Sporting Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Month for May, MLSsoccer.com announced on Thursday. The 23-year-old continued his breakout season with six goals in May and did so by scoring in four straight MLS matches, tied for the longest such goal-scoring streak in MLS this season and second best in team history.
Dwyer moved into second place in the MLS Golden Boot race with 10 goals during the 2014 season, one shy of New York Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips, and is now one of 11 players all-time with a 10-goal season in a KC uniform. Dwyer is also tied for the League lead with three game-winning goals and three multi-goal games, while ranking second in both shots (50) and shots on goal (20).
Dwyer is one of Sporting Kansas City's seven nominees on the fan ballot for the 2014 MLS All-Star Game. Fan voting is available online at MLSsoccer.com through July 11 and Dwyer is also in contention for the "More than a Vote" Challenge, in which one MLS forward will be voted into the All-Star Game based on goals scored by fans in EA Sports FIFA 14.
Sporting Kansas City selected Dwyer in the first round of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft as a Generation adidas signing out of the University of South Florida. In three MLS seasons, Dwyer has contributed 13 goals and two assists in 37 games played (including postseason) and scored the game-winning goal in the Eastern Conference Championship to propel Sporting KC to MLS Cup 2013.
In 2013, Dwyer recorded 26 goals across six competitions while splitting time between Sporting Kansas City and the team's USL PRO affiliate Orlando City SC. He set the USL PRO single-season scoring record with 15 goals in 13 regular season games and led the Lions to the USL PRO title with four goals in the final to earn Championship MVP honors.
Dwyer received nearly twice as many MLS Player of the Month votes as runner-up Obafemi Martins and more votes than the remaining three nominees combined (Fabian Espindola, Javier Morales and Diego Fagundez). He becomes the first Sporting KC player to win the award since Graham Zusi in June 2011 and the ninth different player in club history to collect the honor.
Under a new format in 2014, Major League Soccer's Player of the Month is determined by the fans via online voting. Five nominees are selected each month by the editorial staff of MLSsoccer.com.
KC All-Time Players of the Month (9)
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
2014 MLS Players of the Month
March: Mauro Diaz (FC Dallas)
April: Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders)
May: Dom Dwyer (Sporting KC)
