The New England Revolution added another accolade to their ever-growing list from 2021.
With a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids, the Revs have officially broken the regular-season points record. The win gave the team 73 points on the season, one better than the 72 points amassed by LAFC in their 2019 season.
There is still a game to play this weekend; at home against an Inter Miami side that just got eliminated from playoff contention.
New England could very well find themselves 4 points clear of the mark, assuming they can finish the regular season with another win.
The points record gets added to a rather large pile of accomplishments for the 2021 season. So far, these include winning the eastern conference, winning the supporters shield, earning the most points in a regular season, most wins by a single goal margin, and most wins in the post-shootout era (tied RBNY).
Indeed a testament to how well this team has performed as a group. With the recently released list of nominees for end-of-season awards, more trophies could be on the way.
Overall, 9 Revolution players (and coach!) were nominated across 8 categories.
Let’s look at who got nominated and who is best positioned to win in all sporting categories.
Landon Donovan MLS MVP
Which Revs Were Nominated?
Carles Gil and Gustavo Bou both received nominations for MVP.
Each team is allowed 2 MVP nominations, and while you could make an argument for Adam Buksa, I think Bou and Gil are the right call. I wrote at length last week about a handful of MVP candidates, and both Bou and Gil got some mention.
Carles Gil
Carles Gil leads the league in assists, chances created (for which he now holds the record), and key passes. All of that while also adding 4 goals and generally being one of the best pure dribblers in the league.
Gustavo Bou
Gustavo Bou has been on fire as of late and has shown his worth both as goal-scorer and provider, with 15 goals and 9 assists. He has formed a formidable partnership with Adam Buksa, with the duo accounting for 31 goals, nearly as many as FC Austin’s entire team output.
Also, he does things like this…
Uno más para el cuaderno! @NERevolution pic.twitter.com/SN7Ulg8bpm
— Gustavo La Pantera Bou (@gustavobouok) July 26, 2021
Who Is Likely to Win?
Carles Gil
Gil has been a front runner in the MVP power rankings for much of this season. Despite missing a month with an injury, he still leads all chance creation categories.
I’m reasonably confident he will take home the award, though Daniel Salloi and Hany Mukhtar may have something to say about it.
Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year
Which Revs Were Nominated?
Matt Turner
Turner has had an excellent year both in league play as well as with the USMNT. After getting a raise in the offseason, he continued to prove his worth to New England. With one game left, he currently sits behind only Andre Blake in Goals-xGoals, a stat he has dominated since he became a starter in 2018.
He also had a standout performance in net for the US during the gold cup, which put him in line for a handful of starts during world cup qualifiers.
Who Is Likely to Win?
Matt Turner
A great goalkeeper on the best team in the league automatically has a good shot at winning GK of the year. Add in Turner’s heroics in the gold cup, and the narrative writes itself.
The thing that could derail his candidacy is that he’s been slumping for the past month or so and (as mentioned earlier) is behind Andre Blake in terms of shot-stopping stats this year.
Then again…
Andre Blake wrongly won GKotY over Matt Turner last year b/c narratives.
Matt Turner is going to wrongly win GKotY over Andre Blake this year b/c narratives. pic.twitter.com/PGAzYrbqxM
— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) October 3, 2021
Defender of the Year
Which Revs Were Nominated?
Dejuan Jones
The 2019 first-round draft pick continued to impress Bruce Arena’s men in 2021. The Revs have brought in player after player to try to provide stability to the left-back position, and time and time again, Dejuan Jones ends up the best option for the position.
This isn’t a knock on Jones; he has just been so good for such a cheap price tag that none of the expensive fullback imports have been able to outperform him.
He has had a very good year both defensively and going forward, where he’s contributed 3 goals and 5 assists.
Blessed to get my first goal of the season last night in a win to kick off the birthday celebrations! ? #24 pic.twitter.com/3mOkjajPE2
— DeJuan Jones (@dejuanjones24) June 24, 2021
Who Is Likely to Win?
