Making the Case: Zack Steffen, 2018 Male Player of the Year
The 23-year-old goalkeeper tied the MNT record for most appearances during a debut year, while helping lead Columbus Crew SC back to the MLS Cup Playoffs.
On Tuesday, Nov. 20, U.S. Soccer announced the five nominees for 2018 U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year. This year's nominees include midfielders Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Will Trapp; defender Matt Miazga and goalkeeper Zack Steffen.
ussoccer.com continues “Making the Case” for each of the candidates with MNT goalkeeper Zack Steffen.
One of 20 MNT players to debut in 2018, Steffen stood out among his fellow first-timers. The 23-year-old led all goalkeepers with six appearances, which tied him with Kasey Keller (1990) and Troy Perkins (2009) for most caps by an MNT backstop during his debut year.
WATCH: Steffen Shines for MNT in 1-1 Draw Against France
Steffen kept clean sheets in the MNT’s matching 1-0 victories against Paraguay on March 27 in Cary, N.C. and Mexico on Sept. 11 in Nashville, Tenn. His shining moment came against France on June 9 in Lyon, where the rising goalkeeper made seven saves to help the USA to a 1-1 draw in Les Bleus’ last match before their victorious title run at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Steffen continued to impress during his second full season with Columbus Crew SC, keeping 10 clean sheets in 29 matches while racking up a 12-10-7 record to earn MLS Goalkeeper of the Year honors and helping the club back to the MLS Cup Playoffs.
RISING: Zack Steffen’s Path to the U.S. Men’s National Team
Like he did in 2017, Steffen came up huge again in the postseason, saving two penalty kicks to push Columbus past D.C. United in their shootout victory during the Knockout Round on Nov. 1.
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Zack Steffen - 2018 Statistics |
|||||
|
Team |
GP |
GS |
MIN |
SO |
W-L-D |
|
U.S. MNT |
6 |
5 |
496 |
2 |
2-2-1 |
|
Columbus Crew SC |
32 |
32 |
2910 |
11 |
13-11-8 |