STANFORD, Calif. – Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris and defender Chad Marshall were named finalists for year-end awards by Major League Soccer on Tuesday. Morris is up for AT&T Rookie of the Year and Marshall for the MLS Fair Play award.
Morris, one of three finalists for AT&T Rookie of the Year, led all rookies in goals and game-winning goals this season. He topped the Sounders in scoring in his first year out of Stanford, set MLS rookie records for game-winning goals (6) and consecutive games with a goal (4) in addition to a new scoring mark for U.S.-born rookies (12). Morris also tallied four assists during the regular season and added another in the team's win over FC Dallas in the first leg of the Western Conference Semifinals on Sunday.
Morris is a finalist for the award along with Philadelphia Union defender Keegan Rosenberry and NYCFC midfielder Jack Harrison. No Sounders player has ever won the Rookie of the Year award.
Marshall was named a finalist for the MLS Fair Play award after another season one of the steadiest defenders in MLS, appearing in 30 games during the regular season and matching a career high with four goals. Despite logging nearly 2,700 minutes on the field in 2016, he was whistled for a career-low 13 fouls and he received just two yellow cards this year.
The finalists earned the most votes in polling of three voting groups: current MLS players, MLS clubs (coaches, technical directors, chief business officers and PR directors) and media members who consistently covered the 2016 MLS regular season.
The MLS Fair Play award winner will be named on Nov. 4, followed by the AT&T Rookie of the Year on Nov. 10.
Morris, who decided to forgo his senior season on The Farm and signed with the Seattle Sounders as a Homegrown Player in January, was named the Most Outstanding Player at the College Cup after leading the Cardinal to the program's first NCAA title with a two-goal performance in the championship in December. Stanford routed Clemson, 4-0, extending the school's streak of at least one NCAA team championship to 40 years - an ongoing record. Morris' two goals were the first multi-goal effort for a player in a title game since 1997.
The 2015 Pac-12 Player of the Year, Morris had a career-high 13 goals in 18 appearances for Stanford as a junior. In his final 14 games with the Cardinal, the junior had 12 goals, three assists and 27 points. He finished fifth in the country in game-winning goals (6), fifth in goals per game (0.72), seventh in total goals (13) and 12th in points per game (1.61). He finished his three-year collegiate career with 52 starts in 54 games played, 23 goals, including nine game winners, 16 assists and 62 points.
Marshall played two seasons on The Farm, starting 39 of his 40 appearances, including the 2002 NCAA Men's College Cup final, and collected eight points on three goals and two assists. He was an All-Pac 10 First Team selection and also earned a spot on the NSCAA All-Far West Region Second Team as a sophomore in 2003.
Marshall had a strong debut campaign in 2002, earning Soccer America Freshman of the Year and All-Pac 10 Second Team honors. He scored two dramatic, game-winning overtime goals in the NCAA Tournament, helping the Cardinal to a pair of 2-1 victories over Furman in the third round and Creighton in the NCAA College Cup semifinals.
