Miami (Friday, January 22, 2016) – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today that Javier Hernandez and Carli Lloyd are the 2015 CONCACAF Male and Female Players of the Year, respectively, as winners in eleven different categories for the annual CONCACAF Awards were revealed.

In an equally-weighted vote among Member Association women’s and men’s national team coaches/captains, media and fans, both stars won for the first time in the three-year history of the honors.

Hernandez, who has been in exceptional form with Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League, stood out for his performances with the Mexican National Team.  He scored the first goal in a 3-2 CONCACAF Cup triumph over the United States, which gave the Tricolor a berth in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Lloyd led the United States to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup title, earning the competition’s Golden Ball award.  The midfielder also merited 2015 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year and 2015 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year accolades, while notching a team-high 18 goals.

Winners in other categories are: Goalkeepers of the Year – Tim Howard (USA, first three-time winner of any CONCACAF Award), Hope Solo (USA); Coaches of the Year – Hernan Dario Gomez (Panama Men’s National Team) and Jill Ellis (USA Women’s National Team); Referees of the Year – Joel Aguilar (El Salvador) and Kimberly Moreira (Costa Rica); Goal of the Year – Carli Lloyd (USA, 16th minute v Japan, 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final).

Also, for the first time, Best XI squads were selected, with Mexico and Costa Rica placing five players on the Male and Female teams, respectively.

The CONCACAF Awards are designed to honor the year’s outstanding performers and achievements in confederation-sanctioned competitions involving national teams at all levels and age categories, including FIFA World Cup matches and qualifying for both genders. Performances also eligible for recognition included those achieved in professional club football leagues within the CONCACAF Member Associations, as well as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League.

The votes of three important stake-holding segments within the Confederation were counted in compiling the results.  Member Associations’ national team coaches and captains (women’s and men’s), accredited media and fans each accounted for one third of the final vote.

A semifinal list of maximum 10 nominees in each category was determined by a vote of Technical Directors from each of CONCACAF’s 41 Member Associations and the CONCACAF Technical Study Group, which analyzes tactics and rates performances at all official CONCACAF tournaments.

Last year’s award winners can be found here: http://concacaf.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=78d3589fb61466b549ff752e5&id=3abb9c7358&e=c18ce5e7fe

Here’s a closer look at the vote in each of this year’s categories:

CONCACAF Male Player of the Year

1. Javier Hernandez (FW/MEX); Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER)

2. Bryan Ruiz (FW/CRC); Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)

3. Andres Guardado (MF/MEX); PSV Eindhoven (NED)    

CONCACAF Female Player of the Year

1. Carli Lloyd (MF/USA); Houston Dash (USA)    

2. Alex Morgan (FW/USA); Orlando Pride (USA)    

3. Shirley Cruz (MF/CRC); Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)         

CONCACAF Male Goalkeeper of the Year

1. Tim Howard (GK/USA); Everton FC (ENG)

2. Jaime Penedo (GK/PAN); Deportivo Saprissa (CRC)

3. Guillermo Ochoa (GK/MEX); Malaga FC (ESP)     

CONCACAF Female Goalkeeper of the Year

1. Hope Solo (GK/USA); Seattle Reign FC (USA)

2. Dinnia Diaz (GK/CRC); Moravia (CRC)

3. Cecilia Santiago (GK/MEX); Apollon Limassol (CYP)

CONCACAF Male Coach of the Year

1. Hernan Dario Gomez (COL); Panama National Team

2. Caleb Porter (USA); Portland Timbers (USA)

3. Miguel Herrera (MEX); Club Tijuana (MEX)

CONCACAF Female Coach of the Year

1. Jill Ellis (USA); United States Women’s National Team

2. Amelia Valverde (CRC); Costa Rica Women’s National Team

3. Raiza Gutierrez (PAN); Panama Women’s National Team/Panama Women’s Under-20 National Team

CONCACAF Male Referee of the Year

1. Joel Aguilar (SLV)

2. Roberto Garcia (MEX)  

3. Fernando Guerrero (MEX)    

CONCACAF Female Referee of the Year

1. Kimberly Moreira (CRC)      

2. Lucila Venegas (MEX)      

3. Carol Anne Chenard (CAN)    

CONCACAF Goal of the Year

1. Carli Lloyd (USA); USA vs. Japan (16′)

2. Paul Aguilar (MEX); Mexico vs. USA (120+2′)

3. Darwin Quintero (COL); Club America vs. Walter Ferretti (13′)     

CONCACAF Male Best XI

GK: Tim Howard (GK/USA); Everton FC (ENG)

DF: Roman Torres (DF/PAN), Seattle Sounders FC (USA); Giancarlo Gonzalez (DF/CRC), US Citta di Palermo (ITA); Hector Moreno (DF/MEX), PSV Eindhoven (NED); Miguel Layun (DF/MEX), FC Porto (POR)

MF: Andres Guardado (MF/MEX), PSV Eindhoven (NED); Michael Bradley (MF/USA), Toronto FC (CAN); Joel Campbell (MF/CRC), Arsenal FC (ENG); Jesus Corona (MF/MEX), FC Porto (POR)

FW: Javier Hernandez (FW/MEX), Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER); Bryan Ruiz (FW/CRC), Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)

CONCACAF Female Best XI

GK: Hope Solo (GK/USA), Seattle Reign FC (USA)

DF: Kenti Robles (DF/MEX), Atletico Madrid (ESP); Becky Sauerbrunn (DF/USA), FC Kansas City FC (USA); Lixy Rodriguez (DF/CRC), UCEM Alajuela (CRC); Diana Saenz (DF/CRC), University of South Florida (USA)

MF: Carli Lloyd (MF/USA), Houston Dash (USA); Shirley Cruz (MF/CRC), Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA); Katherine Alvarado (MF/CRC), Saprissa (CRC); Veronica Perez (MF/MEX), Canberra United FC (AUS)

FW: Alex Morgan (FW/USA), Orlando Pride (USA); Raquel Rodriguez (FW/CRC), Penn State University (USA)