No MVP award for Reggae Boy shot-stopper
Published:Thursday | November 3, 2022 | 12:11 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
PHILADELPHIA UNION shot-stopper and Reggae Boyz Captain Andre Blake picked up enough votes in the run-in to the 2022 Landon Donovan MVP Award to finish third behind eventual winner Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC) and Sebastian Driussi (Austin FC).
The 31-year-old received a total of 7.87 per cent of the votes in comparison to Mukhtar’s 48.08 per cent and Druissi’s 16.80 per cent, as the award winner is determined by a poll of players, club technical staff and media.
Blake, who leads the MLS in clean sheets (15) this season, was named the 2022 All-State MLS Goalkeeper of the Year last month, becoming the first player in league history to have won the award on three occasions (2016, 2020, 2022).
The former Clarendon College standout added to a remarkable run in the MLS, as the Union conceded just 26 goals in the regular season, the fewest ever in a 34-game season.
Blake still has a shot at more accolades this season, as his Eastern Conference-winning Philadelphia Union team will tackle Western Conference winners and in-form Los Angeles FC in the MLS Cup final on November 5.