NEW YORK – If the Red Bulls are eliminated by Columbus Crew SC in the Eastern Conference semifinals, they will have been shown by the door the best goalkeeper in Major League Soccer.
That’s because Columbus keeper Zack Steffen was voted MLS goalkeeper of the year, the league announced Tuesday.
The 23-year-old Steffen completed his second consecutive season as Crew SC’s starting goalkeeper. He earned a career-high 10 shutouts while leading Columbus to a berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles was third in the balloting.
Columbus leads the aggregate-goals series, 1-0, with the second leg at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
Steffen played a heavy portion of Crew SC’s club-record 512-minute shutout streak this season. He posted a career-high 525 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal – the eighth-longest streak in league history – and earned MLS player of the month honors for May.
The goalkeeper was selected to his first MLS All-Star Game this year, representing the league against Juventus in front of a stand-alone record MLS All-Star Game crowd of 72,317 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Steffen became the second Columbus player to earn MLS goalkeeper of the year, joining recently inducted National Soccer Hall of Fame recipient and New England Revolution head coach Brad Friedel, who was the league’s top goalkeeper in 1997.
Outside of league play, Steffen enjoyed success with the U.S. men’s national team, tying a U.S. Soccer goalkeeping record with six appearances during his first campaign. He shares the first-year record with former MLS goalkeepers in Kasey Keller (1990) and Troy Perkins (2009).
The award was voted on by MLS club technical staff, media and current MLS players. Below is a breakdown of the voting results:
| Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year | Player Vote % | Club Vote % | Media Vote % | Average % |
| Zack Steffen (CLB) | 36.18% | 24.04% | 14.55% | 24.92% |
| Stefan Frei (SEA) | 6.76% | 18.27% | 31.52% | 18.85% |
| Luis Robles (NY) | 10.00% | 22.12% | 22.73% | 18.28% |
| Tim Melia (SKC) | 12.06% | 21.15% | 16.67% | 16.63% |
| Brad Guzan (ATL) | 11.76% | 10.58% | 2.12% | 8.15% |
Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year Winners:
2018: Zack Steffen – Columbus Crew SC
2017: Tim Melia – Sporting Kansas City
2016: Andre Blake – Philadelphia Union
2015: Luis Robles – New York Red Bulls
2014: Bill Hamid – D.C. United
2013: Donovan Ricketts – Portland Timbers
2012: Jimmy Nielsen – Sporting Kansas City
2011: Kasey Keller – Seattle Sounders FC
2010: Donovan Ricketts – LA Galaxy
2009: Zach Thornton – Chivas USA
2008: Jon Busch – Chicago Fire
2007: Brad Guzan – Chivas USA
2006: Troy Perkins – D.C. United
2005: Pat Onstad – San Jose Earthquakes
2004: Joe Cannon – Colorado Rapids
2003: Pat Onstad – San Jose Earthquakes
2002: Joe Cannon – San Jose Earthquakes
2001: Tim Howard – MetroStars
2000: Tony Meola – Kansas City Wizards
1999: Kevin Hartman – LA Galaxy
1998: Zach Thornton – Chicago Fire
1997: Brad Friedel – Columbus Crew SC
1996: Mark Dodd – Dallas Burn
