MLS Player of the Month

Monthly soccer award given to players in Major League Soccer

The Major League Soccer Player of Month is a monthly soccer award given to players in Major League Soccer. The honor is given to the player deemed to have had the best cumulative performance in each month by a panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters organization.[1] The award was formerly voted on by the Professional Soccer Reporters Association.[2]

Since 2023, the award has been sponsored by energy drink company Celsius Holdings and named the MLS Player of the Month presented by CELSIUS.

Winners

Key
  • GP = Games played
  • G = Goals
  • A = Assists
  • GWG = Game-winning goals
  • SO = Shutouts
  • SV = Saves
  • GA = Goals allowed

2023

Month Player Club Stats Ref.
February & March Argentina Thiago Almada Atlanta United FC 4 GP, 4 G, 4 A [3]
April Argentina Cristian Espinoza San Jose Earthquakes 5 GP, 5 G, 1 A [4]
May Germany Hany Mukhtar Nashville SC 5 GP, 6 G, 2 A [5]
June Mexico Alan Pulido Sporting Kansas City 5 GP, 6 G, 1 A [6]
July Argentina Luciano Acosta FC Cincinnati 3 GP, 3 G, 4 A [7]
August Argentina Luciano Acosta FC Cincinnati 3 GP, 1 G, 3 A [8]
September Colombia Cucho Hernández Columbus Crew 5 GP, 8 G, 1 A [9]
October Gabon Denis Bouanga Los Angeles FC 4 GP, 6 G, 1 A [10]

2022

Month Player Club Stats Ref.
February & March Armenia Lucas Zelarayán Columbus Crew 4 GP, 4 G, 1 A [11]
April Argentina Sebastián Driussi Austin FC 5 GP, 4 G, 1 A [12]
May United States Paul Arriola FC Dallas 5 GP, 6 G [13]
June Argentina Luciano Acosta FC Cincinnati 3 GP, 1 G, 3 A [14]
July Argentina Sebastián Driussi Austin FC 6 GP, 5 G, 3 A [15]
August Germany Hany Mukhtar Nashville SC 7 GP, 7 G, 5 A [16]
September & October Brazil Brenner FC Cincinnati 5 GP, 9 G, 2 A [17]

2021

Month Player Club Stats Ref.
April & May Mexico Javier Hernández LA Galaxy 7 GP, 7 G, 1 A [18]
June Spain Carles Gil New England Revolution 3 GP, 5 A [19]
July Argentina Gustavo Bou New England Revolution 6 GP, 5 G, 1 A [20]
August Argentina Taty Castellanos New York City FC 6 GP, 5 G, 2 A [21]
September Mexico Eduardo López San Jose Earthquakes 5 GP, 6 G, 1 A [22]

2020

Month Player Club Stats Ref.
August United States Daryl Dike Orlando City SC 5 GP, 6 G, 2 A [23]
September Spain Alejandro Pozuelo Toronto FC 6 GP, 4 G, 2 A [24]
October & November Argentina Taty Castellanos New York City FC 8 GP, 6 G, 3 A [25]

2019

Month Player Club Stats Ref.
March Mexico Carlos Vela Los Angeles FC 5 GP, 6 G, 3 A [26]
April Mexico Carlos Vela Los Angeles FC 5 GP, 5 G, 2 A [27]
May United States Chris Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes 2 GP, 6 G [28]
June Argentina Maximiliano Moralez New York City FC 3 GP, 3 G, 6 A [29]
July Venezuela Josef Martínez Atlanta United FC 5 GP, 7 G [30]
August Venezuela Josef Martínez Atlanta United FC 5 GP, 6 G [31]
September Mexico Carlos Vela Los Angeles FC 5 GP, 7 G [32]

2018

Month Player Club Stats Ref.
March Chile Felipe Gutiérrez Sporting Kansas City 5 GP, 5 G [33]
April Paraguay Miguel Almirón Atlanta United FC 4 GP, 5 G, 2 A [34]
May United States Zack Steffen Columbus Crew SC 5 GP, 0 GA [35]
June Norway Adama Diomande Los Angeles FC 5 GP, 7 G [36]
July Venezuela Josef Martínez Atlanta United FC 5 GP, 9 G, 1 A [37]
August Venezuela Josef Martínez Atlanta United FC 4 GP, 4 G, 1 A [38]
September Argentina Luciano Acosta D.C. United 5 GP, 4 G, 6 A [39]
October England Wayne Rooney D.C. United 5 GP, 5 G [40]

2017

Month Player Club Stats Ref.
March Venezuela Josef Martínez Atlanta United FC 5G [41]
April United States Joe Bendik Orlando City SC 2SO [42]
May Hungary Nemanja Nikolić Chicago Fire 6G, 1A [43]
June Spain David Villa New York City FC 3G [44]
July Austria Daniel Royer New York Red Bulls 6G, 1A [45]
August Argentina Ignacio Piatti Montreal Impact 7G, 1A [46]
September Venezuela Josef Martínez Atlanta United FC 9G [47]

