Making the Case: Matt Turner for BioSteel U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year
USMNT Goalkeeper Earns Second-Straight Player of the Year Nomination
Following up on an amazing debut year with the National Team, USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner gave another impressive performance in 2022, earning his second-consecutive nomination for 2022 BioSteel U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year.
For the second year in a row, fans will have the opportunity to vote on select Player of the Year Awards, with the fan vote comprising 15% of the total vote. Nominees for all awards are selected by U.S. Soccer’s technical staff. Voting for the awards starts Thursday, Dec. 15 at 11:00 a.m. ET and closes on Dec. 22 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The winners will be announced in the weeks that follow.
- VOTE NOW: Fan Voting for Player of the Year Awards
Let’s take a look at some of Turner’s highlights from 2022:
- Cemented his position as the team’s starting goalkeeper leading up to Qatar and finished the year with 11 appearances.
- His seven overall clean sheets tie for third most in a calendar year for a USMNT goalkeeper, coming in behind the record of nine he set in 2021 and eight kept by Kasey Keller when the veteran netminder won Male Player of the Year in 2005.
- In Qatar, Turner was one of three players to feature in all 360 minutes of the tournament for the USMNT, with his shutouts in the 0-0 draw against England and 1-0 win against IR Iran making him just the second USMNT goalkeeper to keep two clean sheets in one edition of the FIFA World Cup, coming after only fellow New Jersey native Jimmy Douglas who did so in the first two matches of the 1930 tournament.
- Kept two clean sheets during qualifiers in calendar year 2022, shutting out El Salvador in the 1-0 win on Jan. 27 and Honduras in the 3-0 victory on Feb. 2.
- Months later, he made a career-high eight saves in the 3-0 friendly win against Morocco, a performance that sent him on his way to claiming the starting spot for the USMNT at the World Cup. Turner finished 2022 with 16 shutouts in just 24 career caps, the most of any USMNT goalkeeper at this point in their career and ranking him sixth all-time, just four back of Brad Guzan who claimed 20 shutouts in 64 career appearances.
- On the club front, Turner made five appearances with the New England Revolution in the first half of 2022 before securing a $10 million transfer to English Premier League side Arsenal during the summer.
- Turner has served as the understudy ‘keeper since arriving with the North London club, playing four matches in the UEFA Europa League where he has earned three shutouts and conceded one goal in helping the Gunners advance to the knockout phase of the competition.
Turner was previously nominated for U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year in 2021, finishing as runner-up.