There was no doubt. There was no close second. There was no great attacking versus defending debate to be had. With seven goals and two assists in four games, Clint Dempsey was our runaway Major League Soccer Player of the Month for April.
Dempsey opened April with a three-goal performance in Portland, with two goals in the closing minutes allowing Seattle to take a point at Providence Park. The next week, Dempsey scored a late game-winner a two-goal performance at FC Dallas. Chivas USA then accomplished something no other team could -- the shut Dempsey out -- but the U.S. captain still assisted on both Seattle goals in a 2-1 win at StubHub center. And this last weekend, Dempsey scored two goals within seven minutes of half time to lead Seattle to a 4-1 win over visiting Colorado.
It was the conclusion of an absurd month of production, one that gives us some license to entertain there ludicrous scenarios:
- If Dempsey maintained April’s goal rate over a 34-game season, he would finish with 60 goals.
- If you factor in some time off and limit him to 2400 minutes (26-27 games), he’d still score 47 times.
- At April’s rate, Dempsey would tie the league record for goals in the 31st minute of his 16th game.
- You factor in five playoff games, Dempsey would also cure cancer, take us to Mars, and lead Aslan into the West Bank to usher in a new era of world peace.
The guy’s been good, but the effect can be seen in others’ numbers, too:
- Obafemi Martins had two goals and two assists in April. Both assists came on Dempsey goals, while “Deuce” assisted on one of his scores.
- Lamar Neagle also had a two-goal, two-assist month. Both assists came on Dempsey goals, and although he didn’t get credit for an assist, Dempsey setup Neagle’s goal against Colorado.
- Of the 13 goals Seattle scored in April, Dempsey scored or assisted on nine of them.
As you may suspect, we’ve run out of ways to describe what Dempsey’s done. So bring on May, because the only question remaining after such a dominant April is how much of this pace Dempsey can carry over. If he comes anywhere close to duplicating April, he’ll be our May Player of the Month, too.
| PST Award | MLS Award | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Will Bruin, Houston Dynamo 2g, 1a vs. New England | Nick Rimando, Real Salt Lake 8 saves, PK save at LA |
| Week 2 | Víctor Bernárdez, San Jose Earthquakes 2g, 1a vs. Real Salt Lake | Jermain Defoe, Toronto FC 2 goals at Seattle |
| Week 3 | Fabian Castillo, FC Dallas 1 goal vs. Chivas USA | Bernardo Añor, Columbus 2 goals vs. Philadelphia |
| Week 4 | Álvaro Saborío, Real Salt Lake 2 goals vs. Toronto FC | Graham Zusi, Sporting Kansas City 1 goal, 2 assists at Colorado |
| March Player of the Month | Michael Bradley, Toronto FC 3 games, 0 goals, 0 assists | Mauro Díaz, FC Dallas 4 games, 2 goals, 0 assists |
| Week 5 | Diego Chara, Portland Timbers 2 goals vs. Seattle | Clint Dempsey, Seattle Sounders 3 goals at Portland |
| Week 6 | Clint Dempsey, Seattle Sounders 2 goals at Dallas | Clint Dempsey, Seattle Sounders 2 goals at Dallas |
| Week 7 | Nick Rimando, Real Salt Lake 4 saves vs. Portland | Nick Rimando, Real Salt Lake 4 saves vs. Portland |
| Week 8 | Bradley Wright-Phillips 4 goals vs. Houston, at Columbus | Bradley Wright-Phillips 4 goals vs. Houston, at Columbus |
| April Player of the Month | Clint Dempsey, Seattle Sounders 4 games, 7 goals, 2 assists | Clint Dempsey, Seattle Sounders 4 games, 7 goals, 2 assists |