Making the Case: Mallory Pugh for BioSteel U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year
Pugh Earns First Player of the Year Nomination Following Highly-Productive 2022 Campaign
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Following a consistently stellar and productive year for both the U.S. Women’s National Team and the Chicago Red Stars, Mallory Pugh has been named as one of five finalists for the 2022 BioSteel U.S. Soccer Female Player of Year.
For the second year in a row, fans will have the opportunity to vote on select Player of the Year Awards, with the fan vote comprising 15% of the total vote. Nominees for all awards are selected by U.S. Soccer’s technical staff. Voting for the awards starts Thursday, Dec. 15 at 11:00 a.m. ET and closes on Dec. 22 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The winners will be announced in the weeks that follow.
- VOTE NOW: Fan Voting for Player of the Year Awards
A look back at the 2022 that was for Mallory Pugh:
- The 24-year-old Pugh had possibly the most consistently stellar year on the USWNT, playing in 15 total matches for the USWNT, starting 13, and spanning 1,030 minutes in what amounted to a “Comeback Player of the Year” performance after only playing in five matches for the USA from 2020 through 2021.
- Pugh was perhaps the USA’s most dangerous player in the majority of matches in which she played, scoring seven goals and tallying a team-high seven assists. Her seven goals were the most she’s ever scored for the National Team in a calendar year, and her team-leading seven assists tied a career-high after she also had seven in her first year on the USWNT in 2016.
- Pugh led the USA with a team-high 14 total goal involvements on the year and also generated a team-best 40 chances, 14 more than any other player on the roster.
- Pugh scored three times in the 2022 SheBelieves Cup, scored two times against Uzbekistan and also had goals against Costa Rica in the Concacaf W Championship and the game-winner in a 2-1 victory over Germany in the final match of the year.
- With her game-winner against Germany on Nov. 13, Pugh became just the sixth player in USWNT history with 25+ goals and 25+ assists before the age of 25. Mia Hamm, Cindy Parlow Cone, Alex Morgan, Kristine Lilly and Tiffeny Milbrett are the others.
.@MalPugh called game 😤 pic.twitter.com/EvQwTqOvZN
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) November 14, 2022
- Pugh had a stellar NWSL season in which she scored 11 goals and had six assists for the Chicago Red Stars in 17 regular season games and was a finalist for MVP for the second year in a row, while also landing a spot on the NWSL Best XI First Team.
- Pugh’s 17 total goal involvements (11 goals and six assists) tied with Sophia Smith (14 goals, 3 assists) and Alex Morgan (15 goals, 1 assist) for the most by any player in the NWSL in 2022.
- Pugh’s six assists were tied for the most by any player in the NWSL this season while both her goal and assist totals marked her most ever in a single professional season.
Mal Pugh turned on the 𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙧𝙤 ⚡ to speed things up!
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 15, 2022
What. A. Goal. 🤯@MalPugh | #CHIvKC pic.twitter.com/oP7YsUdZo0
- Pugh played in a combined 37 games in 2022 for club and country across all competitions and registered either a goal or assist in 19 of those appearances. She tallied a combined 22 goals and 13 assists in those 37 games.
This is Pugh’s first ever nomination for BioSteel Female Player of the Year. Pugh earned three consecutive nominations for U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Player of the Year award from 2013 to 2015, capped off by winning the award in 2015 at the age of 17.