Columbus Crew defender Steven Moreira has been named Major League Soccer Defender of the Year as announced by the league Wednesday morning. The Noisy-le-grand, France, native is the third Black & Gold defender in club history and fourth overall honoree joining Robin Fraser (2004) and Chad Marshall (2008 and 2009).
“It means a lot to be selected as the MLS Defender of the Year,” said Moreira in a statement. “This season was filled with great memories from our run to the Concacaf Champions Cup Final, representing the Crew in the MLS All-Star Game in front of our home crowd, to lifting the Leagues Cup and setting multiple Club records. Without my teammates, coaches and the staff and what we accomplished as a group, this would not have been possible. I am grateful for the continued support from my family, friends and our fans. We have high expectations for ourselves in Columbus. I look forward to building off this season and doing all that I can to help my team while trying to be an even stronger defender next year.”
Moreira was named to the MLS All-Star Team for the first time in his MLS career and was one of five Crew players to represent their club in front of a home crowd at Lower.com Field. He started 23 of his 27 regular-season appearances in 2024 and logged over 2,100 minutes in his fourth season with the Crew. On Decision Day, October 19, Moreira became the 37th player to compete in 100 regular season matches for Columbus and now ranks 33rd in club history for total regular-season minutes played with 8,342 minutes after this season.
The Crew conceded just 29 goals (1.26 goals per game) when Moreira started and the fourth-fewest goals in MLS this season (40) overall. He featured in six of the 10 matches the Crew recorded shutouts and ranked sixth among all MLS defenders in short passes completed (407) and second among Columbus Crew defenders in goal contributions with six (two goals and four assists). By assisting Cucho Hernández on Matchday 35, Moreira became the 16th player to record at least 20 assists in regular season play in club history.
Throughout the 2024 season, Moreira was integral to the club’s Leagues Cup 2024 title and run to the Concacaf Champions Cup final, playing every minute in both tournaments. Moreira also started four of five games for Cape Verde as they reached the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations for just the second time in the national team’s history.
The Defender of the Year award was voted on by MLS club technical staff, media, and current MLS players. Below is a breakdown of the voting results:
| 2024 MLS Defender of the Year Voting Breakdown |
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MASSIVE REPORT 
Thanks for sharing the vote tally. It’s interesting that he barely won it, it appears. The media overwhelmingly selected him, but the players opted for Alba. Strangely, clubs preferred Alba AND Ragen over him. That really makes little sense, but whatever. I’m guessing each club got a vote, which means 3 clubs choose Moreira, six choose Alba, and six took Ragen. Hmmm. Anyway, the media vote is why he won the award. I’m glad they saw what we’ve known all along.
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