Juan Agudelo and Thierry Henry combine for three out of the first 16 entries in MLSsoccer.com's 2011 Goal of the Year voting. First round voting concludes at 11:59 pm PT on Weds., Oct. 26.
The field of nominees has been broken up into different groups that will be voted on by fans from now until Nov. 14. The top two in each group will advance to the next stage where they take on a new pool of contestants. Here's a direct link to the First Round of nominees.
Juan Agudelo's goal against the Seattle Sounders on Mar. 19 stands out in Group A voting against Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Alan Gordon (Toronto) and Dwayne De Rosario (DC United).
Agudelo's second highlight-reel goal is in Group C and goes up against the likes of Kenny Cooper (Portland), Alex Dixon (Houston) and Nick LaBrocca (Chivas).
As for Red Bulls captain Henry, his Group D Goal of the Year pick came against the LA Galaxy on May 5, a match that ended in a 1-1 draw. He will be met with three challengers as well, including Khari Stephenson (San Jose), Eddie Gaven (Columbus) and Teal Bunbury (Sporting KC).
You can check out the collection of highlight reels and vote for Agudelo and Henry over at MLSsoccer.com.
The breakdown of voting is as follows:
- 64 goals nominated: the 32 winners of the AT&T Goal of the Week plus 32 goals chosen by a panel of MLSsoccer.com's editorial staff
- The First Round (voting open Oct. 25-29) will consist of the 64 nominated goals, placed in 16 groups of four. The top two in each group, as determined by an online vote, will advance to the Second Round.
- The Second Round (Oct 30-Nov 2) will consist of the 32 remaining goals, placed into eight groups of four. The top two in each group, as determined by an online vote, will advance to the Round of 16.
- The Round of 16 (Nov 3-10) will consist of the 16 remaining goals, placed in four groups of four. The top goal in each group, as determined by the combination of online voting and text voting, will advance to the Final group.
- The Final Four (Nov 11-14) will consist of the 4 remaining goals, placed in a group. The AT&T Goal of the Year winner will be determined by the combination of online voting and text voting.
