Timothy Melia (; born May 15, 1986) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

Youth and college

Melia was born in

Great River, New York Great River is a suburban hamlet and CDP in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is situated approximately (55 mi driving) east of New York City on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay ...

. Melia attended

East Islip High School Islip Terrace (formerly known as Germantown) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Islip, New York, Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The populati ...

and played two years of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

at the

State University of New York at Oneonta The State University of New York College at Oneonta, also known as SUNY Oneonta, is a public college in Oneonta, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneon ...

before transferring to

Lynn University Lynn University is a private university in Boca Raton, Florida. Founded in 1962, the university awards associate, baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees. It is named for the Lynn family (Christine E. and Eugene M. Lynn). It has a total ...

in 2006, where he played his junior and senior years. Melia played for the

Long Island Rough Riders The Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Hofst ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

in 2007.

Professional career

Rochester Rhinos

Melia signed with the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

on April 30, 2008. An injury to veteran goalkeeper

Scott Vallow Scott Vallow (born June 8, 1977 in Modesto, California) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper, most famously for playing with the Rochester Rhinos, 2005-2010. Scott was the assistant coach of the North Carolina Courage soccer team, having follow ...

resulted in increased playing time and a number of starts for Melia during the 2009 season, and he became known for his accurate long balls from goal kicks and dead-ball situations.

Real Salt Lake

After trialling with

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

during their pre-season, Melia signed with the club on March 16, 2010; he was sent on loan to USL Division 2 side

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

in April. Following his clean sheet on June 29 in a

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

match against the Chicago Fire (Charleston won 3-0 on penalty kicks), Melia was named "Player of the 3rd Round" for the

2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 97th edition of the USSF's annual national soccer championship, running from June through early October. The tournament proper featured teams from the top five levels of the American Soccer Pyramid. The ...

. Melia was waived by Real Salt Lake on November 23, 2011.

Chivas USA

Melia signed with

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

in January 2012 and joined them during the 2012 pre-season. During his time with Chivas, Melia made six league appearances for the club.

MLS Pool Goalkeeper

In the middle of the 2014 season, Melia was released by Chivas and became the league pool goalkeeper for Major League Soccer since he had a guaranteed contract. In August 2014, Sporting Kansas City called Melia up from the league pool after two of the team's three goalies,

Eric Kronberg Eric Kronberg (; born June 7, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. Career Kronberg was drafted in the fourth round (40th overall) of the 2006 MLS Superdraft by the Kansas City Wizards. Kronberg ma ...

and

Andy Gruenebaum Andy Gruenebaum (; born December 30, 1982) is a retired American professional soccer goalkeeper. He was selected by the Columbus Crew with the third overall pick in the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft. He made his MLS debut in 2006. Career Amateu ...

, were injured. He was later called up by

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

and

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppo ...

on an emergency basis, but he did not make any appearances.

Sporting KC

In December 2014, after having joined them in the previous season as an emergency pool goalkeeper, he signed with Sporting KC for the 2015 season. After beginning the 2015 season as the understudy to starter Luis Marín, Melia emerged as the starter in May and was the primary goalkeeper for the remainder of the season. For his breakthrough efforts, Melia was named MLS Comeback Player of the Year. Since earning the starting job, Melia has emerged as one of the top keepers in the league. He has led SKC to the

titles in both

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, where SKC prevailed in a penalty shootout, and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, a hard-fought victory against the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. Following a 2017 season where he allowed a record-low 0.78 goals per game, Melia was named

MLS Goalkeeper of the Year MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award, known as the Allstate MLS Goalkepeer of the Year Award for sponsorship purposes, is an annual Major League Soccer award established in 1996. It is voted on by media, MLS players and club management based on regula ...

, and also earned a spot on the

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

Honors

Charleston Battery *

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ( ...

Champions:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Regular Season Champions:

Sporting Kansas City *

Individual *MLS Comeback Player of the Year:

*Man of the Match: 2015 US Open Cup Finals *Player of the tournament: 2017 US Open Cup * MLS Goalkeeper of the Year: 2017 *Sporting Kansas City Most Valuable Player: 2017 *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melia, Tim 1986 births Living people American soccer players Association football goalkeepers Charleston Battery players Chivas USA players F.C. New York players Long Island Rough Riders players Lynn Fighting Knights men's soccer players Major League Soccer players Oneonta State Red Dragons men's soccer players People from East Islip, New York Soccer players from New York (state) Real Salt Lake players Rochester New York FC players Sporting Kansas City players USL Championship players USL First Division players USL League Two players USL Second Division players