The New York Red Bulls announced today team awards for the 2020 season. Brian White was named the Offensive Player of the Year, and Kyle Duncan has earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Seventeen-year-old Caden Clark has been named Newcomer of the Year, and goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh has been named the club’s Humanitarian of the Year.
White, a native of Flemington, N.J. led the team in goals, scoring several important goals down the stretch that secured valuable points and helped New York reach the sixth-seed in the Eastern Conference, avoiding the play-in game of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. White scored five regular season goals and also found the back of the net in the playoffs.
Duncan, a Brooklyn native and Red Bulls Academy alum, was a standout on defense, finishing second in the league in Duels won (180), fifth in interceptions (49), and seventh amongst field players in recoveries (168), all according to Opta. The right-back appeared in all of New York’s 24 games played, starting 21 of 23 regular season games as well as the playoff match. Duncan also contributed offensively with three goals and four assists, both career-highs in his third MLS season.
Clark burst onto the scene in the second half of the season, earning an MLS contract and scoring a game-winning goal in his first MLS appearance against Atlanta United. Clark followed up the heroics four days later with a long-range strike to earn a road point against Toronto FC. The 17-year-old Clark was the fifth-youngest player in league history to score in his debut, and the youngest player ever to score in his first two MLS appearances. Clark entered the franchise record books as the third-youngest player in club history to score a goal, behind Eddie Gaven and Jozy Altidore.
In an unprecedented year, goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh took it upon himself to lead within First Team, sparking open and honest conversation amongst teammates and sporting staff, and leading player-driven initiatives in response to issues of social injustice. McIntosh organized the Red Bulls player-led “Unite, Rethink, Reform” initiative to raise awareness and drive meaningful conversation around issues of racism and social injustice, culminating with the organization’s opening of the first mini-pitch in partnership with the Black Players for Change, which included RBNY players and BPC leadership meeting and sharing experiences and insight with high school soccer players from West Side High School in Newark. McIntosh and his teammates identified and raised funds for three organizations, the NAACP legal defense and education fund, the National Black Child Development Institute, and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