Yeimar Gomez? Walker Zimmerman?
Even though Jones has been excellent for the best team in MLS, the Revs haven’t been the most resolute team defensively. The honor of the fewest goals conceded currently goes to Seattle with 31, but Nashville is right behind with 32.
Typically defender of the year goes to a player on the team with the best defense, where Yeimar and Zimmerman fit the bill. Zimmerman was the winner last season. I could also see Julian Gressel getting the nod as a more attack-minded defender.
Newcomer of the Year
Which Revs Were Nominated?
Arnor Traustason
Traustason has had an up and down season in his first year with the Revs and has mostly been bench depth since receiving a pair of double-yellow red cards back in August.
He has racked up 2 goals and 7 assists while playing mostly as a left midfielder.
Who Is Likely to Win?
Christian Arango
Arango arrived in LA midway through the season and has been a revelation for a franchise that was experiencing something of a fall from grace. Despite playing less than a full season in MLS, he is already nearing the top of the golden boot race.
He’s scored 13 goals in his first 13 starts with LAFC. Others receiving votes would be Ryan Gauld with Vancouver and Luiz Araujo in Atlanta.
Young Player of the Year
Which Revs Were Nominated?
Tajon Buchanan
Tajon Buchanan had something of a breakout in the playoffs in 2020 while playing as a checks notes right back. The breakout continued this season, this time as a forward, with Buchanan racking up 8 goals and 5 assists along the way.
He’s learned when to use his impressive speed to get around defenders and has gotten more confident shooting. It’s paid off, both for the Revs and for Tajon, as he recently completed a move to Club Brugge in Belgium for $7M.
Who Is Likely to Win?
Ricardo Pepi
As much as I want Buchanan to get the win here, if only just for his part in this highlight:
Just in case anyone needed reminding…@TajonBuchanan is ????? ?????????#NERevs pic.twitter.com/BzlCYauBVm
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) September 24, 2021
But sadly, I don’t think even that glorious edit could derail the Pepi Train. Ricardo Pepi exploded onto the scene this year with 13 goals and 2 assists, as well as debuting and scoring for the US in World Cup Qualifiers.
Ezequiel Barco could also get a shout here after an excellent bounce-back season in Atlanta.
Comeback Player of the Year
Which Revs Were Nominated?
Carles Gil
I have already listed Carles’ excellent stats for this season, so please enjoy him juking all of DC United on the way to his 4th goal of the year.
Who Is Likely to Win?
Chicharito? Salloi? Medranda? Najar?
I honestly don’t know who will win this one. Carles returned from injury late last season and tore up the competition in the playoffs, making 2021 less emphatic of a comeback. The same argument could be made for most of the other nominees.
Chicharito did miss good chunks of both last and this season and finally delivered on his star power by scoring 14 goals in 18 starts.
Salloi played very few minutes last year and has transformed into one of the league’s premier attacking threats in 2021.
Medranda has become a key piece for a very good Seattle team after dealing with various injuries in previous seasons.
Najar is a feel-good homecoming story. After plying his trade in Europe and underperforming with LAFC, he returns to the club where it all began in DC United, where he’s been excellent.
Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year
Which Revs Were Nominated?
Bruce Arena
Bruce is one of… 27 coaches to be nominated. That’s all of them…. that’s all the coaches.
Who Is Likely to Win?
Bruce Arena
I think when it comes to coaches; usually, the coach that has the best record has the best shot. No coach has had a better record than Bruce Arena. Literally. The Revs set the record for most points in the regular season (and with a game to go)!
Arena has lead the Revs to the best statistical season in league history and will likely be rewarded with a win for Best Coach. Brian Schmetzer and Robin Fraser could also get some votes for excellent seasons with Seattle and Colorado.
Featured Image: Andrew Katsampes/Getty Images
