The following is a press release from the communications department of Columbus Crew SC.
COLUMBUS — In conjunction with Major League Soccer, Columbus Crew SC today announced that forward Kei Kamara and midfielder Wil Trapp have been named finalists for prominent Major League Soccer full-season awards. The club’s Golden Boot winner, Kamara was named a finalist for both the Landon Donovan MLS MVP award as well as the MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year presented by Advocare honor. Additionally, Homegrown midfielder and Vice Captain Wil Trapp was named a finalist for the MLS Comeback Player of the Year award.
Columbus Crew SC’s Kei Kamara, Wil Trapp Named Finalists for MLS End of Season Awards
An MLS All-Star and Crew SC’s Barbasol Most Valuable Player in 2015, Kamara’s 22 goals tied for the regular-season Major League Soccer lead this season. His season-long totals of 135 shots, 57 shots on goal and seven game-winning goals set new all-time single-season club records. Additionally, he was nominated for the Etihad Airways MLS Player of the Month award four times (April, May, August, September) and was named MLS Player of the Week three times (Weeks 12, 23, 28). Crew SC was 10-1-5 when Kamara scored a goal in the 2015 regular season, as well as 5-0-2 when he provided an assist.
Kamara recorded the second-highest amount of goals scored by one player in Crew SC single-season history, and he is just the second player to ever hit the 20-goal plateau in a single-season for the Black & Gold. His six braces this season were the second-most ever recorded by a single Crew SC player in one season.
Off the field, Kamara displayed his humanitarian qualities by both working with the charitable initiative Schools for Salone as well as sharing his inspiring story with the Columbus community. Since 2005, Schools for Salone has built 16 schools and two libraries in Sierra Leone, including the “Education for All Primary School” in Allen Town, East End Freetown, which opened for classes in September of this year and was personally sponsored by Kamara and Philadelphia Union midfielder Michael Lahoud. In Central Ohio, the Crew SC forward has consistently given his time to speak to classrooms and youth centers about his inspiring story, including the Columbus Global Academy, where he teamed with Black & Gold Community MVP Derek Braun’s biology class to speak about pursing dreams. Kamara was also named the club’s OhioHealth Humanitarian of the Year.
Meanwhile, Wil Trapp overcame an early-season concussion that held him out for nearly three months to become a force in the Black & Gold midfield. Crew SC’s Vice Captain at the age of 22, since Trapp’s comeback as a regular starter on July 15, Columbus went 9-3-2 during regular-season matches in which he started. Over that span, in regular-season play, only one other MLS player recorded more attempted or completed passes, while only three other players notched more touches. Among all players who attempted 600 passes from July 15 to October 25, Trapp’s 88.6% passing accuracy ranked second in the League.
Crew SC returns to action this Sunday against the Montreal Impact in the second leg of the MLS Eastern Conference semifinals to be held at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus. The Black and Gold are looking to erase a 2-1 deficit from the first leg of the series in Montreal. The pivotal match in the 2015 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs will take place at 5 PM ET and can be seen on ESPN.
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