Beyond The Box Score: Tim Melia makes history as Sporting KC tames Lions

He wasn’t tested often, but when he was, Tim Melia came up big.

The Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper made three saves on Saturday night, including two massive stops against his former teammate Dom Dwyer, to collect his MLS-leading 12th shutout of the season in a 1-0 victory over Orlando City SC at Children’s Mercy Park.

The result was effectively secured in the 53rd minute when Felipe Gutierrez rifled home from the top of the box, sealing Sporting KC’s return to winning ways and lifting the club into second place in the Western Conference—two points ahead of Los Angeles Football Club and a point behind leaders FC Dallas—with seven games left on the 2018 slate.

Melia thwarted Dwyer in a pair of one-on-one situations, thwarting a side-footed effort in the fifth minute and smothering a low drive on the hour mark to highlight another steady performance between the posts. In doing so, the 32-year-old gloveman collected his 38th regular season shutout for Sporting KC since joining the side in 2015. That moves him into sole possession of second-most in club history, edging ahead of Sporting Legend Tony Meola’s 37.

Sporting KC's latest shutout effort also carried league-wide significance, as they became the first club to reach 200 regular-season shutouts all-time.

SPORTING KC: MOST SHUTOUTS IN CLUB HISTORY
(MLS REGULAR SEASON)

ALL-TIME SHUTOUTS (MLS REGULAR SEASON)

Melia and the Sporting KC defense have now combined for shutout victories in five of the last six MLS matches dating back to Aug. 4. As a result, Manager Peter Vermes’ men remain squarely in contention for a top-two finish in the West as well as the Knockout Round bye—and home playoff game—that goes with it.

Similarly, Sporting KC has now claimed three straight shutout home victories in MLS competition, counting the 3-0 win over Portland on Aug. 18 and the 2-0 triumph over Minnesota on Aug. 25. Throw in Saturday’s ousting of Orlando, and the club has earned three consecutive clean sheet home wins in MLS play for the seventh time in team history—and the fourth time since the Vermes era began in 2009.

SHUTOUT WINNING STREAKS OF THREE OR MORE AT HOME
(SPORTING KC IN MLS REGULAR SEASON)

With three massive points under their belts, Sporting KC (14-7-6, 48 points) will continue their playoff push Saturday when they visit Western Conference cellar dwellers San Jose Earthquakes (4-15-8, 20 points) at Avaya Stadium. Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sports GO.