{"id":882499,"date":"2026-01-02T02:17:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T08:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/richards-macario-headline-sbis-2025-u-s-soccer-awards\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T02:17:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T08:17:07","slug":"richards-macario-headline-sbis-2025-u-s-soccer-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/richards-macario-headline-sbis-2025-u-s-soccer-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Richards, Macario headline SBI\u2019s 2025 U.S. Soccer awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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2025 was filled with many positive moments for the U.S. men\u2019s and women\u2019s national team\u2019s and their players.<\/p>\n

From Chris Richards\u2019 pair of trophy lifts with Crystal Palace to Catarina Macario\u2019s constant production for Chelsea and the USWNT, to Lily Yohannes\u2019 rise into one of the world\u2019s top young talents, there was little for U.S. Soccer fans to be disappointed about this year.<\/p>\n

Alex Freeman impressed for club and country, boosting his chances of potentially being part of the USMNT\u2019s World Cup roster next summer. Alyssa Thompson has continued to be an impactful player for WSL giants Chelsea, something that USWNT head coach Emma Hayes will hope translates to an impactful 2026 for the national team.<\/p>\n

In similar fashion to U.S. Soccer\u2019s annual awards, here are SBI\u2019s award winners for 2025:<\/p>\n

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Soccer Men\u2019s Player of the Year \u2013 Chris Richards<\/h2>\n
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This selection didn\u2019t take too much time to narrow down.<\/p>\n

Chris Richards excelled for both Crystal Palace and the USMNT, taking further steps in his development as a professional and international player. <\/p>\n

He made 61 appearances for club and country over the past year, helping Crystal Palace lift its first two trophies in club history (FA Cup and FA Community Shield). In addition, Richards has played a large part of Palace\u2019s UEFA Conference League schedule this fall\/winter, helping them advance to the knockout stage. <\/p>\n

For the USMNT, Richards made 12 appearances for his country, quickly becoming one of the first names on the team sheet. Teaming alongside Tim Ream, Richards helped the U.S. rebound from a tough spring to ending the year on a five-match unbeaten run. <\/p>\n

He made be injured at this moment in time, but expect Richards to get back to fitness in early 2026. <\/p>\n

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Soccer Women\u2019s Player of the Year \u2013 Catarina Macario<\/h2>\n
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This selection was a bit tougher to narrow down, but Catarina Macario got the edge over other deserving candidates. <\/p>\n

Macario made 42 appearances for club and country in 2025, leading the USWNT with eight goals in 10 appearances. She scored against several of the top nations in the world, including Brazil, Colombia, China, and Italy. <\/p>\n

At club level, Macario completed a domestic treble last spring, helping Chelsea win the WSL title, FA Cup, and Women\u2019s League Cup. Despite scoring just two club goals this season, Macario has remained a key part of the Blues squad, teaming up with fellow USWNT players Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma this campaign. <\/p>\n

With Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith missing ample time with the USWNT this year, Macario has risen to the occasion as the team\u2019s top attacking threat.<\/p>\n

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Soccer Men\u2019s Breakout Player of the Year \u2013 Max Arfsten<\/h2>\n
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Max Arfsten may have completed his third MLS season with the Columbus Crew, but it didn\u2019t stop him from impressing along the way. <\/p>\n

Arfsten made 53 appearances between the Crew and the USMNT, taking a major jump in production on both fronts. The 24-year-old scored seven goals and added six assists for the Crew under Wilfried Nancy, becoming one of the better left backs in the league.<\/p>\n

After debuting for the USMNT in January, Arfsten quickly grabbed the starting job in Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s backline. He registered a program-high five assists in 16 caps, while also scoring one goal in the process. <\/p>\n

Antonee Robinson is back and playing regularly at EPL side Fulham, but I would easily pencil Arfsten in as the USMNT\u2019s No. 2 on the depth chart.<\/p>\n

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Soccer Women\u2019s Breakout Player of the Year \u2013 Lily Yohannes<\/h2>\n
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18-year-old Lily Yohannes is quickly becoming one of the USWNT\u2019s faces for the future. <\/p>\n

