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Fans from around the CONCACAF region have the opportunity to vote for their Best XI for the year 2021 and there is no doubt that teams throughout the region were well-protected at the back last year, with superb showings from their goalkeepers throughout year.
Click here to vote in the 2021 CONCACAF Awards!
Here are the nominees for Best Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year:
Alyssa Naeher helped the United States win a penalty shootout against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics by making two saves to go along with a PK stop in regulation. She also had three clean sheets for the Chicago Red Stars and won the 2021 SheBelieves Cup before reporting for Olympic duty.
Aubrey Bledsoe was critical to the Washington Spirit’s NWSL title run, keeping six clean sheets in the club’s last ten matches of the season. She allowed only three goals in three playoff matches and ended the season with the third best goals against per 90 mark, earning NWSL Championship Game MVP honors along the way.
Becky Spencer is helping Tottenham Hotspur push for the Champions League places, keeping four clean sheets so far in the FA WSL. She started 16 matches during the 2020-21 season and also made her Jamaica debut in 2021, keeping clean sheets against Nigeria and Costa Rica.
Bella Bixby helped the Portland Thorns lift the Women’s International Champions Cup, denying French squad Olympique Lyon on several occasions and keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory in the final. She also closed the NWSL season with the lowest goals against per 90 number at .69 and the second-best save percentage in the league, 85.2%, helping Portland win the 2021 NWSL Shield.
Casey Murphy of the North Carolina Courage led the NWSL in saves in 2021, making 109 stops in 24 matches and racking up a league-leading 11 clean sheets in the process. She kept pushing for minutes with the U.S. national team as well, starting in a win and a draw against Australia in November.
Itzel González is working to become first choice for Mexico manager Monica Vergara, recently starting one of two qualification matches. Her club form turned heads in 2021, as she backstopped her hometown Club Tijuana to the Liguilla. Her form earned her a loan move to Sevilla.
Daniela Solera also is playing in Spain, representing Santa Teresa. Solera was a fixture in goal for Costa Rica as the Ticas ran off an impressive run of wins against Guatemala in June, Panama in September and then had a clean sheet in October against Jamaica and chalked up another win shortly after against Nicaragua.
Kailen Sheridan closed the season with the best save percentage in NWSL, with an 89.4 percent mark, earning Best XI honors for the season. She also had six clean sheets for Gotham FC. For Canada, she played in a pair of Olympic matches, coming in for Stephanie Labbe in a 1-1 draw against hosts Japan and starting the subsequent group game against Chile.
Stephanie Labbe helped Canada to the gold medal, allowing just one goal in three knockout matches and twice standing tall in penalty shootouts, in both the quarterfinals and the final. Later in the summer, she moved to Paris Saint-Germain where she has kept a trio of clean sheets in the Champions League, including one against Real Madrid and was a finalist for Canada’s prestigious Lou Marsh Trophy, given each year to the top Canadian athlete.
Yenith Bailey, the Panama number one, continued to grow into the club game in addition to taking strides with Panama. The 20-year-old saw action in nine matches with Atletico Nacional before her move to Dimas Escazu of Costa Rica and also started a pair of friendlies with the national team.
