Three from Dynamo added to All-Star team

• by Ridge Mahoney  @ridgemax, Jul 21, 2009

[MLS] Houston coach Dominic Kinnear picked three Dynamo players and two from Seattle to address the balance of power for the MLS All-Star team that plays Everton a week from Wednesday. Added to the original list of 11 starters from the Dynamo are goalie Pat Onstad, midfielder Brad Davis, and forward Brian Ching.

The new Seattle picks are defender John Kennedy Hurtado and forward Fredy Montero, and Kansas City attacker Davy Arnaud was also selected by Kinnear. Of the final roster of 18 players, half will come from either Houston (five players) or Seattle (four).

Onstad, named an All-Star for the third time, leads MLS in goals-against average (0.72), shutouts (eight) and wins (nine).

Davis is tied for the league lead with seven assists and has scored three goals to earn his second selection.

Injuries have limited Ching to 10 MLS games this season yet he leads the Dynamo with five goals and is an All-Star for the fifth time.

They join teammates Geoff Cameron and Stuart Holden, who earned enough votes from fans, coaches, players and media members to be listed on the first XI.

Playing for the first-year Sounders, MLS newcomers Hurtado and Montero will shore up the back and forward lines, respectively. Both are natives of Colombia and join Seattle first XI teammates Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg on the All-Star team. Montero is second in MLS with nine goals behind leader Guillermo Barros Schelotto (10), who won't play in the All-Star game because of injury. Montero has also registered six assists.

In his eighth MLS season, Arnaud is an All-Star for the first time. He ranks second on the team with five goals.

Last week, Commissioner Don Garber named RSL midfielders Kyle Beckerman and Javier Morales to give the host team two representatives. Chicago and Columbus also have two selections; Colorado, Toronto, New England, Los Angeles, and Kansas City have one apiece.

Everton and the MLS All-Stars play next Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET in Rio Tinto Stadium. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and Galavision.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco replaced Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto), who will miss the All-Star Game because TFC plays a Concacaf Champions' League game that same night. Schelotto will sit out with an injury and is replaced by Montero.

D.C. United and New York Red Bull players weren't considered for the All-Star Game roster because of their Concacaf Champions' League schedule. A full team of 32 All-Stars is mandated by the collective bargaining agreement and will be announced in the next week.

2009 MLS All-Star Selections
Goalkeepers: Kasey Keller* (Seattle), Pat Onstad (Houston).
Defenders: Geoff Cameron* (Houston), Wilman Conde* (Chicago), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Seattle), Chad Marshall* (Columbus).
Midfielders: Davy Arnaud (Kansas City), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Cuauhtémoc Blanco+ (Chicago), Brad Davis (Houston), Dwayne DeRosario* (Toronto FC), Stuart Holden* (Houston), Shalrie Joseph* (New England), Freddie Ljungberg* (Seattle), Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake), Guillermo Barros Schelotto* (Columbus).
Forwards: Conor Casey* (Colorado), Brian Ching (Houston), Landon Donovan* (Los Angeles), Fredy Montero (Seattle).
* Voted to first XI.