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Sporting KC forward Alan Pulido chosen as MLS Player of Month

Alan Pulido, Ryan Hollingshead
Posted at 10:08 AM, Jun 30, 2023
and last updated 2023-06-30 11:08:59-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After scoring a league-best six goals in June and adding a game-winning assist, Sporting Kansas City forward Alan Pulido was announced Friday as the MLS Player of the Month.

Pulido, 32, becomes the 14th player in club history to win the award. Benny Feilhaber is the only Sporting KC player to ever win the honor twice.

Pulido, whose six goals tied the club record for goals scored in any month, is the first SKC bestowed with the MLS PLayer of Month award in more than five years (MF Felipe Gutierrez, March 2018).

“I am very happy and I am very proud," Pulido said. "Thank you to my team. This only happens because of all of the players. And also for the fans, thank you for the support. It is very important for me.”

Two other players — Johnny Russell in October 2021 and Dom Dwyer in May 2014 — have scored six goals in a month for Sporting KC, but neither won MLS Player of the Month.

Pulido, a 5-foot-10 striker from Mexico who once won the 2019 Liga MX Golden Boot, returned from an 18-month absence in late March. He suffered a knee injury in November 2021 and missed the entire 2022 season after surgery.

A finalist in 2020 for MLS Newcomer of the Year, Pulido has 21 goals and 11 assists in 49 MLS regular-season appearances with Sporting KC. Among players with at least 20 goals in club history, his 0.52 goals per 90 minutes is the highest.

He has seven goals and three assists in 16 league matches this season.