Three weeks have passed since the MLS All-Star voting ballot opened and the Sporting KC faithful have made their presence felt with three players currently winning the fan vote and four others within striking distance.
Let's start from the back where Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia lept past LA Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo and now sits in fourth place at his position. Melia recorded his fourth consecutive shutout in all competition on Tuesday with a 1-0 win over Saint Louis FC in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Melia's strong form was enough to earn a him a 2% voting bump among goalkeepers. Melia's 0.50 GAA in MLS play is best in the League among goalkeepers with at least 500 minutes played. His 82% save percentage is second to Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei among goalkeepers with a minimum of 500 minutes played.
Moving up the field, Sporting KC captain Matt Besler further secured his place ahead of the pack of defenders receiving votes. The Overland Park, Kansas native has more than a 1% lead on 2014 World Cup teammates Omar Gonzalez and DaMarcus Beasley. Jalil Anibaba is also making ground in the defender voting. Anibaba has played a big role in preserving Sporting KC's seven-match unbeaten streak, contributing four assists during that span including a two-assist game against FC Dallas. The 26-year-old defender is currently tied with former Sporting center back Aurelien Collin with 3.76% of the vote.
In the midfield position, Benny Feilhaber broke a deadlock with Real Salt Lake defender Kyle Beckerman and lept teammate Graham Zusi to move into third among all midfielders. Zusi sits in fourth place, trailing his teammate by only 0.21% of the vote. Feilhaber lept into third place following a week that included a game-winning-goal at home against first place Seattle Sounders. The two Sporting midfielders connected again on Tuesday night as Feilhaber curled in a cross to the head of Zusi that lead to the only goal of the team's U.S. Open Cup victory over Saint Louis. Feilhaber is currently second in the MLS in assists with seven on the year.
Of all the Sporting KC MLS All-Star candidates, forward Dom Dwyer saw the biggest increase. The 2014 MLS All-Star improved from seventh place to fifth place in the forward race with 6.36% of the votes, gaining nearly 2% since last week. Dwyer returned to the pitch as a second-half sub in the win against Seattle as he drew the foul that led to the match-winning penalty kick. Reigning MLS player of the Month Krisztian Nemeth currently occupies the seventh forward spot ahead of Toronto FC striker Jozy Altidore but behind Sounders strike Obafemi Martins. Nemeth featured for the Hungarian national team last week in a decisive 1-0 road win in a qualifying match for the 2016 UEFA European Championship.
MLS All-Star voting runs until July 3 at 2 p.m. CT. Fans can vote at MLSsoccer.com or via social media. A Twitter/Facebook/Instagram vote counts when the user uses the player's full name (or social media handle) with #MLSAllStar.
