MLS award finalists announced, only one FC Cincinnati player named
Damon Gumbert
Major League Soccer announced its 2024 end-of-the-year award finalists, and one FC Cincinnati player made the list, a far cry from the award powerhouse of 2023.
Luca Orellano was named a finalist for Newcomer of the Year, having scored 10 goals and five assists in his first full season with Cincinnati. He will compete against fellow youngster Gabriel Pec of the Las Angeles Galaxy (16 goals and 14 assists) and seasoned veteran Luis Suarez (20 goals and 9 assists).
Orellano is the lone finalist for FCC in the 2024 season, a big drop-off from the four nominations and three wins of 2023.
Luciano Acosta, the reigning league MVP, was not named a finalist for the award despite surpassing his 2023 goal contributions (GC) in 2024. Instead, MLS named Lionel Messi, Suarez, Christian Benteke, Cucho Hernandez, and Evander as the five finalists. The only players mentioned that have a higher GC than Acosta are Evander (34) and Messi, with the Argentinian great leading the league in contributions with 36. Acosta sits tied with Cucho in third place at 33 GC, with Benteke and Suarez at 30 and 29 respectively.
Head Coach Pat Noonan, the reigning MLS Coach of the Year, was also left off the list for 2024. It would have been an uphill battle for Noonan to repeat, after leading the Orange and Blue to the Supporters Shield in 2023, and with key injuries, suspensions, a fluctuating lineup, and national team duties, FCC dropped off quite a bit from their record season. Instead of Noonan, Wilfried Nancy makes his return as a finalist, this time against Chris Armas of the Colorado Rapids and Gerardo “Tata” Martino of Inter Miami. Tata would seemingly be the front-runner for the award after leading Miami to the most points in MLS regular season history, topping the New England Revolution’s 2021 record after securing 74 points. Nancy could be a sleeper pick after leading the Crew to 66 points and a Leagues Cup championship.
The two awards that are the least surprising that FCC didn’t make reappearances in are MLS Defender of the Year and MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. In 2023 Matt Miazga won Defender of the Year and Roman Celentano was a finalist for Goalkeeper of the Year. Miazga’s season ended early after colliding with the goalpost on a slide during the team's 4-2 win in San Jose. Celentano struggled after losing Miazga and fellow defender Nick Hagglund, allowing two or more goals in 10 of 17 games after Miazga went down, with a revolving door of defenders being used through the rest of the season.
Orellano will continue to make his case for Newcomer of the Year when FC Cincinnati hosts NYCFC at TQL Stadium on Monday, Oct. 28. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. If you’re unable to attend the match, you can watch it for free on AppleTV+ or at any of the club’s Pub Partners.
