"Reasonable people can disagree about the winners of each category -- and to set the ground rules up front, an argument for a player here is not a slight on a fellow professional -- but some egregious omissions from shortlists have us fired up about the same thing all over again. Let's get into the ballots and cast public votes for MVP and the best midfielder, defender, goalkeeper, rookie and coach this year."
"There are exactly zero arguments that don't end with Chawinga as MVP. With all due respect to Gotham FC forward Esther González and the rest of the field, Chawinga sealed the deal as league MVP a couple months ago (if you followed our MVP tracker, you already knew that). If there is any doubt about her greatness, her importance -- her value -- just look at Kansas City's attacking struggles without Chawinga in their quarterfinal loss to Gotham."
NWSL awards voting produced notable controversies and shortlist omissions, including a positional shortlist that excluded a top MVP candidate. United States defender Becky Sauerbrunn publicly disavowed her Defender of the Year title twice because of flawed voting. The initial voting period resembled a chaotic election with questions about who cast ballots and how votes were handled. Public votes were solicited for MVP and awards for midfielder, defender, goalkeeper, rookie and coach. Chawinga emerged as the overwhelming MVP choice, and Kansas City’s attacking collapse without her in the quarterfinal loss to Gotham underscored her value. Official winners will be announced Nov. 19 in San Jose.
Read at ESPN.com
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