Chris Pontius wins MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award

Chris Pontius was, in short, a revelation for the Philadelphia Union this year. Joining the club from D.C. United in December of 2015, a lot of people were worried about him being injury prone. Pontius was put out for a good portion of his 2013-2015 stint with D.C., only putting up six goals and four assists in those three seasons. Chris did his part to erase our doubt by starting in 32 of his 33 appearances in 2016. Not only did he play, he went on a bit of a tear. Pontius lead the Union – as well as all US born MLS players – with twelve goals and adding an impressive six assists, which was good enough for second best on the Union this year.

Pontius was up against some decent competition, with the likes of Jozy Altidore, Frank Lampard, Kevin Molino and Bill Hamid. The Union’s 29 year old put together a call back to the 2012 All Star/Best XI season he had with D.C., and we hope he’ll be able to put together more of the same in 2017.

On behalf of us at Brotherly Game, congratulations Chris – you definitely earned it.