2016

Month Player Club Stats Ref.
March Ecuador Joao Plata Real Salt Lake 3G, 2A [48]
April Nigeria Fanendo Adi Portland Timbers 3G, 1A [49]
May England Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls 6G, 2A [50]
June Armenia Yura Movsisyan Real Salt Lake 3G [51]
July England Frank Lampard New York City FC 6G, 1A [52]
August Uruguay Nicolás Lodeiro Seattle Sounders FC 2G, 6A [53]
September United States Chad Marshall Seattle Sounders FC 1G [54]
October Iraq Justin Meram Columbus Crew SC 1G, 4A [55]

2015

Month Player Club Stats Ref.
March Uruguay Octavio Rivero Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3G, 0A [56]
April United States Benny Feilhaber Sporting Kansas City 2G, 3A [57]
May Hungary Krisztián Németh Sporting Kansas City 3G, 2A [58]
June Denmark David Ousted Vancouver Whitecaps FC 30SV, 4GA [59]
July Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC 5G, 3A [60]
August Italy Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC 4G, 3A [61]
September Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact 7G, 1A [62]
October Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Montreal Impact 4G, 0A [63]

2014

Month Player Club Link
March Argentina Mauro Díaz FC Dallas 2G 1A
April United States Clint Dempsey Seattle Sounders FC 7G 2A
May United States Dom Dwyer Sporting Kansas City 6G 0A
June United States Eric Kronberg Sporting Kansas City 6SV 0GA
July United States Benny Feilhaber Sporting Kansas City 2G 1A
August United States Landon Donovan LA Galaxy 3G 6A
September Nigeria Obafemi Martins Seattle Sounders FC 5G 1A
October United States Lee Nguyen New England Revolution 5G

2013

Month
Player Club Link
March United States Mike Magee Los Angeles Galaxy 5G 0A
April United States Jack McInerney Philadelphia Union 4G 0A
May United States Jack McInerney Philadelphia Union 3G 0A
June United States Mike Magee Chicago Fire 4G 1A
July Brazil Camilo Vancouver Whitecaps FC 4G 0A
August Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane Los Angeles Galaxy 5G 1A
September Ghana Dominic Oduro Columbus Crew 3GWG 2A
October Brazil Camilo Vancouver Whitecaps FC 6G 1A

2012

Month
Player Club Link
March France Thierry Henry New York Red Bulls 5G 2A
April United States Chris Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes 4G 2A
May Canada Dwayne De Rosario D.C. United 4G 3A
June United States Chris Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes 3GWG
July Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane Los Angeles Galaxy 5G 4A
August Canada Patrice Bernier Montreal Impact 3G 3A
September United States Chris Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes 4G 2A
October United States Chris Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes 5G

2011

Month Player Club Link
March United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake 1GA 2–0–0
April United States Brad Davis Houston Dynamo 6A 3-0-2
May United States Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 6G
June United States Graham Zusi Sporting Kansas City 2G 3GWA 3-0-3
July United States Kevin Hartman FC Dallas 4SO 6GS
August Canada Dwayne De Rosario D.C. United 3G 2A
September France Sébastien Le Toux Philadelphia Union 7G
October United States Chris Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes 5G

2010

Month Player Club Link
April United States Edson Buddle Los Angeles Galaxy 6G 3-0-1
May Costa Rica Álvaro Saborío Real Salt Lake 4G 3A
June United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake 0GA
July Colombia Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC 2G 3A 3-1-1
August United States Kevin Hartman FC Dallas 2GA 12SV
September Jamaica Omar Cummings Colorado Rapids 5G 6A
October United States Chris Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes 6G

2009

Month Player Club Link
March Colombia Fredy Montero Seattle Sounders FC 3G 1A 2-0-0
April United States Brian McBride Chicago Fire 4G
May United States Conor Casey Colorado Rapids 4G 1A 2-0-2
June Argentina Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew 4G 2A 3-1-0
July United States Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy 2G 1A
August United States Chad Marshall Columbus Crew 2GWG 1A 3-1-0
September United States Jeff Cunningham FC Dallas 7G 3-1-1
October Sweden Freddie Ljungberg Seattle Sounders FC 4A 3-0-0

2008

Month Player Club
April United States Landon Donovan Los Angeles Galaxy
May Mexico Cuauhtémoc Blanco Chicago Fire
June Brazil Luciano Emilio D.C. United
July United States Nick Rimando Real Salt Lake
August Argentina Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew
September England Darren Huckerby San Jose Earthquakes
October Colombia Juan Pablo Angel New York Red Bulls

2007

Month Player Club
April United States Eddie Johnson Kansas City Wizards
May Colombia Juan Pablo Angel New York Red Bulls
June Colombia Juan Pablo Angel New York Red Bulls
July Argentina Guillermo Barros Schelotto Columbus Crew
August United States Troy Perkins D.C. United
September Brazil Luciano Emilio D.C. United
October United States Matt Pickens Chicago Fire

