Columbus Crew honored with five finalists for 2024 MLS Year-End Awards 

COLUMBUS – Major League Soccer today announced that five members of the Columbus Crew have been named finalists for the 2024 MLS Year-End Awards, honoring the league’s top performers during the MLS regular season. The Crew’s honorees include Wilfried Nancy (Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year), Cucho Hernández (Landon Donovan MLS MVP), Steven Moreira (Defender of the Year), Patrick Schulte (Goalkeeper of the Year) and Darlington Nagbe (Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award).

The Crew are one of only three MLS clubs with multiple finalists across the eight categories, joined by Inter Miami CF (six) and LAFC (three). The winners are set to be announced throughout the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs.

In his second season with the Crew, Nancy earns finalist honors for the third consecutive year after leading his side to a club-record and personal-best 66 points (19-6-9). The Black & Gold earned 57 points during last year’s MLS Cup championship season, tying the team’s previous best set in 2008, after Nancy guided CF Montreal to a club-record 65 points in 2022, when he finished second for the league accolade by one-tenth of a percentage point.

Columbus in 2024 finished second in both the Supporters’ Shield and Eastern Conference standings, recording Club records in goals scored (72), goal differential (+32), away wins (9), and away goals (34) in MLS play. Under Nancy’s leadership, the Crew became the first MLS club to reach three tournament finals in the span of nine months, winning both the 2023 MLS Cup and 2024 Leagues Cup.

The reigning MLS Cup MVP, Cucho finished the 2024 campaign with a career-best 19 goals and 14 assists in 27 league appearances, setting a new Crew standard for goal contributions in one season (33). He has recorded 20 goals and 16 assists in 25 matches across all competitions since the Concacaf Champions Cup final on June 2. In his second full season with the Black & Gold, Cucho became the first player in Club history and only the 19th in MLS history to post multiple seasons with both 10+ goals and 10+ assists, surpassing his totals from 2023.

Twice named to MLS’ Team of the Matchday, Moreira has tallied two goals and four assists in 27 league appearances (23 starts). The defender held a 95.3 percent passing accuracy in regular season play. He currently ranks 16th in most regular season assists in Club history with 20 and played in his 100th regular season match on Oct. 2 against Inter Miami CF.

In his third season as a professional, Schulte started 27 MLS matches for the Black & Gold, amassing 76 saves and posting career-highs in shutouts (10) and Goals Against Average (1.07). The 23-year-old played every minute of the Concacaf Champions Cup campaign, collecting 36 saves as the Crew reached the Final for the first time in Club history. For his performance, including two crucial penalty kick saves in the shootout at Tigres UANL in the quarterfinals, Schulte was named Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament and selected to the Best XI. This summer, Schulte was a member of the United States’ 2024 Paris Olympics team. He started all four matches and became the first active MLS player to record a shutout at the Olympics as the Americans reached the knockout rounds for the first time in 24 years. On Sept. 7, Schulte earned his second senior cap with the U.S. Men’s National Team in a friendly against Canada.

The Ohio native and Crew captain, Nagbe’s commitment to the community is as highly regarded as his reputation on the pitch. He has a long-standing history of giving back to the community, including a passion for the Boys and Girls Club. Recently, he was profiled by The Players Tribune and highlighted for his community efforts through the Audi Celebrating Impact content series. As a result, Audi made a $40,000 contribution through the Audi Goals Drive Progress fund on behalf of Nagbe to The Boys and Girls Club of Central Ohio following a highly engaging visit with the group, leading to his desire to host children from the facility for one of the Crew’s final 2024 home matches.

In 2024, Nagbe frequently used his platform to promote children’s mental health awareness with Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Kids Mental Health Foundation. Leveraging his social media presence, reputation, and stardom, Nagbe supported the foundation’s On Our Sleeves Moment and encouraged the community to participate in their 5k fundraiser, which he attended. The event ultimately raised more than $184,000 to help provide expert-created resources to promote mental health for children. He also was frequently involved in advancing the League and Club’s efforts around major campaigns such as Kick Childhood Cancer month.

The full list of 2024 awards finalists is below:

Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year

• Chris Armas (Colorado Rapids)
• Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino (Inter Miami CF)
• Wilfried Nancy (Columbus Crew)

Landon Donovan MLS MVP

• Christian Benteke (D.C. United)
• Evander (Portland Timbers)
• Cucho Hernández (Columbus Crew)
• Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF)
• Luis Suárez (Inter Miami CF)

MLS Defender of the Year

• Jordi Alba (Inter Miami CF)
• Steven Moreira (Columbus Crew)
• Jackson Ragen (Seattle Sounders FC)

MLS Goalkeeper of the Year

• Kristijan Kahlina (Charlotte FC)
• Hugo Lloris (LAFC)
• Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew)

Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award

• Andrew Farrell (New England Revolution)
• Darlington Nagbe (Columbus Crew)
• Ilie Sánchez (LAFC)

MLS Comeback Player of the Year

• Robin Lod (Minnesota United FC)
• Maxi Moralez (New York City FC)
• Lewis Morgan (New York Red Bulls)

MLS Newcomer of the Year

• Luca Orellano (FC Cincinnati)
• Gabriel Pec (LA Galaxy)
• Luis Suárez (Inter Miami CF)

MLS Young Player of the Year

• Diego Gómez (Inter Miami CF)
• Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake)
• Cristian Olivera (LAFC)