Matt Turner Named MLS Goalkeeper Of The Year
FOXBORO (CBS) -- Matt Turner had an incredible season in net for the New England Revolution. It earned him one of Major League Soccer's highest honors on Monday.
Turner has been named Goalkeeper of the Year, the league announced Monday. Turner was spectacular for New England all season, going 17-7-4 with a 74.2 save percentage over his 28 starts. His 17 wins were tied for the league lead and set a new Revolution record.
"It's a major, major honor. It's something I've wanted to accomplish since coming into the league, something I felt I was really close to accomplishing the last two seasons," Turner told WBZ-TV's Dan Roche. "To be recognized for putting in the body of work that I've put in over this year and years past, it feels really nice to be recognized and rewarded."
The Revs broke the news to Turner on Monday morning ahead of the club's practice:
The reaction of @headdturnerr's teammates says it all ???? pic.twitter.com/89mNsNXZyh
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) November 22, 2021
"We're going to divide up the four goalkeepers, and out of the group, we're going to include the 2021 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year," Sporting Director and Head Coach Bruce Arena told the club before they huddled around Turner.
Turner turned in five clean sheets for New England and had 94 saves on the season, the seventh-most in MLS. He was also the hero of the 2021 MLS All-Star Game, earning the MVP honors after stopping two attempts during the penalty shootouts as the MLS All-Stars defeated the LIGA MX All-Stars.
On the international stage, Turner emerged as one of the top goalkeepers for the U.S. Men's National Team after making his international debut in February. He went 9-1-2 in 12 starts for the USA, including five shutouts in six games during the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup. Turner was named the tournament's Best Goalkeeper and earned a Best XI nod on the way to the Gold Cup title. He went on to start the first five U.S. games in the final round of Concacaf qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The 27-year-old was the runner-up for last year's MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, but now Turner has one of his own, becoming the first Revs goalkeeper to win the award. In his four seasons as New England's starter, Turner has amassed 21 clean sheets and ranks among the top three in club history in wins (third with 41), saves (third with 339), goals against average (second at 1.32), and winning percentage (first with .583).
Turner is likely the first of a handful of Revs to bring home some end-of-year hardware. Midfielder Carles Gil is a finalist for Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player and MLS Comeback Player of the Year, midfielder Tajon Buchanan is a finalist for MLS Young Player of the Year, and Sporting Director and Head Coach Bruce Arena, who is a finalist for the Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year.
New England won the Supporters' Shield after setting a new MLS record with 73 points during the regular season. The club will host New York City FC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 30.