Becky Sauerbrunn won the NWSL Defender of the Year award for the third straight year. (Photo Copyright Clark Linehan for The Equalizer)
Becky Sauerbrunn won the NWSL Becky Sauerbrunn — err, Defender of the Year — award on Monday for the third consecutive season. Sauerbrunn, increasingly referred to as the best defender in the world after anchoring a historic U.S. defense to a World Cup title this summer, has won the NWSL Defender of the Year award all three years of the league’s existence.
Sauerbrunn, 30, played in only 11 of FC Kansas City’s 20 regular-season matches due to World Cup duties. She took part in five of the team’s league-high nine clean sheets.
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One of Sauerbrunn’s main competitors for the award this season was her teammate, Amy LePeilbet, who was a crucial piece to FC Kansas City’s success, playing every minute for the team. In handing out team awards, FC Kansas City made LePeilbet and Sauerbrunn co-defenders of the year.
Sauerbrunn tweeted her support for other defenders, writing on Twitter that “a number of players were more than deserving of the award.”
A note on the #NWSLDOY award pic.twitter.com/aR1dE8rMzX
— Becky Sauerbrunn (@beckysauerbrunn) September 21, 2015
The NWSL awards are voted on by a selection of journalists that cover the league on a consistent basis, club officials, players and fans.
