FC Dallas forward Jesus Ferreira was named the MLS Young Player of the Year on Tuesday after matching the franchise record for goals in a season.
The 21-year-old Ferreira scored 18 goals to share the record with Jason Kreis (1999) and Kenny Cooper (2008). The 18 goals tied for fourth best in MLS this season, with Nashville SC‘s Hany Mukhtar leading the league with 23.
Ferreira also netted a goal from the penalty spot during Dallas’ shootout win over Minnesota United FC in the MLS playoffs on Monday night.
The YPOTY award is given out to players age 22 and under and was known as Rookie of the Year until being changed in 2020.
Ferreira received 32.4 percent of the votes from a panel of players, technical staff and media.
Atlanta United midfielder Thiago Almada (17.3 percent) finished second and FC Cincinnati forward Brenner (8.2 percent) was third.
Ferreira also had six assists while playing in 33 matches (29 starts) this season. He has 36 goals and 22 assists in 114 career matches (97 starts) for FC Dallas.
Ferreira, who turns 22 on Dec. 24, made his MLS debut at age 16 during the 2017 season.
The United States men’s national team is also expecting Ferreira to be a key contributor for Gregg Berhalter at the World Cup in Qatar. He became the fifth player in USMNT history to score four goals in a match when he turned the trick against Grenada on June 11 in a CONCACAF match.
Almada, 21, had six goals and 12 assists in 29 matches (25 starts) this season, while Brenner, 22, had 18 goals and six assists in 29 matches (22 starts).
Information from Reuters was used in this story.