Yohannes made 35 appearances for club and country this year, making the jump from Dutch club Ajax to European giants Lyon in the summer. After scoring three goals and adding two assists during the second half of Ajax\u2019s season, Yohannes made the move to Lyon and has since totaled three goals and four assists for the French club. <\/p>\n

She made 11 appearances for the USWNT this year, delivering two assists. <\/p>\n

Yohannes should have the opportunity to lift silverware with Lyon this spring, which would cap off a productive first year in France <\/p>\n

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Soccer Men\u2019s Moment of the Year \u2013 USMNT beatdown of Uruguay<\/h2>\n
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The USMNT\u2019s 2025 schedule concluded with a statement win against one of South America\u2019s best. <\/p>\n

A 5-1 beatdown of Uruguay in Tampa, Florida saw three players score their first senior international goals including Alex Freeman scoring twice. Sebastian Berhalter delivered one of the goals of the year with a missile free kick off of the right post while Tanner Tessmann and Diego Luna also found the back of the net. <\/p>\n

Although Uruguay played with 10 men for the final 25+ minutes, the USMNT were up 4-1 at halftime and later added an insurance goal late in the second half. <\/p>\n

It was an all-around dominant win for the program, who finished the year with 11 victories in total (10 regulation, 1 shootout). <\/p>\n

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Soccer Women\u2019s Moment of the Year \u2013 USWNT victory over Brazil<\/h2>\n
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One of the USWNT\u2019s 12 victories in 2025 came against one of the world\u2019s best. <\/p>\n

A 2-0 home friendly win over Brazil in April saw Trinity Rodman and Lindsey Heaps both find the back of the net. It marked Rodman\u2019s only cap for the USWNT in the calendar year as she continued to deal with injury problems along the way.<\/p>\n

The result also marked a stellar debut for goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who delivered a six-save clean sheet at SoFi Stadium. <\/p>\n

Although Brazil would rebound with a 2-1 victory three days later in San Jose, the USWNT would eventually rattle off a five-match winning streak in the summer months. <\/p>\n

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Soccer Men\u2019s 2025 Transfer to Watch in 2026 \u2013 Malik Tillman<\/h2>\n
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Malik Tillman\u2019s productive two seasons with Dutch giants PSV earned him the largest move of his club career to date. <\/p>\n

Tillman joined German club Bayer Leverkusen last summer in a deal worth approximately $41 million. The talented midfielder had a tough time getting going due to fitness issues, but since has delivered three goals in 17 appearances for the club. <\/p>\n

Erik Ten Hag\u2019s early-season firing led to Kasper Hjulmand taking over as club manager. <\/p>\n

Bayer Leverkusen are 12 points back of Bayern Munich for first place in the Bundesliga, but do remain in the DFB Pokal and UEFA Champions League competitions. <\/p>\n

Tillman will be one to watch this winter\/spring, especially given his status with the USMNT as well. <\/p>\n

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Soccer Women\u2019s 2025 Transfer to Watch in 2026 \u2013 Alyssa Thompson<\/h2>\n
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Alyssa Thompson became the newest face at WSL side Chelsea this past summer and has quickly adjusted to life in England\u2019s top-flight. <\/p>\n

Thompson has made 16 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, scoring four goals and two assists. She scored in draws with Arsenal and Liverpool while also finding the back of the net against Paris FC in the UEFA Women\u2019s Champions League.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old\u2019s durability and versatility has been on display, teaming up with the aforementioned Macario and Girma in multiple competitions. <\/p>\n

If Chelsea wants to repeat as WSL champions, as well as potentially become European winners, having Thompson in the mix will help majorly.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Larry Henry Jr<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer 2025 was filled with many positive moments for the U.S. men\u2019s and women\u2019s national team\u2019s and their players. From Chris Richards\u2019 pair of trophy lifts with Crystal Palace to Catarina Macario\u2019s constant production for Chelsea and the USWNT, to Lily Yohannes\u2019 rise into one of the world\u2019s top young talents, there was little for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":882500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[133692,993,2005],"tags":[133691,11499],"class_list":{"0":"post-882499","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-macario","8":"category-richards","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-macario","11":"tag-richards"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/882500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}