Sporting Kansas City presented the club’s 2016 awards on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park during Pitch Black, presented by Jaguar and Land Rover of Merriam and Aristocrat Motors. Sporting KC players, media members and supporters voted on the following award winners:
- Most Valuable Player, presented by Aristocrat Motors and Mercedes Benz of Kansas City: Dom Dwyer
- Offensive Player of the Year, presented by Sabates Eye Centers: Benny Feilhaber
- Defensive Player of the Year, presented by Ivy Investments: Saad Abdul-Salaam
- Newcomer of the Year, presented by Kansas City Marriott Downtown: Alec Kann
- Goal of the Year, presented by Power Partners: Jacob Peterson (July 24)
- Golden Boot, presented by Henry Wurst, Inc.: Dom Dwyer
In addition, Sporting Kansas City selected the following award winners:
- The Victory Project Humanitarian of the Year, presented by Children’s Mercy Hospital: Chance Myers
- Swope Park Rangers Offensive Player of the Year, presented by Rosnet: Mark Anthony Gonzalez
- Swope Park Rangers Defensive Player of the Year, presented by Platinum KC: Amer Didic
- Bob Gansler Academy Player of the Year: Felipe Hernandez
- Sporting Club Network Club of the Year, presented by Price Chopper: Puma FC
- Academy Affiliate Club of the Year: Sporting Omaha FC
Dwyer is the club’s Most Valuable Player for the second time in three seasons. The forward ranks third in MLS with 16 goals and has become the first player in team history to score at least 12 goals in three straight regular seasons. Now in his fifth year with Sporting KC, Dwyer has risen to second on the club’s all-time charts with 61 career goals in all competitions.
Feilhaber, the team’s Offensive Player of the Year, has seven goals and 13 assists this season in all competitions. He is tied for third in MLS with 12 assists, including eight in his last nine games, and is just the second player in club history to reach double-digit assists in multiple regular seasons.
Abdul-Salaam earns Defensive Player of the Year honors in his second MLS season. The 25-year-old is tied for the lead among MLS defenders with six assists and has started 27 of 31 appearances in all competitions, contributing to six shutouts.
Kann, a goalkeeper who joined Sporting KC last December, receives Newcomer of the Year accolades after making 20 saves in nine starts across all competitions. He has recorded two shutout victories in MLS and played both matches in Sporting KC’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign.
Peterson scored Sporting KC’s Goal of the Year on July 24 in a 3-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC at Children’s Mercy Park, unleashing a brilliant 18-yard strike across frame and into the top left corner. Peterson has enjoyed a breakout year in 2016, scoring a career-high six MLS goals while starting the club’s last 18 league games.
Myers is the club’s Humanitarian of the Year as a dedicated supporter of The Victory Project, participating in numerous impactful events and fundraisers for a foundation that helps children fight cancer and other serious illnesses. Throughout 2016, Myers has also visited patients at Children’s Mercy Hospital, given charitably to the Ronald McDonald House and fostered the growth of soccer in inner city Kansas City.
The Swope Park Rangers recognized two players for their achievements during the club’s inaugural season in the United Soccer League. Gonzalez, the club’s Offensive Player of the Year, has scored 11 goals (including playoffs) and contributed four assists in his first professional season. His nine regular season goals were third most among rookies in all three professional divisions of U.S. soccer.
Didic, a rookie center back out of Baker University, has earned USL Team of the Week recognition a league-high six times en route to Defensive Player of the Year honors. The center back has made 29 appearances for the Rangers and played every minute of Sporting Kansas City’s three games in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League.
Hernandez, a central midfielder for the Swope Park Rangers and the Sporting KC U-18s, was named the Bob Gansler Academy Player of the Year. He made 27 appearances for the U-18s last season — leading the team to the USSDA quarterfinals for the first time — and played three matches last month for the United States U-19 Men’s National Team. Hernandez, who joined Sporting KC from the Sporting Nashville Heroes in 2014, becomes the first Academy Player of the Year to come from a Sporting Club Network Academy Affiliate.
Puma FC (Overland Park, Kansas) was recognized as the Sporting Club Network presented by Price Chopper Club of the Year, while Sporting Omaha FC was named Academy Affiliate Club of the Year. Click here for a list of Sporting Kansas City’s all-time award winners.
