Steven Moreira claims major MLS award | OneFootball

After a season that saw the Crew be one of the premier defensive teams in the league, Steven Moreira has been named the MLS Defender of the Year. He becomes the third player in club history and first since 2009 to win the award.

After just missing being named to the MLS Best XI in 2023, Moreira took his game to another level this past season. In his 23 MLS starts, the Crew gave up just 29 goals. Moreira not only helped the Crew to a Leagues Cup title and an appearance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final appearance, but he was also an integral part of Cape Verde’s run to the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals. In July, he was named to his first MLS All-Star Game.

Moreira joined the Crew in August of 2021 after his contract with French club Toulouse expired. Late in the 2024 season, he became the 33rd player in club history to play in 100 MLS games. He’ll be adding to that total through next season, at least. He’s signed through 2025 with a club option for 2026. Having just turned 30 in August, Moreira is still in the prime of his career.

After suffering an ankle injury in early October, Moreira would not return again until the first-round playoff series with Red Bulls. While he did not play poorly, he most certainly wasn’t himself and failed to finish out either game. If he was fully healthy, I don’t think you can definitively say the Crew would have beaten Red Bulls, but he certainly would have made things much more difficult for them.

Moreira is the first Crew player to be an MLS award winner since a trio from the Black and Gold were honored in 2020. He was also up for Goal of the Year for the banger he scored against Portland early in the season.