Revolution Annual Awards Night

Brian O'Connell of ESPN Boston brought up in his piece from yesterday that this Saturday at Gillette will conclude the Revs' season (at least at home) with their annual awards night. The awards that will be given out include MVP, Defender of the Year, and Humanitarian of the Year. So, this got me to thinking: just who might be the most likely candidates for this year's awards?

Without any hesitation, the first clear-cut recipient that came to mind was A.J. Soares for Defender of the Year. As we've commented over the course of the season, Soares demonstrated an impressive amount of maturity, leadership, and charisma this season. Soares managed to make MLSsoccer.com's list of 24 Under 24 and has also been included in the Rookie Of The Year discussion here and there, although he will most likely get beat out by the likes of Sporting Kansas City's C.J. Sapong or perhaps DC United's Perry Kitchen (or of course other viable candidates). Soares has clearly made his case to be the focal point of the club's defense moving forward and, honestly, if anyone else received the Defender of the Year honor, I would be in substantial disbelief.

The Humanitarian of the Year award is a bit of a toss-up between Shalrie Joseph and Matt Reis, in my opinion. Now, I don't know the full background of this award, but based on the name alone, it would seem that it is an honor bestowed upon the player who gave back the most to the community. Shalrie came to mind first because of his ongoing youth soccer academy project. He quite obviously has had plenty of involvement and outreach within the Massachusetts soccer community. But let's also not forget that Matt Reis took a stab at some charity efforts this season with his "Celebrity Golf Challenge" just last month, which raised money for the Children's Hospital Boston (a routine visit destination for the Revs as an organization in general), Grassroot Soccer, and the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. Reis also participated in the Revs' annual Bartending For Charity event (along with Chris Tierney and Benny Feilhaber) at Market in downtown Boston this summer, an evening in which all tips went towards supporting the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation. And, yeah, he did make me a Jameson and ginger ale that night, just saying. So, this award, like I said, seems like it would be a tossup between the two.

Where I'm really stumped is MVP. And that's where I'd like to hear from YOU. Which Revs player would you vote as this season's MVP? Our steadfast captain, Shalrie? Wonder kid Diego Fagundez? The US International B-B-B-Benny Feilhaber? Cast your vote below! (And, in case you're wondering, I'm voting for Tierney because, well, he's just my favorite).

Vote now!