Last weekend's MLS results handed the Supporters' Shield to D.C. United, robbing the team's season finale against Columbus of any real influence on the standings. But it does provide several players with another 90 minutes to assert their credentials for league honors while coach Tom Soehn looks to ensure that his side are ready for the postseason.
A year ago, United's league-best campaign helped Bobby Boswell earn Defender of the Year honors, while Troy Perkins took home the Goalkeeper of the Year award as well. This year Perkins has taken another step forward, improving his goals-against average from last season's 1.13 to a paltry 1.04 while racking up more saves as well -- to say nothing of several performances, like Saturday's 0-0 draw with Chicago, in which his efforts have carried the team through lackluster overall displays.
But the fourth-year netminder insists that he's all but out of the running this time around, with most of the awards buzz focusing on the exploits of Brad Guzan and Pat Onstad, of Chivas USA and Houston Dynamo, respectively.
"I don't think it's going to happen," said Perkins. "No one's even talking about me. So I'm not even worried about it, to be fair. From the get-go of the season, that wasn't one of my goals. Individual awards are great, but at the end of the day, if you don't win something it doesn't matter. It's not an individual sport, it's a team sport."
At the other end of the field, D.C. striker Luciano Emilio has been right at the center of the debate over the Most Valuable Player award. The Brazilian has adapted quickly to MLS after several years of dominating performances in the Honduran league, scoring 20 goals in league play (24 overall) and giving United the natural finisher their flowing possession attack has needed in recent years.
"You know, I think he deserves it," said Perkins. "Coming into this league, not really knowing what to expect -- it's a huge step up from where he was in Honduras as far as physicality, intensity. And the overall league is a lot better this year. The quality of players keep getting better and better, and for him to come in and have the season he's had, I think he deserves it. And the stuff he's done off the ball is more important than what he does on the ball, so for us I think it's a shoo-in."
Others are quick to emphasize "Luchi's" hard running and ability to hold possession as well.
"Anybody who, in his first year, can score so many goals and not just impact the game with his scoring but also what he does defensively and how hard he works, he's definitely a prime candidate," said Soehn.
But just as in the Budweiser Golden Boot standings, Emilio faces stiff competition from Colombian striker Juan Pablo Angel. The New York Red Bulls' second designated player signing has lit up the league with 19 goals, which adds up to a huge chunk of his team's scoring. Angel grabbed a double against Kansas City last week, while Emilio has gone quiet since his sensational volley against Toronto FC on Sept. 29 -- though Soehn says that's through no fault of his own.
"When we're not good enough with the ball, we're not creating the service he needs," said the United coach. "He's a goal scorer and he makes a living in the box, and if you're not giving quality service, he is not going to score those kind of goals."
Each player has one more league match to pad their stats, and both will have the opportunity to bolster their chances in the playoff limelight.
Similarly, Soehn is in the thick of the race for the league's top coaching honor, running neck-and-neck with another successful rookie boss, Chivas USA's Preki. The rojiblancos can certainly boast a more dramatic improvement than United, which also won the Supporters' Shield under former coach Peter Nowak in 2006.
But that belies the fact that Nowak's side had faded badly down the homestretch, prompting the club to rejigger the roster with several high-profile trades and make room for Emilio and his countryman Fred. Soehn has earned praise for his ability to mesh the existing core of D.C.'s roster with those new additions -- and when the team stumbled out of the gate with a winless April, his adjustments helped right the ship.
"Tommy deserves coach of the year, because he inherited a team that, if you go back into last year, we hadn't been playing well, and he fixed it," said United general manager Dave Kasper. "He changed the system, he made bold moves, he rotated players, he kept everyone fresh."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
