Sporting Kansas City midfielder Benny Feilhaber was voted Etihad Airways MLS Player of the Month for April. The veteran midfielder finished the month with two goals and three assists including the first brace of his five-year MLS career.
“It’s an honor to be nominated alongside a great group of MLS players and I’m humbled to have won the award," Feilhaber said. "It’s great that our team is improving throughout this stage of the season and I’m pleased to have been able to play my part.”
Feilhaber, 30, is tied for first in MLS with five assists in 2015 after logging three in the month of April. During a month in which Feilhaber played every minute in Sporting Kansas City's four games, the World Cup veteran started strong by setting up two goals with corner kicks in a 3-2 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Union on April 5. After Dom Dwyer headed home his service in the 16th minute, Feilhaber delivered the game-winning assist on the club's 1000th goal in all competitions when Sporting KC scored their second of two goals in stoppage-time.
Named the BurgerFi Man of the Match in a scoreless draw against Real Salt Lake on April 11, Feilhaber then became the second fastest KC player all-time to reach the five-assist mark in a season -- doing so in his seventh league appearance -- when he provided the final pass for Krisztian Nemeth's equalizer at the LA Galaxy on April 18. He also entered the club's record books as only the second player to assist on five of the team's first seven goals in a season.
Feilhaber capped off April with his first two-goal performance in a wild 4-4 draw against the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium. Down 3-2 in the 80th minute, Feilhaber leveled the match with a well-placed penalty kick past goalkeeper Tyler Deric. After the Dynamo regained the lead minutes later, Feilhaber's stoppage-time blast, which was voted MLS Goal of the Week, gave Sporting KC its fifth consecutive result in Houston.
This is the second MLS Player of the Month award in Feilhaber's career after earning his first award in July 2014. Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer and former Sporting KC goalkeeper Eric Kronberg were also voted Player of the Month last year in May and June, respectively. Voting for MLS Player of the Month is open to the public on MLSsoccer.com.
After a 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire Sunday afternoon at Sporting Park, Sporting Kansas City will hit the road this weekend to take on D.C. United. The match will kick off at 6 p.m. CT with local coverage on KMCI-TV 38 the Spot and SKCTV across the Midwest.
KC All-Time Players of the Month (12)
April 2000: Miklos Molnar
May 2000: Tony Meola
May 2003: Preki
June 2004: Chris Klein
August 2005: Scott Sealy
June 2006: Jose Burciaga, Jr.
April 2007: Eddie Johnson
June 2011: Graham Zusi
May 2014: Dom Dwyer
June 2014: Eric Kronberg
July 2014: Benny Feilhaber
April 2015: Benny Feilhaber
