This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
Canada: 
Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
Wambach Ties Mia Hamm with Fifth Female Athlete of the Year Award;
Dempsey Earns Second Male Athlete of the Year Accolade
For their excellence at the highest levels of the sport, U.S. Soccer named U.S. Men’s National Team forward Clint Dempsey as the 2011 Male Athlete of the Year and U.S. Women’s National Team forward Abby
Wambach as the 2011 Female Athlete of the Year. U.S. MNT midfielder Brek Shea and U.S. WNT and U-23 WNT forward Sydney Leroux won the Young Male and Young Female Awards, respectively.
2011 Best of Award Winners
The U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award is the highest honor awarded to soccer players in the United States. Online votes registered at ussoccer.com counted for 50 percent of the total votes, while the other 50 percent was represented by votes compiled from members of the national media and U.S. Soccer representatives, including National Team coaches and members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors. A player can only win the Young Athlete award once in his or her career.
“I’d like to thank the fans for voting me Athlete of the Year,” said Dempsey. “It always feels good to be recognized for doing a good job at something you love to do. I’d like to thank my teammates and coaching staff for all their hard work, and hopefully we can have a better 2012.”
The Male Athlete of the Year honor is the second for Dempsey, who previously won the award in 2007. Dempsey becomes the fourth men’s player to earn the honor at least two times, with Landon Donovan (2003, 2004, 2009, 2010), Kasey Keller (1997, 1999, 2005) and Marcelo Balboa (1992, 1994) also garnering the award on multiple occasions.
Dempsey led U.S. scorers in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup with three goals, including strikes in the quarterfinal against Jamaica and the game-winner in the semifinal against Panama. Dempsey has scored 24 career goals for the U.S. MNT, and he has proven equally lethal offensively for Fulham, setting a club record for career goals in the Premier League. Dempsey is now the highest-scoring American in Premier League history, passing Brian McBride’s 36 goals in early December.
The Female Athlete of the Year accolade is the fifth for Wambach and her second straight after winning in 2010. Wambach matches Mia Hamm for earning the award five times, as Hamm garnered Female Athlete of the Year from 1994-98.
“Thanks everybody for voting me U.S. Women’s soccer Player of the Year,” Wambach said. “It’s always an honor. I can always say very safely that it’s a team award, honestly. Germany was amazing. We, as a team, went over there and did some amazing things. Thanks again.”
After missing several games early in the year because of nagging injuries, Wambach rebounded to have a year to remember. Wambach tallied a goal in the final four games of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup and kept alive her streak of leading the USA in scoring in every world championship in which she has competed. She scored in the final group match against Sweden and scored the latest (122nd minute) and most dramatic goal in Women’s World Cup history against Brazil in the dying moments of overtime to send the game to penalty kicks. Wambach’s four goals in Germany gave her 13 in the Women’s World Cup for her career, moving her past the legendary Michelle Akers into first on the all-time list.
“This was a fun year for me – a lot of chances with the National Team, FC Dallas and getting to train with Arsenal,” said Shea. “Hopefully in 2012 I get a chance to go to the Olympics and be a part of World Cup Qualifying. I’m honored to be part of this award. A lot of great players have won it.”
Shea took home Young Male Athlete of the Year after having a breakout year on both the international and professional level. Shea was the first player born in the 1990s to earn a cap for the U.S. MNT, earning eight caps in 2011 as one of three players to feature in all of Jurgen Klinsmann’s games as head coach. With FC Dallas, Shea scored 11 goals in 31 games and was named to the 2011 MLS Best XI.
“I would like to thank all the fans for voting me U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Athlete of the Year,” said Leroux. “I know the team is looking forward to great things to come in 2012. Thank you again for all your votes and your support for the U.S. team.”
Leroux secured Young Female Athlete of the Year, playing for the U.S. WNT and U.S. U-23 WNT in 2011. She is the USA’s all-time leading scorer in U-20 Women’s World Cup play with 10 goals. She is among the most capped U-20 WNT players ever with 36 games and is the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. at that level with a whopping 30 goals. Leroux is coming off her senior year at UCLA where she scored 16 goals en route to a 16-1-4 record. She was the top selection by the Atlanta Beat in the 2012 Women’s Professional Soccer Draft on Jan. 13.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
1984: Rick Davis
1985: Perry Van der Beck
1986: Paul Caligiuri
1987: Brent Goulet
1988: Peter Vermes
1989: Mike Windischmann
1990: Tab Ramos
1991: Hugo Perez
1992: Marcelo Balboa
1993: Thomas Dooley
1994: Marcelo Balboa
1995: Alexi Lalas
1996: Eric Wynalda
1997: Kasey Keller
1998: Cobi Jones
1999: Kasey Keller
2000: Chris Armas
2001: Earnie Stewart
2002: Brad Friedel
2003: Landon Donovan
2004: Landon Donovan
2005: Kasey Keller
2006: Oguchi Onyewu
2007: Clint Dempsey
2008: Tim Howard
2009: Landon Donovan
2010: Landon Donovan
2011: Clint Dempsey
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
1985: Sharon Remer
1986: April Heinrichs
1987: Carin Jennings
1988: Joy Biefeld
1989: April Heinrichs
1990: Michelle Akers
1991: Michelle Akers
1992: Carin Gabarra
1993: Kristine Lilly
1994: Mia Hamm
1995: Mia Hamm
1996: Mia Hamm
1997: Mia Hamm
1998: Mia Hamm
1999: Michelle Akers
2000: Tiffeny Milbrett
2001: Tiffeny Milbrett
2002: Shannon MacMillan
2003: Abby Wambach
2004: Abby Wambach
2005: Kristine Lilly
2006: Kristine Lilly
2007: Abby Wambach
2008: Carli Lloyd
2009: Hope Solo
2010: Abby Wambach
2011: Abby Wambach
YOUNG MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
1998: Josh Wolff
1999: Ben Olsen
2000: Landon Donovan
2001: DaMarcus Beasley
2002: Bobby Convey
2003: Freddy Adu
2004: Eddie Johnson
2005: Benny Feilhaber
2006: Jozy Altidore
2007: Michael Bradley
2008: Sacha Kljestan
2009: Luis Gil
2010: Gale Agbossoumonde
2011: Brek Shea
YOUNG FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
1998: Cindy Parlow
1999: Lorrie Fair
2000: Aly Wagner
2001: Aleisha Cramer
2002: Lindsay Tarpley
2003: Cat Reddick
2004: Heather O’Reilly
2005: Lori Chalupny
2006: Danesha Adams
2007: Lauren Cheney
2008: Kristie Mewis
2009: Tobin Heath
2010: Bianca Henninger
2011: Sydney Leroux
Be the first to comment