Vancouver Whitecaps hand out some hardware

The Vancouver Whitecaps announced their Player Awards for 2019, on Tuesday evening. Goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau was given Player of the Year honors. It is unsurprising as he has been stellar this season. It is funny to think that we were not even sure he would be the starting keeper heading into this season.

In addition to Crepeau, Inbeom Hwang won ‘Most Promising Male Player’. Not sure what that fully means, but it was chosen by the club’s technical staff. Regardless of it’s meaning, Inbeom’s recognition is certainly earned. While some were a bit disappointed with his performance this season, he led the club in minutes played, tackles, possession won, touches, chances created, and passes. With an offseason to rest, I can’t wait to see what he can do next year.

17-year old Andersen Williams, part of the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite REX program, was awarded ‘Most Promising Female Player’. Playing for Canada in last year’s Concacaf U-17 Championship and FIFA U-17 World Cup, Williams will be attending Texas A&M next season on a full scholarship.

Another 17-year-old won ‘Academy Male Player of the Year’. Centre back Gianfranco Facchineri joined the Academy a year ago, co-captaining Canada’s U-17 team at the 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship, and will be competing at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in October.

Newcomer Scott Sutter was awarded ‘Humanitarian of the Year’, being a strong supporter of BC Children’s Hospital. Scott and his wife Claudia started an initiative called “Sutter’s Seats” where at each home match a different patient and their family are invited to meet Sutter and enjoy the game.

Another newcomer Erik Godoy was awarded the ‘Jock MacDonald Unsung Hero’ award. Godoy has been a dominant presence in the middle of defense this season and is among the league leaders in clearances.

It was a close race, but Theo Bair’s sensational first goal, against Portland Timbers, was the winner for ‘Goal of the Year’. This was awarded from fan votes on social media.

The final award, ‘Domenic Mobilio Golden Boot’, is still up in the air, and will be decided in the final two matches. Fredy Montero leads the race, thanks to his two recent goals, with eight goals. Right behind him though is Yordy Reyna with seven. Either could win the title, but I am just glad the club’s leading scorer isn’t a defender as it was for a large portion of the first half of the season.

Those are your winners this season. What are your thoughts? Disagree with some of the voting? Who are your award winners?