SALT LAKE CITY - Real Salt Lake today announced that DF Eddie Pope, a nine-time MLS All-Star selection, will be in the starting lineup for the MLS All-Star team that will face English Premier League club Fulham FC at the 2005 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game on Saturday, July 30 at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, live on ABC Sports at 1:30 p.m. MT. Pope's ninth All-Star game selection ties the current record for most career nominations with current MetroStars DF Jeff Agoos.
The 31-year old defensive stalwart is one of the most accomplished defenders in MLS and American soccer history. A member of the 1998 and 2002 World Cup teams, Pope has started 11 contests for Real Salt Lake in 2005 scoring one goal after spending the past two seasons with the MetroStars. He helped capture the MLS Cup title on three occasions for D.C. United (1996, 1997, and 1999), including scoring the "golden goal" in 1996 to defeat Los Angeles 3-2 in Foxboro, Mass. The High Point, NC native has also claimed personal accolades by winning the 1997 MLS Defender of the Year award and three MLS Best XI honors. </p>
The starting XI was determined by online fan balloting (25 percent), media votes (25 percent), players (25 percent), and MLS coaches and GMs (25 percent). With each voting category counting for a quarter of the total votes, the formula used for determining the starters involved assigning 25 total points to each category for a possible total of 100 points. Therefore, if a player received 50 percent of the votes in any category, he would earn 12.5 points for that category. For example, Donovan received 9.70 points for online balloting, which is 38.82 (total percentage of online votes) percent of 25. The voting totals were as follows:</p>
| 2005 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game Starters | |||||
| Points | Fan | Media | Player | Coach/GM | Total |
| Goalkeeper | |||||
| Matt Reis | 4.03 | 9.86 | 12.08 | 13.41 | 39.38 |
| Defenders | |||||
| Greg Vanney | 2.77 | 11.27 | 7.25 | 14.63 | 35.92 |
| Eddie Pope | 6.77 | 9.51 | 10.87 | 8.54 | 35.68 |
| Jimmy Conrad | 1.68 | 6.34 | 6.76 | 8.54 | 23.32 |
| Midfielders | |||||
| Landon Donovan | 9.70 | 18.31 | 14.73 | 15.85 | 58.60 |
| Clint Dempsey | 6.85 | 15.14 | 13.04 | 12.80 | 47.84 |
| Ronnie O'Brien | 3.81 | 12.32 | 11.47 | 17.68 | 45.29 |
| Amado Guevara | 3.30 | 11.62 | 9.66 | 8.54 | 35.68 |
| Shalrie Joseph | 2.00 | 3.52 | 7.13 | 7.32 | 19.96 |
| Forwards | |||||
| Carlos Ruiz | 4.84 | 11.97 | 8.33 | 10.98 | 36.12 |
| Eddie Johnson | 5.47 | 7.75 | 8.57 | 10.37 | 32.16 |
FC Dallas head coach Colin Clarke will coach the MLS side by virtue of leading his team to the highest point total in the League through Week 14. On Thursday, July 14, Clarke will select the five reserves that will join two other Commissioner's selections to comprise the 18-man MLS roster.
The 2005 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game offers four levels of ticket pricing, ranging from $25 to $45 for individuals. Tickets can be acquired at the Crew Stadium Box Office, at any area Ticketmaster outlet, via phone at (614) 431-3600 or online at www.MLSnet.com and www.TheCrew.com. Group pricing is also available. For more information or to purchase group tickets call The Crew at 614-447-CREW.</p>
