TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship announced on Saturday its first official awards for the 2022 regular season with a standout season by Orange County SC forward Milan Iloski earning the Championship’s Golden Boot. Iloski was joined in being honored by Louisville City FC goalkeeper Kyle Morton, who earned the Golden Glove, and Detroit City FC’s Antoine Hoppenot, who claimed the Assists Champion award for the first time in his career.
A new arrival at Orange County this offseason, the 23-year-old Iloski had a breakout campaign for the defending title holders with 22 goals in 31 appearances. The California native’s total tied for the third-highest goalscoring campaign in the Championship’s history as he averaged a goal every 118.1 minutes with a shot conversion rate of 25 percent. Iloski recorded five two-goal performances in the campaign and recorded eight goals from beyond the penalty area, equaling the single-season league record previously accomplished by Emmanuel Ledesma for FC Cincinnati in the 2018 season.
Morton earned the first Golden Glove award of his career as he narrowly edged out San Antonio FC’s Jordan Farr for the award. A two-time finalist for the Championship’s Goalkeeper of the Year award previously in his career, Morton recorded a 0.74 goals-against average in 28 appearances as he became the first LouCity goalkeeper to claim the award in the club’s history. The 28-year-old posted 13 shutouts during the regular season as LouCity conceded two goals or fewer in each of his appearances throughout the campaign while claiming the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference ahead of the 2022 USL Championship Playoffs presented by Hisense.
Hoppenot claimed the Assists Champion award with 11 assists in the regular season for expansion side Detroit City FC, which helped propel Le Rouge to the 2022 USL Championship Playoffs presented by Hisense in their first season in the league. The veteran – who contended for the award with a career-best 13 assists in 2018 for Reno 1868 FC – now sits fifth all-time in the Championship in regular season assists with 44 for his career, while having also recorded 38 regular season goals in his career overall.
The 2022 USL Championship Golden Boot, Golden Glove and Assists Champion are the opening three awards that will be presented by the league this year. The Championship’s Most Valuable Player, Young Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year and the USL Championship All-League Teams will be announced in November.