Landon Donovan, Brian McBride and Brian McBride are the finalists for the 2003 Honda Player of the Year award.
Last year Donovan became the youngest Honda Player of Year winner ever, and now he attempts to become only the second two-time winner and first back-to-back winner of the most prestigious award an American player can receive.
Donovan, 21, led the U.S. in scoring this year with seven goals — four against El Salvador in the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup — and is tied for sixth on the all-time scoring list with 14 goals.
McBride and Bocanegra are first-time finalists.
This year McBride moved into sole possession of third place on the U.S. national team's all-time scoring list, trailing only Eric Wynalda and Joe-Max Moore.
Since his international debut in 2001, Bocanegra has emerged as one of America's best defenders and this year ranked second on the team in scoring. He became one of only four defenders in the history of the U.S. team to score at least four goals in a season, joining Marcelo Balboa, Alexi Lalas and Thomas Dooley.
In order to be eligible for the award, a player must have played in at least three international matches with the U.S. national team in 2003.
A total of 206 U.S. sports journalists participated in the voting. The announcement of the winner will occur on Oct. 7 during a gala award luncheon at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.