Benny Feilhaber made his 25th MLS goal for Sporting Kansas City one to remember.
His remarkable strike in the first half of Saturday’s 2-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes was not only a nominee for MLS Goal of the Week. It also vaulted him to Team of the Week honors.
Feilhaber landed the weekly accolade from MLSsoccer.com and ESPN FC on Monday. In addition to scoring his team’s first goal of 2017, the midfielder recorded game-highs with five chances created (three more than any other player) and nine duels won. Feilhaber also completed 39 passes and won three tackles as Sporting KC outshot San Jose 15-5.
“We obviously dominated the majority of the game and created some really good chances,” Feilhaber assessed postgame. “The goals are eventually always going to come. Today we got two and we probably could have had five.”
Elsewhere, Tim Melia received Team of the Week honors from Goal.com, thanks in large part to a stunning late save that denied Simon Dawkins an equalizer for San Jose. Melia’s stop came shortly after his 457-minute regular season shutout streak came to an end. The streak dated back to 2016 and was the longest of his MLS career, as well as the third-longest in Sporting KC history.
“I actually thought we were just going to pull through, get the ball on the ground and control a little bit more,” Melia said after the match, referring to the final moments of the contest. “(San Jose is) a good team and they are able to create opportunities, and fortunately I was able to make the save.”
For the second straight year, Sporting Kansas City (1-0-2, 5 points) is unbeaten heading into the March international break. While the club is off this weekend, an intriguing World Cup qualifier awaits Friday as Matt Besler, Graham Zusi and the U.S. Men’s National Team host Roger Espinoza and Honduras at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California. The match will kick off at 9:30 p.m. CT on FS1.
