Philadelphia Union announced their 2020 club award winners, which includes goalkeeper Andre Blake as Most Valuable Player, forward Sergio Santos as Offensive Player of the Year and center back Mark McKenzie as Defensive Player of the Year.
Andre Blake earns the Union MVP honors after strong campaign that saw him win the 2020 Allstate MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and a finalist for the Landon Donovan MVP Award. Blake posted a 77.8 save percentage and allowed 18 goals in his regular season appearances for an 0.88 goals allowed average, both league bests for goalkeepers with 20 or more appearances on the year. The 29-year-old’s 13 goalkeeper wins also led MLS, with Philadelphia posting a 13-3-5 overall record in matches Blake started between the posts. For his standout performances, Blake is the first goalkeeper to be named a finalist for the MLS MVP Award since Joe Cannon in 2004.
Sergio Santos earns the Offensive Player of the Year Award after tying for the team lead with eight regular-season goals and two assists. Santos also added three goals in the MLS Is Back Tournament Playoffs and was second on the team with three-game winning goals. Santos’ netted the fourth hat trick on Union history in an Eastern Conference showdown against Toronto FC on October 24, leading the charge as the Union took control of its own destiny for the 2020 Supporters’ Shield. Santos too was responsible for scoring the Shield-clinching goal at Subaru Park on November 8 with a first-half strike.
Homegrown Mark McKenzie earns the Defensive Player of the Year award for a season that saw him named also to the MLS Best XI as well as finishing runner-up for MLS Defender of the Year. McKenzie anchored the Union’s backline that led the league with a mere 20 goals allowed in 2020. The 0.87 goals allowed per game average ranked as seventh-best in MLS history, and recorded the most points-per-game in the league, earning the Supporters’ Shield and home-field advantage throughout the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs. McKenzie was productive on both sides of the pitch, scoring his first MLS goals, two in total, while adding three assists.
