LAFC, in conjunction with Major League Soccer, today announced the fan ballot for the 2019 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target, including eight LAFC players eligible for fan voting.
Goalkeeper: Tyler Miller
Defenders: Steven Beitashour, Walker Zimmerman
Midfielders: Eduard Atuesta, Latif Blessing, Mark-Anthony Kaye
Forwards: Diego Rossi, Carlos Vela
Vote LAFC Players To MLS All-Star Game
This season, Tyler Miller is one of two LAFC players to play every minute of every game, posting a 9-1-4 record along the way. He has the third and fourth longest shutout streaks in 2019 and his six shutouts are tied for second in MLS.
Defender Steven Beitashour has started all 11 games he’s appeared in this year, with one goal and one assist in 848 minutes. In his tenth MLS season, Beitashour became the first defender in MLS history with 20,000+ minutes and 35+ assists.
Walker Zimmerman has played all but one game in his second season with the Black & Gold. The USMNT centerback leads a backline that ranks first in goals against average (0.64) and is tied for fewest goals conceded (9). In his seventh season in the league, Zimmerman reached 100 MLS starts on March 17 and 10,000 minutes on May 19.
Eduard Atuesta has quickly established himself as one of the top young midfielders in MLS after finishing 16th in MLSsoccer.com’s 22 Under 22 last year. In his sophomore campaign, the 21-year-old has one goal and five assists in 1,157 minutes played.
Latif Blessing has played most of 2019 in the center of midfield after two seasons primarily on the wing. Blessing has seen action in all 14 games (11 starts) for the Black & Gold and has notched five assists in 1,108 minutes.
After suffering a season-ending ankle injury last summer, midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye returned to the field in the season opener and has played 13 of the first 14 regular season games. Kaye has been named to the MLS Team of the Week in three occasions and has three goals and five assists in 2019.
Forward Diego Rossi picked up right where he left off in his first MLS season. The Club’s second-ever Designated Player has seven goals and two assists in 2019. Rossi was voted the MLS Player of the Week after his hat-trick performance during the 4-0 win over D.C. United on April 6.
Carlos Vela – the 2018 MLS All-Star Game captain – leads the league in goals (14), shots (72), shots on goal (26) and is tied for first in assists (7). Vela was named MLS Player of the Month for the first two months of the season, as well as MLS Player of the Week twice, and to the MLS Team of the Week eight times.
The MLS All-Stars are set to take on 10-time Spanish champions Atlético Madrid at Orlando City Stadium in Orlando on July 31 in the 2019 MLS All-Star Game.
To create the fan ballot, media members nominated a total of 192 players – eight from each MLS team, consisting of at least one player per position.
Fans will have the opportunity to vote online at LAFC.com, MLSsoccer.com, and through the free MLS app for their Fan XI players – one goalkeeper, and at least three defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards. The 10 players with the most votes, by position, will be named to the 2019 MLS All-Star Game Fan XI presented by Target.
The 11th player will be determined by the EA SPORTS™ “More Than a Vote” Challenge. Starting today, fans will have the opportunity to vote one player onto the MLS All-Star Fan XI presented by Target by playing EA SPORTS FIFA 19 on PlayStation®4, Xbox One, or PC. Using their favorite players in the starting lineup of any gameplay mode, each starting appearance will count as one vote toward the EA SPORTS™ “More Than a Vote” Challenge. The player with the most appearances through June 13 will earn the final spot on the 2019 MLS All-Star Game Fan XI presented by Target.
