SIZING UP THE CANDIDATES | NASL Golden Ball

As the race for the remaining spots in The Championship, the NASL’s four-team postseason tournament, continues to heat up, the same can be said for the players’ pursuit of the league’s annual awards. The top award given out each year is the NASL Golden Ball, which goes to the league’s most valuable player. With the Fall Season soon heading down the final stretch, here is a look at a few candidates for the NASL’s most coveted individual honor:

Leo Fernandes (New York Cosmos) – The Long Island native is currently in the midst of his breakout season. Fernandes reads the game incredibly well, and despite being just 23 years old, he has scored timely goal after timely goal. The midfielder leads the Cosmos with seven goals and has also chipped in with three assists.

Lance Laing (FC Edmonton) – With a team-high seven goals and six assists, the Jamaican international has shown that he can do it all. Laing continues to make the Eddies tick in the attacking third and the defender-turned-midfielder is dangerous in just about every area of the field that he patrols. With a magic touch on set pieces and blazing speed on the wings, the 27-year-old is leading the charge as FC Edmonton aims to reach the postseason.

Billy Forbes (San Antonio Scorpions) – Similar to Laing, Forbes is becoming as lethal a finisher in front of net as he is a distributor through the midfield. The Turks and Caicos international has scored four times to go along with six assists, and truly is the livewire that sparks the Scorpions’ attack. It is no surprise that Omar Cummings has found the back of the net a league-leading 10 times with Forbes bombing down the flanks. The 24-year-old led the league in assists last season with seven.

Stefano Pinho (Fort Lauderdale Strikers) – The young Brazilian continues to grow as the season goes on, and after a two-goal performance over the weekend, he is just one off the pace in the Golden Ball race with nine goals. The 24-year-old Fluminense loanee has linked up well with his teammates, several of them from his native Brazil, and has showcased a combination of strength and flair as his goals may just shoot Fort Lauderdale back into the postseason.

Christian Ramirez (Minnesota United) – After a quiet Spring Season, the 2014 Golden Boot winner can hardly be slowed down now. While the 24-year-old’s goalscoring streak came to an end one goal shy of a Modern Era record, scoring for seven straight games fired him into a position to repeat as the Golden Ball winner, and helped the Loons move a point away from second in the Combined Standings and a second-place spot in the Fall Season.

Outside Chance: Romuald Peiser (Ottawa Fury FC) – While goalkeepers are not typically mentioned in conversation for the Golden Ball award, it would be remiss to leave out the Frenchman. The 36-year-old leads the league with a 0.89 goals against average, spearheading the strong defensive effort that has moved Fury FC to the top of the standings. Peiser also kept a league record 648-minute shutout streak earlier in the year, to go along with his eight clean sheets in 2015.