Heath wins the award for the first time in her ninth year with the USA National Team. She took 40% of the vote, Crystal Dunn coming second with 34%.
“It’s obviously an honor to win an award like this, especially when you look at the list of amazing players who have won it before,” Heath told ussoccer.com. “This year was a difficult one for our team, but overall we played some great soccer so it’s humbling to be recognized individually.”
This year saw Heath play in 22 games, scoring 6 goals while recording 8 assists tying for second-most on the team with Dunn. Both numbers were career bests for Heath, who this year competed in her fifth world championship for the USA.
In her fourth season playing for the NWSL’s Portland Thorns, Heath finished the year with 10 assists – a new league record – in only 14 appearances for the club – while helping Thorns to the regular season title. She was named in the NWSL Best XI.
Sanchez played in two FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments in 2016. She captained the USA at the U-17 World Cup in Jordan, and was the youngest player at the U-20 Finals in Papua New Guinea. She wins the award with 47% percent of the vote, ahead of Andi Sullivan on 27%.
Attacking midfielder Sanchez became the first U.S. Youth WNT player to score in both a FIFA U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cup in the same year and was one of the USA’s top players at both World Cups.
She played every minute of all three games in Jordan and finished her U-17 career averaging a goal a game with 21 goals in 21 caps. Sanchez started all 6 games at the U-20 Women’s World Cup and played all but two minutes.
Sanchez won the Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament at the 2016 CONCACAF U-17 Championship and was also named to the Championship’s Best XI.
“It was a memorable year for sure, and even though we fell short at both World Cups, I know the experiences that me and my teammates had will last a lifetime,” Sanchez said.
Photo – ussoccer.com
