Sporting Kansas City has Tim Melia’s fingertips largely to thank for Saturday’s 1-0 win over the Portland Timbers. And now, the goalkeeper has an MLS Save of the Week award to show for it.
Melia produced the stunning stop 79 minutes into a hotly contested battle at Providence Park, diving at full extension to touch Darlington Nagbe’s dipping volley onto the frame of the crossbar and preserve Sporting Kansas City’s narrow lead.
The heroic intervention dominated fan voting in Week 7’s Save of the Week poll, giving Melia the fourth such honor of his eight-year MLS career.
Tim Melia – MLS Save of the Week honors
- 2016 Week 3: Sporting KC vs. Toronto FC
- 2016 Week 10: Sporting KC at Houston Dynamo
- 2016 Week 34: Sporting KC vs. San Jose Earthquakes
- 2017 Week 7: Sporting KC at Portland Timbers
No keeper has enjoyed a better start to 2017 than Melia, who leads MLS with four shutouts and an impregnable 0.33 goals against average. His 81.6 save percentage also ranks first among goalkeepers to face at least 20 shots on goal.
Sporting Kansas City (3-0-3, 12 points) will look for a league-leading fifth shutout this Saturday in a highly anticipated matchup between the last two unbeaten teams in MLS. Peter Vermes’ men will visit FC Dallas (3-0-2, 11 points) for a 7 p.m. CT kickoff on FOX Sports Kansas City Plus, FOX Sports Go, Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).
