Fishlock, Cook and Harvey Nominated for 2021 NWSL Awards
The National Women's Soccer League announced today the list of 2021 NWSL Awards featuring the Most Valuable Player presented by Budweiser, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Rookie of the Year presented by Ally and Coach of the Year. Jess Fishlock, Alana Cook and Laura Harvey have all been nominated for their outstanding 2021 season.
Voting for these end of season awards opens today. Fans can cast their votes here. All votes must be submitted by Tuesday, November 9 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The final round of voting uses a weighted scale of players (50%), owners/GMs/coaches (20%), media (20%) and fans (10%). Winners will be revealed in the days leading up to the NWSL Championship game on Saturday, November 20 at 12:00 p.m. PT at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.
The 2021 NWSL Awards are voted upon in two rounds with fans having the opportunity to participate in the final round of the voting process. In the preliminary round of voting, players, owners, general managers, coaches, and the media voted on the individual awards to determine the final nominees. The preliminary round used a weighted scale, broken down by players (50%), owners/GMs/coaches (25%) and media (25%).
OL Reign nominations:
Jess Fishlock has been nominated for the MVP award, presented by Budweiser. Fishlock was a mainstay in the Reign midfield, providing consistency in the middle of the field. She scored an impressive five goals and added four assists in her 1,805 minutes on the pitch. The veteran midfielder earned NWSL Team of the Month honors three times this season, in May, August and October, and also took home Save of the Week for her impressive save on October 16 vs Chicago Red Stars. Jess played in 23 of OL Reign’s 24 regular season matches and started 21 times.
Center back Alana Cook has been nominated for the NWSL Defender of the Year award. In her first full NWSL season, she stepped into the OL Reign backline immediately after coming to the team from Paris Saint-Germain in June. Since joining the team, Alana has played every minute of every match, for a total of 19 matches and 1,710 minutes. She conceded only eight fouls and took three shots throughout the season.
Laura Harvey has been nominated for the NWSL Coach of the Year award. Harvey joined OL Reign following the conclusion of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and helped the team to climb their way up the NWSL standings to a second-place finish in the regular season and first round bye in the playoffs. Harvey was previously named Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2015 with the Reign.
Nominees for each of those 2021 NWSL Awards are:
Most Valuable Player, presented by Budweiser: Jessica Fishlock (OL Reign), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars), Margaret Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Angela Salem (Portland Thorns FC)
Defender of the Year: Alana Cook (OL Reign), Caprice Dydasco (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Sarah Gorden (Chicago Red Stars), Emily Menges (Portland Thorns FC), Carson Pickett (North Carolina Courage)
Goalkeeper of the Year: Bella Bixby (Portland Thorns FC), Aubrey Bledsoe (Washington Spirit), Kailen Sheridan (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
Rookie of the Year, presented by Ally: Emily Fox (Racing Louisville FC), Victoria Pickett (Kansas City Current), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit)
Coach of the Year: Laura Harvey (OL Reign), Scott Parkinson (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Mark Parsons (Portland Thorns FC)
Additional awards to be voted on in the final round include:
Best XI, presented by Mastercard
Second XI, presented by Mastercard
In addition to the awards listed above, the winner of the inaugural Nationwide Community Impact Award will be announced and honored at halftime of the 2021 NWSL Championship match. OL Reign won the fan vote for the Nationwide Community Impact Award, however final voting will come from a panel that includes a representative from the NWSL, Nationwide, the NWSL Players Association and the media. The league will also select and announce the Championship MVP presented by Budweiser during the postgame, on-field presentation.