Seattle Sounders FC forward Fredy Montero and defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado have been added to the Major League Soccer All-Star Team.
They give Seattle four representatives on the 18-member squad, joining goalkeeper Kasey Keller and midfielder Freddie Ljungberg, who were previously voted onto the MLS First XI.
“It is a good honor to have that amount of players in the All-Star Game,” Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said.
Only Houston has more, with five selections.
There are two All-Stars each from Chicago and Salt Lake, and one from Colorado, Columbus, Kansas City, Los Angeles and New England.
Montero and Hurtado were among six players picked Monday by Houston coach Dominic Kinnear, who will be the All-Star Game coach by virtue of the Dynamo’s first-place standing in the league.
Kinnear also picked three of his own players – goalkeeper Pat Onstad, midfielder Brad Davis and forward Brian Ching – along with Kansas City midfielder Davy Arnaud.
Onstad is from Vancouver, B.C., while Ching attended Gonzaga and once played for the USL-1 Sounders.
Montero and Hurtado both played last season at Deportivo Cali of Colombia, and both are in their first MLS seasons.
Hurtado has been a physical presence in the middle of the Sounders’ defensive back line, picking up a team-high six yellow cards.
Montero leads Seattle in goals (nine), shots (52), and shots on goal (21), and is tied for the lead in assists (six).
He leads MLS in fouls suffered (39), is second in goals scored and is tied for third in assists this season.
“He has had a good year,” Schmid said when asked about Montero’s selection. “He is the second-leading scorer in the league. Based on that alone, I think he deserves the opportunity to play in the All-Star Game.”
The MLS stars will face Everton of the English Premier League at 6:30 p.m. July 29 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, home of Real Salt Lake.
The game will be shown on ESPN2.
Kinnear will pick the starting lineup.
All-Star alternates will be announced later.
Don Ruiz: 253-597-8808
don.ruiz@thenewstribune.com
The complete MLS All-Star list is available at blogs.thenewstribune.com/soccer.
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