Each year (now 4) when we gather the staff to put together the list of candidates for the Protagonist Soccer Club of the Year, we have an idea of who we think is going to win. Honestly, that’s how the list is made. Each person comes to the meeting with the club they think is the most deserving. We hack the list down to 4-5 candidates, write the articles and run the the voting. And from there, we sit back and wait.

The first year, it was Inocentes, who had really risen to the top of the UPSL that year. The next was Pensacola FC. They had just won a national championship and were brimming with talent. Last year, Maryland Bobcats won the award, fresh off winning a UPSL title and going pro with NISA. This year, it was hard to predict, as always, but we have a winner and probably not the one you thought.

When Lis Schendel wrote the nomination article for KC Courage, this is how she closed it out. “KC Courage makes us all better. They are the type of club we aspire to play for, to have our children play for, and they are the type of club we want in our city so we can root for them. And as the women’s soccer community turns a magnifying glass on itself as it looks to improve and ensure player health and wellness is the top priority for clubs of all professional levels, we would be amiss if we didn’t recognize the clubs - such as KC Courage - that are out there already prioritizing their players and protecting them and investing in their communities. That’s why KC Courage is my nominee for club of the year.”

We couldn’t agree more. KC Courage won handily, it wasn’t close. We celebrate the club that the fans picked, as we do every year. Congratulations to KC Courage, the 2021 Protagonist Soccer Club of the Year.

If you’d like to read the full nomination article, here’s the link.