by JAKE NUTTING

Considering how tight the overall standings have been all year, it really shouldn’t come as a shock that there is no runaway candidate for the league’s Golden Ball award.

The closely contested regular season has even allowed a player on the defensive side of the ball to jump into consideration for the award — one that typically leans toward goal scorers.

The Front-runners

Romuald Peiser

Romuald Peiser has done just about all a keeper can do to make a compelling case for a league MVP award. The Fury netminder is the only player at his position who has played every available minute of the season, and he is also the only keeper to maintain a goals against average under one (0.8). The Frenchman has recorded a remarkable 12 clean sheets in his 25 starts. Peiser’s first shutout of the year earned his club their first win of the year. That narrow 1-0 upset over preseason favorite Minnesota United in week three of the Spring Season was an early sign that Ottawa wouldn’t be a pushover this season.

Ottawa’s attacking players have come alive in recent weeks, but that wasn’t the case when the club was starting out its league-best 12 unbeaten streak. Peiser helped his club ride out four scoreless draws in the Spring Season, notably making 10 saves against Jacksonville in one of those matches. Altogether, the Fury have been able to take a point from six scoreless matches this year thanks to the safe hands of Peiser.

The biggest argument against Peiser is that he’s been blessed with the most consistent back line in the NASL. The Fury have started the same central defenders in every match and have limited opponents to two or three shots on goals a handful of times. The whole Fury roster deserves credit for allowing a league-low 20 goals, but the clutch timing of some of Peiser’s 63 saves (second in the NASL) is an undeniable reason why Ottawa sits atop both tables at the start of the final month of the season.

Christian Ramirez

Christian Ramirez may be the reigning Golden Boot winner but the striker still had to earn his starting spot in this year’s starting lineup. The Loons were winless in their first four matches and Ramirez seemingly lost the confidence of his coach Manny Lagos after recording only one goal from a penalty in that stretch. Minnesota’s inconsistent Spring continued even after the young striker was relegated to the bench and Lagos was forced to go back to him in the Fall Season after the transfer of Miguel Ibarra.

Ramirez got the starting nod again in the second match of the Fall and has not looked back since, tallying nine goals and five assists in his 14 starts during the back half of the year. Ramirez swiftly became the hottest attacker in the league by scoring a goal in each of his first seven Fall starts, quickly solidifying Minnesota’s status as one of the league’s heaviest hitters. Ramirez’s 10 goals are second in the league but his six assists also lead Minnesota, a team chock full of proficient setup men. His contributions during the Fall have helped the Loons become the most lethal attack in the league, with 47 goals from 25 matches.

Lance Laing

Star winger Lance Laing has been as steady as they come for the Eddies this year. The Jamaican international leads his team with eight goals, evenly splitting four in the Spring and four in the Fall. He’s also been consistent with his distribution, setting teammates up for a club best seven assists, with four in the Spring and three more in the Fall.

Laing’s numbers could be even better if not for the fact that his play over the past 12 months has put him on the Jamaican national team radar. The speedy set piece maestro has had to miss seven starts due to national team duty during the summer. When Laing does take the field, he poses such an imposing threat that opponents regularly try to nullify him through double teams, which of course opens up space for his teammates. Edmonton’s hopes at securing their first NASL playoff berth will ride largely on the back of Laing in October. A productive month for the winger could help separate him from the rest of the Golden Ball candidates.

The Longshots

Stefano Pinho – A Golden Boot winner taking home the Golden Ball in the same season isn’t a crazy notion. It’s already happened twice in the short history of the modern NASL. Pinho’s value to his team is beyond doubt. The Strikers have a record of 5W-3D-1L when the 24-year-old Brazilian notches a goal. Pinho has two big knocks going against him, though. First and foremost is the fact that the youngster has gone ice cold in the past four matches as the playoff race is heating up. His lack of production in September has contributed to Fort Lauderdale’s playoff chances in serious jeopardy. The second con to the argument for Pinho as MVP is his two red cards. Taking yourself out of commission through suspension is not something MVP worthy players are supposed to do.

Raul – The highest-profile signing in the offseason hasn’t lit the league on fire by any means, but he is the second leading scorer for the Cosmos this year with six goals. More importantly though, the 38-yeard old has somehow played over 2000 minutes for the club, the third most of any player on the roster. His consistent appearance in the starting lineup has led to five NASL Team of the Week appearances, second only to Lance Laing (6).

What makes Raul a longshot is his tendency to get lost drifting between positions during matches and his lack of production compared to others. The value of what he has produced, though, cannot be denied. He has personally notched two equalizers and two winners when the Cosmos status as a league-leader seemed in doubt. That’s eight crucial points the Cosmos hold over a tight NASL table directly because of Raul.

Georgi Hristov – The 2013 Golden Ball winner is the longest of longshots for the award this year. You can make a very convincing argument for why he doesn’t even belong on this list, but how do ignore nine assists? With five matches left to play on the schedule, that is the most any modern era NASL player has ever recorded in a single season. What’s surprising is that Hristov has accumulated those assists in only 18 starts. The Bulgarian had to contend with his former coach Thomas Rongen putting him in the doghouse for a long stretch in the middle of the summer, but has returned to fulltime status under new coach Stuart Campbell. The disappointing thing for Hristov is he has only netted a measly two goals this year. If he had scored even just a few more goals, then he would be string contender for a second Golden Ball and the Rowdies would likely not be in such a precarious position in the postseason race.