When Andre Blake returned home to Jamaica at the end of the 2019 season, after a short break from soccer the goalkeeper put pen to paper on his goals for the upcoming season.
After doing so, Blake reached out to goalkeeper coach Phil Wheddon and the two formed an offseason plan to help the keeper reach the highest level that Blake strives for each time he takes to the pitch. He returned to Philadelphia earlier than he had ever done to begin preseason training alone and hone his craft. That offseason dedication was rewarded on Monday as Blake became the fifth goalkeeper on MLS history to win a second Goalkeeper of the Year Award.
“It’s been awhile so it’s really good to have that feeling again and for some reason this one feels a lot better,” Blake said during his press availability on Tuesday. “I’m just happy to come through for my club in a big way. I’m excited and very happy that I can do this for the fans and my teammates in the entire Union organization.”
After making 118 saves in 2018, Blake saw the numbers dip to just 59 the following season. Overall he collected just three clean sheets the fewest in his career since taking the starting job. As the club made the change from a 4-2-3-1 to a more defensive 4-4-2 diamond midfield, Blake used the numbers to fuel his fire for 2020.
“Last year wasn’t the best and I had a few ups and downs like any other player, Blake said. “Sometimes when you’re the goalkeeper it is more magnified and it can be a lonely position.”
During the regular season Blake collected eight shut outs while only 18 shots snuck past him. Blake’s performances were each a sight to see but Head Coach Jim Curtin said that Blake’s key saves at the MLS Is Back Tournament were key to setting the groundwork for a 2020 Supporters’ Shield run.
“If we don’t have Andre, early making the big saves for us when we were in Orlando does this team grow and blossom the way it does over the course of the year? I don’t know and I don’t have an answer for that. “
“We needed him to carry us for moments early in the season. As our team and defense improved, he has had maybe a little less to do over the end of the season. He bounced back I thought incredibly well from a season last year where he was good but not great and Andre holds himself to such a high standard that he is only satisfied when he is great. For him to win goalkeeper of the year in the biggest landslide of all the awards by far speaks to how good and how important he’s been to our team.”
