Sporting Kansas City defender Khiry Shelton and forward Alan Pulido were named to the MLS Team of the Matchday presented by Audi on Monday as two of the top 20 players in Major League Soccer for Matchday 31 of the regular season.
Pulido opened the scoring in Sporting's 1-1 road result at the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, striking for his sixth goal of the season and the 36th of his career for the club across all competitions to pass Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi for ninth most in team history. The World Cup veteran, who led all SKC players in distance covered on Saturday, has tallied goal contributions in three straight MLS matches and is one of four nominees for MLS Goal of the Matchday.
"For Alan to be able to settle the ball with his head and finish off the volley was excellent," Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes said in the postgame press conference. "If you put him anywhere around the box, he's going to score. It's a good finish."
Shelton marked his 200th career appearance in MLS competitions with a strong shift at right back on Saturday, recording the most duels won (11), most recoveries (10) and most interceptions (2) of any player in the match as part of a defensive performance that saw Sporting KC hold the Red Bulls to their fewest shots and shots on goal at home this season.
After battling the New York Red Bulls to a 1-1 draw on the East Coast on Saturday, Sporting KC will travel to the West Coast this weekend to take on the Seattle Sounders at 6:25 p.m. CT on Sunday at Lumen Field in the Pacific Northwest.
The Western Conference clash will be free to watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and will also be nationally televised on FS1 and FOX Deportes. Pub partners in the Sporting Pub Network will also show all of the action, including a watch party at No Other Pub in the KC Power & Light District featuring food and drink specials. In addition, radio coverage will air locally on 94.5 FM, 1510 AM and 1340 AM with live audio streams in the Sporting KC App as well as a live broadcast on SiriusXM FC.
