The toughest vote of the entire season kicks off today as the finalists Andre Blake and Daniel Gazdag battle for the 2022 Independence Blue Cross Player of the Year accolade.
It is truly an impossible decision that the Union faithful have to pick between as both were named by their teammates as Co-MVP's for the 2022 record breaking season where they led the club to its first Eastern Conference Championship and MLS Cup.
Both were nominated for the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP Award where Andre Blake finished third. Blake's record-breaking 2022 season saw him make 100 saves and another 17 in the postseason. Blake allowed just 26 goals in the regular season, the fewest by a keeper in a 34-game season and rewrote the Union record books with 15 shutouts.
Gazdag too set amazing records as he smashed the club record for goals in the regular season with 22 which were highlighted by a pair of hat tricks which came against the Colorado Rapids and Toronto FC. Gazdag wasn't done as he added two more goals in the postseason including the game-winner in the Eastern Conference Final against NYCFC and he was the first player in Union history to score in the MLS Cup. Gazdag didn't just score as he added 10 assists for a grand total of 32 goal contributions, which was good enough for second in the league.
