A few days after making his first start in a Sporting Kansas City uniform, Tim Melia went out on the town with his wife, Kristen. The two were enjoying a meal at one local Kansas City restaurant when a woman approached them with a simple request for Tim.

“Can I take a picture with you?”

Melia kindly accepted, of course, but admits now he was caught off guard, though not for the reason you might expect: “I remembered thinking, ‘Oh wow, people actually know who I am here.’”

Six months earlier, Melia was able to go anywhere without anyone asking for pictures or autographs. Few knew his name or his profession: backup goalkeeper for Sporting KC.

Then again, so much has changed in six months.

For starters, Melia is no longer a backup goalkeeper. His talent is no longer prefaced with the once-held title, “MLS Pool Goalkeeper.” Melia is now among the top shot stoppers in MLS, and many believe he has yet to hit his ceiling.

The success on the field has led to more photo requests. More autographs. Melia came to Kansas City with a few hundred Twitter followers but is now pushing 2,000. Wherever he goes, fans are there, often applauding the 29-year-old Great River, New York, native.

Again, so much has changed in six months.

“That’s something that has been probably one of the best things since I got here, how quickly they, the fans, have been open arms toward me and how they’ve almost taken me under their wing, always encouraging me,” Melia says. “It’s special and it means a lot to me. I’m very appreciative of it.”

Melia’s impressive run on the field has been well documented. He became the first goalkeeper in league history to post six shutouts in his first nine starts for a new club. The sixth-year veteran leads MLS in goals against average (0.60) and ranks third in save percentage (0.77). Across all competitions, Melia is now 10-1-2 with seven shutouts.

As a result, some have already begun comparing Melia to Jimmy Nielsen, a crowd favorite in Kansas City who retired after hoisting the 2013 MLS Cup following a frigid shootout against Real Salt Lake. While Melia has a long way to go before dethroning Nielsen as the MLS all-time leader in goals against average with more than 100 MLS matches played for the club, there’s something to be said about how quickly fans have taken to him.

“He deserves every bit of it,” Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer says. “I’ve seen him work for a year now. When he came to us as a pool goalkeeper last year, he put 100 percent every day in training. We signed him in preseason and in season No. 2 he’s been fantastic every single day in training. He thoroughly deserves his starting spot. I think he’s absolutely saved us massively in games this year. I think he’s done a fantastic job.”

On game days, Melia is one of the first players out of the locker room. His entrance is greeted with applause from fans young and old, from the South Stand to The Cauldron. It, again, is something Melia never expected when he joined the team a year ago.

“It’s just such a confidence booster,” Melia says. “The fans, as cliché as it sounds, really are the heart and soul of the franchise. Just like a game like tonight, it’s a U.S. Open Cup game and we have sold-out stands. We’re down 1-0 and they’re chanting for us. That makes a huge difference.

“We didn’t play great, obviously. You could see that. But for the fans to get involved and know that we’re not having a good game and help push us on, it’s special. It really is.”

The results have been special. So too has the support. Asked what he would say to all the fans given the opportunity, Melia was candid: “I would just say thank you. I hope they realize how big of a part they play in each game. Win or lose, they play such a tremendous part in it.”

He continued: “I appreciate it so much more having taken the path that I have to this point. Not that I’m content or satisfied with where I am, but having people behind you makes all the difference for someone like me who has grinded his way to get to this point. I have to continue doing that.”