FC Cincinnati’s Nominees Announced for 2024 MLS Year-End Awards

October 8, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release

FC Cincinnati have nine individuals nominated for seven awards as part of the 2024 MLS Year-End Awards, highlighting the accomplishments of the league’s top players on and off the field as well as the achievements of head coaches and referees during the 2024 MLS regular season.

The voting window for the annual postseason awards opened Monday at 12 p.m. ET and will conclude on Monday, Oct. 21, at 8 p.m. ET. Finalists for each award will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 24.

Winners for the awards are voted on by members of the media, club technical staff, and active MLS players, with each group accounting for 33.3% of the total vote. Club technical staff and players may not vote for their own team’s nominees.

FC Cincinnati’s 2024 MLS Year-End Award nominees are as follows:

Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player: Luciano Acosta, Luca Orellano

Acosta seeks to become the first player in MLS history to win the Most Valuable Player award in consecutive seasons and just the second to win the award twice (Preki: 1997, 2003). Acosta’s 33 goal contributions are tied for the MLS-lead and are even more than his MVP-winning campaign a season ago. He leads MLS in assists (19) and chances created (106). He captained the MLS All-Star Team for the second straight season back in July.

Orellano has emerged on the scene as a force in his first season with FC Cincinnati. The young Argentine has made an impact with 10 goals and seven assists and has twice won the MLS Player of the Matchday award this season. He was named an MLS All-Star in July and has twice scored world-class goals from midfield or beyond to win MLS Goal of the Matchday.

Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year: Pat Noonan

Noonan seeks to become the fifth head coach to win the Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year award for a second time. The reigning Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year, Noonan has navigated countless challenges to lead the Orange and Blue on a valiant defense of their 2023 Supporters’ Shield triumph. FC Cincinnati saw two starting center backs, and four players total, suffer season-ending injuries in under two months. This included reigning Defender of the Year Matt Miazga, without whom the Cincinnati defense faced notable challenges.

During all of this, Noonan led the Orange and Blue to 12 wins from 14 games in the middle chunk of the season, while keeping pace with Inter Miami, LA Galaxy, and Columbus in one of the most heated Supporters’…