It is no surprise for Robles, given his longeviity and quantity of shutouts that he is up yet again for Goalkeeper of the Year, having taken it home already in 2015, now poised to be only the 5th to earn it 2x. Long, a cog in the defense that lead to the many shutouts and this recent MLS All Star & USMNT member is a product of the developmental system of the Red Bulls,now looking at taking the title of Defender of the Year Home with him.
On the strength of these two and the rest of the team, NYRB had a season for the ages, MLS records in points with 71, wins 22, as well as home points 43, due to the record home wins, 14.
Luis, the captain who I have no idea of why he has never even gotten even a sniff from the USMNT program, is at 34 in the midst of a career year, his 6th full season between the pipes with the Bulls. He is tops in GAA with an inhuman .97, tops in shutouts, an astounding 14, well over half all victories, and leads the leagues in wins, 21 to boot. These are all personal bests for Robles, his opposition for GK or the Year are Stefan Frei of the Sounders and USMNT netminder, Zack Steffen of the Crew. An off the field award may also await Robles as he is once again up for the MLS WORK'S Humaritarian of the year with Minesota's Matt Lampson with the Crew and USMNT captain, Will Trapp.
Long a centerback who played a big role in Luis achiving such lofty totals is also one of 3 up for Defender of the Year, Sounders Chad Marshall and Atlanta back Michael Parkhurst are also in the running. For his part, Aaron has been all but a shutdown back and chipped in on offense as well, with career bests in goals at 3 and a pair of assists. He makes the MLS Top 20 in 5 separate defensive catagories, aerials won with 101, clearances totalling 146, duels won a whopping 176, blocks he is tie for 8th totalling 24, & with 16 interceptions he owns that mark #16.