Sporting Kansas City striker Alan Pulido is one of three finalists for the 2020 MLS Newcomer of the Year award, Major League Soccer announced today.
Pulido, 29, is nominated for the annual honor alongside Chicago Fire FC forward Robert Beric and Columbus Crew SC midfielder Lucas Zelarayan. Major League Soccer will announce the 2020 MLS Newcomer of the Year recipient in the near term.
MLS End of Year Award finalists were determined through voting between Oct. 29 and Nov. 9 from three groups: current MLS players, coaches and technical directors from all clubs, and select media members representing local and national outlets who consistently covered the 2020 MLS regular season.
Joining Sporting Kansas City last December on a club-record transfer fee from Liga MX side Chivas de Guadalajara, Pulido has enjoyed a brilliant first season in MLS as one of the league’s most well-rounded attackers. Tallying team-highs with six goals and five assists in 12 regular season appearances, the Mexican forward leads MLS newcomers and ranks third overall with 0.92 combined goals and assists per game. Additionally, Pulido is the first player since Josh Wolff in 2005 to lead the club in both goals and assists, and he’s the first newcomer to lead the team in both categories since Preki in Major League Soccer’s inaugural 1996 season.
Pulido had a remarkable impact on Sporting’s success over the course of the 2020 campaign. Manager Peter Vermes’ side went 8-2-1 and averaged 2.27 goals in the 11 regular season matches that Pulido started. His contributions helped Sporting finish atop the Western Conference standings with a 12-6-3 record and 1.86 points per match—the highest clip in the club’s 25-year history. He currently sits on seven goals in all competitions, having also scored against the Philadelphia Union in the quarterfinals of the MLS is Back Tournament in Walt Disney World.
Pulido stormed out of the gates in 2020, scoring in each of Sporting’s first two wins over Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Houston Dynamo on Feb. 29 and March 7. In doing so, he became one of four newcomers in Kansas City history to score in his opening two MLS appearances for the club. He carried that form into the MLS is Back Tournament in July, becoming the first Sporting newcomer ever—and the only MLS player in 2020—to score or assist in his first five games of the regular season.
After spending almost a month on the sideline through injury, Pulido bounced back with a game-changing performance in a 2-1 road win at Houston on Oct. 3 that kickstarted Sporting’s 6-1-1 finish to the regular season campaign. He scored both goals in the game and two days later landed MLS Player of the Week accolades.
Pulido’s last two appearances of the regular season yielded a goal in a 4-0 home victory over the Colorado Rapids on Oct. 24 and a game-winning assist in a 1-0 result at FC Cincinnati four days later.
Strong displays in a Sporting uniform helped Pulido reclaim a spot on the Mexico Men’s National Team. He joined El Tri for a pair of international friendlies in the Netherlands last month and featured in a 2-2 draw comeback draw against Algeria, marking his first involvement with the Mexican national team since November 2018.
Owning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs, Sporting will begin their postseason journey by hosting the No. 8 seed San Jose Earthquakes on Nov. 22 at Children’s Mercy Park. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT with a limited number of tickets going on sale to the general public via SeatGeek.com at noon CT on Thursday. The contest will also be shown live nationally on FS1, FOX Deportes and the FOX Sports app.
