Ballon d’Or Winner Megan Rapinoe Left Out of Major US Soccer Award as Clubmate Rose Lavelle and Alex Morgan Fight for the Biggest Honor

Every December, The United States Soccer Federation gives out its yearly awards for the best performances. The US soccer player of the year is picked on the basis of his/her consistency and performance over the calendar year. In 2021, Christian Pulisic was declared the US Soccer Male Player Of The Year and Lindsey Horan won the female counterpart.

Just a day ago, the board released the nominee list of the year’s awards on its website. However, there are a few shocking revelations. OL Reign’s captain and famous soccer personality Megan Rapinoe has been out of the nominees’ list.

Who beat Megan Rapinoe to the list?

While Rapinoe didn’t make the list, her teammate Rose Lavelle’s name has been nominated. Lavelle’s name appears on the list for the second year in a row. In 2021, the OL midfielder missed out by the finest of margins on winning the US Soccer Female Player Of The Year.

Lavelle has had a fine season. She played a total of 18 games for her club OL Reign, summing up to a total of about 1,558 minutes. OL Reign went on to win the 2022 NWSL Shield. Lavelle racked on a few impressive performances. She ended her season’s tally with 5 goals and 1 assist.

On the international margins, Lavelle set a few personal career-high records for herself. Lavelle started 15 games for the USWNT. She ranked second after bagging six assists, she also found the back of the net on four occasions.

Alex Morgan, a standout name in US soccer, was another player to make the list. Although it’s her first nomination since 2019, Morgan has been nominated for the award for the seventh time in her career.

Morgan had a fine spell of form at her club where she scored 15 goals for the season. Morgan went on to win the NWSL Golden Boot. She also almost won the NWSL MVP, being a finalist. For her country, Morgan played in the CONCACAF W Championship. She kickstarted her campaign by scoring two goals in just the first game. Morgan also scored a match-defining late goal from the spot to beat Canada 1-0 in the championship final.

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Nominations for U.S. Soccer Male Player Of The Year

Popular names like Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Tim Ream, Matt Turner, and Antonee Robinson have made the list. While Pulisic has already won the award thrice, he does earn a nomination for a third season in a row. Pulisic and Tyler Adams have been constant figures in the USMNT soccer team. By public vote, Adams was given the captain’s armband for the World Cup campaign.

Robinson has finally locked himself into that left-back spot in the USMNT. During the course of the year, Robinson has played well for club and country. His club Fulham earned a promotion to the Premier League. Robinson played a pivotal role in the 18 matches that he appeared for. Turner is yet to find a place in his club Arsenal’s starting XI, but he impressed well for his country. In the 11 appearances that he made, Turner managed to keep seven clean sheets, which is the third-highest for a USMNT goalkeeper in a calendar year.

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According to you, who deserves The U.S. Soccer Player Of The Year? Let us know in the comments below.