Photo Credit: Alex Vehr
Today the USL kicked off their postseason awards week by announcing FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt as the 2016 Goalkeeper of the Year. It’s the first postseason award by an FC Cincinnati player in club history.
“I feel honored to be named Goalkeeper of the Year,” said Hildebrandt. “Our team presses and defends as a group so well that I reap the benefits from it. Our backline players have been absolute monsters and the trust I have in them and they have in me allows me the freedom to concentrate on putting myself in the right spot to make the save.”
Hildebrandt led the league in minutes played with 2,608 and games played. This season he had a goals against average of 0.86. He also had a number of acrobatic saves that landed him on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays in a match in Toronto earlier this season. Mitch was also named to the All USL First Team to go along with his Goalkeeper of the Year Award.
Hildebrandt was also named to the league’s first team and recognized on the USL Team of the Week three times this season. He beat out Tomas Gomez from the Rochester Rhinos and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC’s Devala Gorrick for the award.
The 2016 USL Awards were voted on by team management and a league-wide media panel that included representation from every USL market. Voting was conducted following the conclusion of the 2016 USL regular season. This week the league will also be announcing the 2016 Coach of the Year Award as well as the Most Valuable Player Award. FC Cincinnati’s John Harkes and forward Sean Okoli are both in the running for these two awards.
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