2006

Month Player Club
April United States Brian Ching Houston Dynamo
May Guatemala Carlos Ruiz FC Dallas
June United States Jose Burciaga Jr. Kansas City Wizards
July United States Jonathan Bornstein Chivas USA
August United States Jeff Cunningham Real Salt Lake
September United States Matt Pickens Chicago Fire
October Honduras Amado Guevara New York Red Bulls

2005

Month Player Club
April United States Clint Dempsey New England Revolution
May Guatemala Carlos Ruiz FC Dallas
June United States Nate Jaqua Chicago Fire
July United States Ricardo Clark San Jose Earthquakes
August Trinidad and Tobago Scott Sealy Kansas City Wizards
September United States Taylor Twellman New England Revolution
October Canada Dwayne De Rosario San Jose Earthquakes

2004

Month Player Club
April Guatemala Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy
May Venezuela Alejandro Moreno Los Angeles Galaxy
June United States Chris Klein Kansas City Wizards
July Honduras Amado Guevara MetroStars
August Canada Pat Onstad San Jose Earthquakes
September United States Jon Busch Columbus Crew
October Costa Rica Andy Herron Chicago Fire

2003

Month Player Club Link
April United States Landon Donovan San Jose Earthquakes
May United States Preki Kansas City Wizards
June United States Ante Razov Chicago Fire
July United States Mark Chung Colorado Rapids 4G 4-0-0[permanent dead link]
August Guatemala Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy
September United States Landon Donovan San Jose Earthquakes
October United States Pat Noonan New England Revolution

2002

Month Player Club
April Guatemala Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy
May United States Taylor Twellman New England Revolution
June Ecuador Ariel Graziani San Jose Earthquakes
July Guatemala Carlos Ruiz Los Angeles Galaxy
August United States Edson Buddle Columbus Crew

2001

Month Player Club Link
April Honduras Alex Pineda Chacón Miami Fusion 5G 3GWG 4-1-0[permanent dead link]
May United States Clint Mathis MetroStars
June Colombia Diego Serna Miami Fusion 7G 5A 3-0-1
July Bulgaria Hristo Stoitchkov Chicago Fire
August United States Brian Maisonneuve Columbus Crew

2000

Month Player Club Link
April Denmark Miklos Molnar Kansas City Wizards
May United States Tony Meola Kansas City Wizards
June United States Clint Mathis MetroStars
July United States Dante Washington Columbus Crew
August United States Clint Mathis MetroStars
September Colombia Diego Serna Miami Fusion 8G 2-1-0

1999

Month Player Club
March United States Ante Razov Chicago Fire
April Liberia Musa Shannon Tampa Bay Mutiny
May United States Roy Lassiter D.C. United
June United States Jason Kreis Dallas Burn
July El Salvador Raúl Díaz Arce Tampa Bay Mutiny
August United States Matt Jordan Dallas Burn
September El Salvador Ronald Cerritos San Jose Clash

1998

Month Player Club
March United States Cobi Jones Los Angeles Galaxy
April United States Juergen Sommer Columbus Crew
May Poland Peter Nowak Chicago Fire
June United States Ross Paule Colorado Rapids
July United States Roy Lassiter D.C. United
August Trinidad and Tobago Stern John Columbus Crew
September Colombia Diego Serna Miami Fusion

1997

Month Player Club
April Bolivia Jaime Moreno D.C. United
May Switzerland Alain Sutter Dallas Burn
June United States John Harkes D.C. United
July Brazil Wélton Los Angeles Galaxy
August United States Brad Friedel Columbus Crew
September Italy Walter Zenga New England Revolution

1996

Month Player Club
April El Salvador Mauricio Cienfuegos Los Angeles Galaxy
May Colombia Carlos Valderrama Tampa Bay Mutiny
June Ecuador Eduardo Hurtado Los Angeles Galaxy
July United States Jason Kreis Dallas Burn
August Bolivia Marco Etcheverry D.C. United
September United States Brad Friedel Columbus Crew

References

  1. ^ "Wondolowski named MLS Player of the Month". San Jose Earthquakes. July 5, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  2. ^ "Guevara named MLS Player of Month for Oct". Major League Soccer. January 23, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  3. ^ "Atlanta United star Thiago Almada named MLS Player of the Month". Major League Soccer. March 30, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  4. ^ "San Jose Earthquakes forward Cristian Espinoza named MLS Player of the Month". Major League Soccer. May 4, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  5. ^ "Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar named MLS Player of the Month". Major League Soccer. June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  6. ^ "Sporting Kansas City forward Alan Pulido named MLS Player of the Month". Major League Soccer. June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  7. ^ "FC Cincinnati midfielder Luciano Acosta named MLS Player of the Month". Major League Soccer. July 21, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  8. ^ "FC Cincinnati midfielder Luciano Acosta named MLS Player of the Month". Major League Soccer. September 1, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
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