Christian Pulisic had a banner year, and the United States Soccer Federation has taken note, naming him again Male Player of the Year.
Pulisic received the accolade for the first time in 2017, when he became the youngest player ever to receive that recognition.
Last time we covered the Hershey-native, it was to report his remarkable hat trick for Chelsea FC in the team’s winning matchup against Burnley, making Pulisic only the second American ever to score a hat trick in the Premier League.
LebTown has been covering the soccer phenom since a Pulisic-connected LLC acquired a property in Lebanon County in 2018. Since then, Pulisic has been spotted at places like Sheetz and a local church, with the property acquisition having come just before his departure to Chelsea FC was made official.
Voting on the Player of the Year award was open to National Team coaches, National Team players on the team in 2019, U.S. Soccer Board of Directors and Athletes’ Council members, and a limited number of media members and former players and administrators.
“I am honored to be selected to receive the U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year award,” Pulisic said in a news release.
“All of the nominees have had amazing seasons and would be worthy winners. This was a big transition year both with the National Team and my club. My teammates are fantastic and I’m proud of the progress we have made.
“I want to say thanks to my family for all their support, and to our fans who are incredible. We appreciate how much they have stood behind us. Things are only going to continue to get better, and I’m excited for the future.”
Pulisic received 38 percent of the votes, with Jordan Morris close behind at 35 percent.
According to U.S. Soccer, Pulisic edged out Landon Donovan to become the youngest-ever to win the award twice. Pulisic is now the seventh player to be named POTY more than once, with Donovan having the highest number (four total). Clint Dempsey and Kasey Keller have been named POTY three times and Jozy Altidore, Marcelo Balboa, and Tim Howard twice.
U.S. Soccer released this hype video celebrating the recognition.