Four weeks of the regular season are in the books, and Ike Opara has already made three appearances on MLSsoccer.com's Team of the Week.
The third occurrence came Monday after Opara continued his flying start to the campaign with a game-winning goal in Saturday’s 1-0 win over New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. His 12th-minute header, following a long throw-in from fellow centerback Matt Besler, highlighted a match in which he led all players with 13 clearances, 12 duels won and nine interceptions.
Opara’s fourth consecutive 90-minute shift capped an excellent month of March, as he leads MLS in interceptions (25) and headed clearances (24) and ranks second in total clearances (36) and duels won (34). Bleacher Report, Goal.com and NBC Pro Soccer Talk also included the 6-foot-2 defender in their Team of the Week squads.
Saturday also saw a stellar performance from midfielder Benny Feilhaber, who landed Team of the Week spots on MLSsoccer.com and Goal.com. The 30-year-old veteran was all over the pitch, making 19 recoveries—no field player has logged more in a game since March 2013—and winning nine duels.
Now tied for fourth place in the Western Conference, Sporting KC returns to action Sunday at 6 p.m. CT when they host the Philadelphia Union for a nationally televised match on Fox Sports 1.