There is clear separation at the top of the MVP race, with three months to go as Toronto FC's Sebastian Giovinco, Sporting Kansas City midfielder Benny Feilhaber, and Columbus Crew SC striker Kei Kamara have separated from the pack.
Of the three, the MLSsoccer.com editorial staff prefers Giovinco's candidacy at the moment as the Italian already hit double digits in terms of goals and assists so far this season. Feilhaber and Kamara follow closely behind before a large gap to Robbie Keane in fourth.
Here's how the rankings are determined. Ten of MLSsoccer.com's editors were polled for their top five MVP candidates as of this month. Their votes were aggregated, resulting in the list below.
Five points were given to a player who received a first-place vote, four to a second-place vote, three to a third-place vote, two for a fourth-place vote and one point was given if a player received a fifth-place vote.
March:Rivero's strong start earns him No. 1 spot after March
April: Oba, Dempsey come in at top two spots at the end of April
May:Dempsey takes top spot, followed closely by Giovinco
June:Giovinco grabs No. 1 spot over Hamid
NOTE: This voting in no way reflects the voting for the 2015 Landon Donovan MVP Award.
<strong>Rank (Pts.)</strong> |
<strong>Player</strong> |
<strong>Club</strong> |
<strong>Analysis</strong> |
<strong>1 (44)</strong><strong style="font-size: 10px;">Last Month: 1</strong> |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/sebastian-giovinco" style="font-size: 12.222222328186px;" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/image_nodes/2015/06/Giovinco-1.jpg" style="width: 100px; height: 143px;"></a> |
<img alt=" " src="//league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/prp-toronto_150.png" style="font-size: 9px; height: 75px; width: 75px;"> |
<h2><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/sebastian-giovinco" target="_blank"><strong>Sebastian Giovinco</strong></a></h2><br><strong><em>20 GP, 13 G (T-2nd), 10 A (T-4th)</em></strong><p>Giovinco had an incredible July, scoring five goals and assisting on five others for Toronto FC. The Italian is on pace for a 22-goal, 17-assist season, which would make him the only player in MLS history with at least 20 goals and 15 assists in a season.</p> |
<strong>2 (34)</strong><strong style="font-size: 10px;">Last Month: 3</strong> |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/benny-feilhaber" style="background-color: rgb(221, 221, 221);" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/image_nodes/2015/05/Benny-Feilhaber.jpg" style="width: 100px; height: 143px;"></a> |
<img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/imagefield_thumbs/sportingkc_logo.png" style="font-size: 9px; width: 75px; height: 83px;"> |
<h2><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/benny-feilhaber" target="_blank"><strong>Benny Feilhaber</strong></a></h2><br><strong><em>20 GP, 11 A (T-2nd), 45 chances created (T-7th)</em></strong><p>Two more goals and two more assists for the SKC dynamo since last month's ladder and Feilhaber is showing no signs of slowing down. With Graham Zusi returning from the Gold Cup, Feilhaber should have a chance to shine even more in August.</p> |
<strong>3 (28)</strong><strong style="font-size: 10px;">Last Month: 5</strong> |
<strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/kei-kamara" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/image_nodes/2015/05/Kamara_Kei_23.jpg" style="width: 100px; height: 143px;"></a></strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/kei-kamara" style="font-size: 12.222222328186px;" target="_blank"></a> |
<img alt=" " src="//league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/imagefield_thumbs/CCSC-200x200.png" style="font-size: 9px; height: 75px; width: 75px;"> |
<h2><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/kei-kamara" target="_blank"><strong>Kei Kamara</strong></a></h2><br><b><i>23 GP, 15 G (1st), 100 shots (2nd)</i></b><p>Kamara just keeps piling on the goals in 2015, leading the league through five months of the season. The athletic marvel scored in three straight games in July, helping Crew SC collect seven of nine available points.</p> |
<strong>4 (9)</strong><strong style="font-size: 10px;">Last Month: NR</strong> |
<img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/image_nodes/2015/07/RobbieKeane.jpg" style="width: 100px; height: 143px;"> |
<img alt=" " src="//league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/imagefield_thumbs/1230_200x200.png" style="font-size: 9px; width: 75px; height: 75px;"> |
<h2><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/robbie-keane" target="_blank"><strong>Robbie Keane</strong></a></h2><br><b><i>14 GP, 10 G (5th), 4 A</i></b><p>The 2014 MVP finally got healthy in July and began to make his own run for back-to-back trophies. The Irishman incredibley scored back-to-back hat tricks as he helped the Galaxy to two blowout wins.</p> |
<strong>5 (8)</strong><strong style="font-size: 10px;">Last Month: 7</strong> |
<strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/kei-kamara" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/image_nodes/2015/07/David-Ousted.jpg" style="width: 100px; height: 143px;"></a></strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/kei-kamara" target="_blank"></a> |
<img alt="" src="https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/imagefield_thumbs/1708.png" style="font-size: 9px; width: 75px; height: 75px;"> |
<h2><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/david-ousted" target="_blank"><strong>David Ousted</strong></a></h2><br><b><i>23 GP, 8 clean sheets (T-2nd), .96 GAA (3rd)</i></b><p>Ousted has been one of the few consistent figures for a team that has been one of the best league throughout the entire season. He was awarded for his efforts with a MLS All-Star selection.</p> |
Others receiving votes: Ethan Finlay (7), Javier Morales (7), David Villa (5), Dax McCarty (4), Fabian Castillo (1), Kaká (1)
Let us know what you think of our picks (and make your own) in the comments section below.
