Beyond The Box Score: Masterful Melia makes history in 2-0 win over Red Bulls

Tim Melia made the most of his homecoming on Saturday.

The Long Island native had returned to the Greater New York area for his long-awaited Red Bull Arena debut, and by the final whistle — when the scoreboard read Sporting KC 2, New York Red Bulls 0 — Melia had enjoyed arguably the best night of his seven-year MLS career.

“It was huge,” Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes said of Melia’s performance, which included six stops and a saved penalty. “He made quite a few game-saving stops outside the penalty kick. He was fantastic…there’s no doubt that he was man of the match.”

Anyone who watched Saturday’s game is likely to agree with Vermes. Melia made a series of brilliant saves, foiling Bradley Wright-Phillips on multiple occasions — most notably from the penalty spot in the 64th minute. As impressive as his showing was on the eye, it also went into the Sporting KC record books as one of the most comprehensive statistical games from a goalkeeper.

In fact, Melia became the first keeper in Sporting KC history to notch at least six saves and one penalty kick save while earning a shutout victory. Five other players have made at least six stops and saved one penalty in a match, but only Tony Meola added a clean sheet, and none posted a shutout win.

SKC GOALKEEPERS WITH 6 SAVES AND 1 PK SAVE IN SAME GAME

Thanks in large part to Melia, Sporting KC withstood a relentless barrage of shots from the Red Bulls over the course of 90 minutes. The visitors faced 22 shots and finished with a minus-15 shot discrepancy, the team’s second-most during the Opta era (2011-present). Since 2011, Sporting KC had never previously overcome a shot discrepancy of more than minus-10 and still won.

SKC’S LARGEST SHOT DISCREPANCIES IN WINS (2011-present)

Super Subs

Not surprisingly, the 29-year-old Melia was quick to deflect credit onto his teammates.

“How many blocks did our defenders make?” he asked rhetorically after the match. “Our midfield closed guys down. It was really a team effort. Shutouts are team efforts. They're not a goalkeeper's by any means.”

He has a point. In addition to keeping New York off the scoresheet, Sporting KC’s backline was forced into two changes on either side of halftime. First Kevin Ellis sustained a groin injury, summoning center back Ike Opara to make his first MLS appearance since April 11, 2015 — almost exactly one year ago. 

Opara’s long-awaited return couldn’t have gone much better, as evidenced by this ridiculous stat via MLSsoccer.com's Ben Baer: in just 48 minutes of action, Opara became the first MLS player to tally eight clearances, five interceptions and four tackles in 2016.

Sporting KC further showcased their backline depth with the 52nd-minute introduction of Saad Abdul-Salaam, who replaced Chance Myers after the right back pulled his hamstring. Abdul-Salaam not only contributed to the shutout, but played an integral role in Sporting KC’s second goal. His long throw into the penalty box allowed Dom Dwyer to score his third goal in as many trips to Red Bull Arena.

Road Resilience

Saturday’s result saw Vermes’ men earn consecutive road wins for the first time since July 2014. More impressively, Sporting KC became just the second team in MLS history (joining the 2010 LA Galaxy) to secure shutout wins at Red Bull Arena and CenturyLink Field in Seattle in the same season. The feat is all the more impressive given the fact that visiting teams to New York and Seattle have emerged with victories just 19.9 percent of the time (44-132-45) since 2010.

Exemplary goalkeeping may have highlighted Saturday’s win, but Sporting KC also managed two goals of their own — and both scoring plays saw a pair of MLS All-Stars continue their rise up the club’s all-time regular season charts. Graham Zusi now ranks second in club history with 46 assists, while Dwyer is tied for fourth with 39 regular season goals.

SPORTING KC ALL-TIME REGULAR SEASON CHARTS

As if the victory didn’t already produce enough statistical rarities, ESPN’s Paul Carr may have provided the craziest figure of the night.