The Philadelphia Union's Jakob Glesnes was named Major League Soccer's Defender of the Year and teammate Andre Blake was named Goalkeeper of the Year, the league announced Wednesday.
Blake earned the season-ending honors for the third time, the most of any goalkeeper in league history. He also won in 2016 and 2020.
The Jamaican goalkeeper led the league in shutouts with 15 and the Union conceded just 26 goals, fewest by an MLS team in a 34-game season. He saved 79.4% of the shots he faced.
Glesnes, who is from Norway, became the Union's first player to start every game and play all 3,060 minutes for two consecutive regular seasons. He was the only Philadelphia player to play every minute this year.
He's the first Union defender to win the year-end honor. He helped the Union become the league's only team to allow fewer than 10 goals at home this season. Philadelphia was 12-0-5 at Subaru Park.
The Union, who got a first-round bye in the playoffs, host FC Cincinnati on Thursday in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
FC Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira was named Major League Soccer’s Young Player of the Year on Tuesday.
The awards are voted on by current players, team technical staffs and the media.
Blake had 64.1% of the vote, followed by New England's Djordje Petrovic with 4.97% and Miami's Drake Cellender with 3.95%.
Glesnes won with 26.10% of the vote, followed by Philadelphia teammate Kai Wagner with 14.57% and NYCFC's Alexander Callens with 13.20%.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
