Player of the Month

Sporting Kansas City's Benny Feilhaber wins Etihad Airways Player of the Month for April

After notching two goals and three assists in April, Sporting Kansas City’s Benny Feilhaber has won the Etihad Airways MLS Player of the Month Award for the second month of the season.


Sporting had an up-and-down April, but Feilhaber was fantastic the entire time, starting things off with two assists – including a helper on Krisztian Nemeth’s 94th-minute winner – in SKC’s dramatic 3-2 win against the Philadelphia Union on April 5.


After a scoreless draw with Real Salt Lake on April 12, Feilhaber got back on the scoresheet in Sporting’s 2-1 loss at LA, playing a neat through ball to Nemeth for another assist.


Feilhaber saved his best for last, scoring two goals in Sporting’s wild 4-4 draw at Houston on April 25. He got on the board in the 80th minute, sending a penalty kick past Dynamo ‘keeper Tyler Deric and into the bottom right corner to make it 3-3.


The match didn’t stay level long, however, with Houston defender Raul Rodrigueznodding the Dynamo ahead in the 83rd. Sporting remained behind until the 95th minute, when Feilhaber bombed a vicious first-time half-volley from 25 yards into the same bottom right corner to steal a point for Kansas City. The strike was voted Goal of the Week for Week 8.


Feilhaber narrowly took home Player of the Month honors over Columbus Crew SC’s Kei Kamara, edging out the former SKC striker by less than five percent of the vote.


Final results for Etihad Airways Player of the Month (April)

  1. Benny Feilhaber (SKC) 28.98%
  2. Kei Kamara (CLB) 24.06%
  3. Andrew Farrell (NE) 20.3%
  4. Sebastian Giovinco (TOR) 19.2%
  5. Ethan Finlay (CLB) 7.45%