COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew SC, in conjunction with Major League Soccer, today announced that midfielder Darlington Nagbe and goalkeeper Eloy Room have won a pair of MLS end-of-year awards. Nagbe was voted the winner of the 2020 AT&T MLS Goal of the Year, while Eloy Room was voted the winner of the 2020 Save of the Year presented by Allstate. Notably, this marks just the second time in MLS history that both of the winners of these awards are from the same club (Atlanta United – 2017). The 2020 AT&T MLS Goal of the Year and the 2020 MLS Save of the Year presented by Allstate were determined by fan votes on MLSsoccer.com.
Nagbe received the honor for his volley goal from outside the box in the 81st minute of a 3-0 home win over Chicago Fire FC (August 20). The midfielder’s performance in that match earned him a spot in MLSsoccer.com’s Team of the Week for Week 6. This marks the second time that Nagbe has won the award as he previously recorded the MLS Goal of the Year in 2011 during his rookie season in the League. Additionally, Nagbe is only the third player in League history to take home the award on two occasions, joining Marco Etcheverry (1997, 1999) and Dwayne De Rosario (2004, 2005). Historically, Nagbe is also the second Crew SC player to ever win the award, joining Brian McBride (1998).
Room won the 2020 MLS Save of the Year presented by Allstate award, for a double-save against Orlando City SC (November 4). During the sequence, Room saved a shot from inside the box with his right foot, before stopping a second shot – also from inside the box – just a few seconds later. Room is the first player in Crew history to win the honor since the inception of the League award in 2009.
Nagbe and Room are two of the four Crew SC players to secure MLS end-of-year honors this season. Last Friday, Lucas Zelarayan was named the recipient of the 2020 MLS Newcomer of the Year award, while earlier today Jonathan Mensah was named to the 2020 MLS Best XI. Crew SC’s squad also had a trio of finalists for MLS awards, including Room (Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year), Mensah (Defender of the Year) and Milton Valenzuela (Comeback Player of the Year).
Crew SC returns to the pitch for an Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Round One match against the New York Red Bulls at MAPFRE Stadium tomorrow, November 21 [3:00 p.m. ET/ UniMas, TUDN, SportsTime Ohio, MLSsoccer.com (stream), MLS App (stream) / 1460 ESPN AM & 971TheFan.com (English), ColumbusCrewSC.com (Spanish)].
ALL-TIME CREW SC PLAYERS TO WIN AT&T MLS GOAL OF THE YEAR
1998: Brian McBride
2020: Darlington Nagbe
ALL-TIME CREW SC PLAYERS TO WIN MLS SAVE OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY ALLSTATE
2020: Eloy Room
