker after nearly every match. With assistance from Sounders FC club staff, his foundation continued to reach out to kids with T1D in almost every city Seattle played in during 2024, as well as after every home fixture, helping give kids of all ages an unforgettable experience with Morris as they learn to navigate living with their condition. Morris also operates JMO Soccer Camp, an annual camp for youth players with T1D providing a safe space for those with the condition, with this season's edition marking the sixth JMO Soccer Camp since the start of the Jordan Morris Foundation.

Following its Round One win over Houston Dynamo FC in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, Seattle Sounders FC travels to face LAFC in the Western Conference Semifinals on Saturday, November 23 at BMO Stadium (7:30 p.m. PT / Apple TV, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360 AM).

SOUNDERS FC HISTORICAL TEAM AWARDS WINNERS

2024

MVP: Albert Rusnák