RVC's Dunn a finalist for top award

Rockville Centre native Crystal Dunn, the only player to start every game in 2020 for the USA Women’s Soccer National Team and showed her two-way abilities at outside back, was one of five finalists for Female Player of the Year.
Midfielder Samantha Mewis, who starred in the limited U.S. Women’s National Team schedule while also performing at an extremely high level for clubs in the USA and England, received the honor last Saturday. Abby Dahlkemper, Lindsey Horan, and Christen Press were the other nominees in addition to Dunn.
Votes for U.S. Soccer Player of the Year awards are collected from respective National Team coaches, National Team players who have earned a cap in 2020, members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors, U.S. Soccer Athletes’ Council, National Women’s Soccer League head coaches (for the USWNT awards) and American soccer league (MLS and USL) head coaches (for the USMNT awards), select media members and former players and administrators. In addition, select college coaches vote for the USWNT award.
All five nominees played significant roles for the USA during a truncated 2020 schedule due to Covid-19 that still featured excellent performances from the U.S. team during the Concacaf Olympic Qualifying tournament and the SheBelieves Cup, both of which the Americans won. The USA defeated the Netherlands, 2-0, on Nov. 27 in its only match since the pandemic began to finish the year at 9-0-0.
Dunn, a 2010 South Side High School graduate who starred at North Carolina, started all nine games for the USA, the only player to do so this year, and finished second on the team in minutes played. She also played a key role in the 2019 World Cup victory.

Dunn’s form at outside back was once again stellar on both sides of the ball, proving extremely difficult to beat while consistently making dynamic forays down the flank, sending in dangerous crosses and playing an important role to the USA’s attack.
She was the only player to start all five games at the Olympic Qualifying tournament and was just one minute shy of tying for most minutes played. At the 2020 SheBelieves Cup, Dunn played a big part in helping shut down some of the world’s top attackers as the USA won all three games. The USA allowed just one goal in nine games during the year. At the NWSL Challenge Cup, Dunn played in five games for the North Carolina Courage, starting four and tallying one goal. She was traded to Portland Thorns FC on Oct. 22.
The U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year has been awarded since 1985, when midfielder Sharon Remer (known then as Sharon McMurtry) earned the inaugural honor. Abby Wambach holds the record by winning the award six times. Mia Hamm won it five times. Midfielder Julie Ertz has won it twice in the past three years, in 2017 and 2019, while forward Alex Morgan won it in 2018, which was her second time winning.