cover photo belongs to David Silverman
2020 has been a near-impossible year for every sport but that’s not to say there hasn’t been movement in the USMNT goalkeeper depth chart. The top 100 returns since our last update in February but you can check out the biggest movers in the monthly rankings, which date back to July of 2013. Each section of ten goalkeepers has one (or more) goalkeeper(s) highlighted as someone worth keeping an eye on as they’re on the cusp of a potential bump moving into 2021. Finally, the top 100 says congratulations to Calle Brown, Todd Morton, and Will Dieterich on great careers, as all three have moved into retirement. Standout accomplishments for the three include Brown winning the 2014 NCAA Championship with the University of Virginia, Morton leaving the University of Delaware as one of their best goalkeepers ever before enjoying a short tenure in the USL, and Dieterich being a part of the 2018 Icelandic Cup winners with Stjarnan Gardabaer.
# - goalkeeper is on loan
1. Zack Steffen, 25 - Manchester City (England.1)
2. Matt Turner, 26 - New England Revolution
3. Steve Clark, 34 - Portland Timbers
4. Josh Cohen, 28 - Maccabi Haifa (Israel.1)
5. Ethan Horvath, 25 - Club Brugge (Belgium.1)
6. Brad Guzan, 36 - Atlanta United
7. Sean Johnson, 31 - New York City FC
8. Tyler Miller, 27 - Minnesota United FC
9. Bill Hamid, 29 - DC United
10. Stefan Frei, 34 - Seattle Sounders
Ones to Watch: Matt Turner / Josh Cohen / Ethan Horvath. All three are on the verge of making big steps in their career over the next 18 months but for very different reasons. Turner earned his Lithuanian passport in August, making a move to Europe a strong possibility now. Josh Cohen signed a short extension with Maccabi Haifa, hinting at his time in the Israeli Premier League to be coming to an end sooner than later. (Maccabi Haifa won their first Europa League qualification match 3-1 over Zeljeznicar earlier this month.) The once-promising prospect Ethan Horvath hit a lull with Club Brugge but has since been tied to an exit from the club before the end of the summer transfer window. All three have the talent to raise their game to another level and 2021 could show them in significantly different situations, if all the pieces fall in order.
11. David Bingham, 30 - Los Angeles Galaxy
12. Quentin Westberg, 34 - Toronto FC
13. Jimmy Maurer, 31 - FC Dallas
14. Ryan Meara, 29 - New York Red Bulls
15. Sean Lewis, 28 - FC Tulsa
16. Tim Melia, 34 - Sporting Kansas City
17. Joe Willis, 32 - Nashville SC
18. Jeff Attinella, 32 - Portland Timbers
19. Kyle Zobeck, 30 - FC Dallas
20. William Yarbrough, 31 - Colorado Rapids#
Ones to Watch: Ryan Meara / Kyle Zobeck. The dream of a longtime backup finally materializes. Both Meara and Zobeck have risen to their respective MLS teams’ starting spots and, to most people’s surprise, performed like they had been a starter for several years. Zobeck made his first-ever MLS start at 30 years old while Ryan Meara finally regained the starting spot since an injured derailed his 2012 run. Realistically, they’re both fighting uphill at this stage in their career without many years left in their career. Somewhat similar to a cinderella run from an underdog team in a tournament setting, Zobeck and Meara both carry a sense of something magical in their back pocket. Watch it now because there’s no telling when the clock strikes midnight.
21. Zac MacMath, 29 - Real Salt Lake
22. Alex Bono, 26 - Toronto FC
23. Brian Rowe, 31 - Orlando City SC
24. Joe Bendik, 31 - Philadelphia Union
25. Clint Irwin, 31 - Colorado Rapids
26. Brad Stuver, 29 - New York City FC
27. John McCarthy, 28 - Inter Miami
28. Luis Robles, 36 - Inter Miami
29. Evan Bush, 34 - Montreal Impact
30. Logan Ketterer, 26 - El Paso Locomotive
One to Watch: Alex Bono. In February I wrote about how Bono could be traded this season as part of my predictions for each MLS team’s goalkeeping core. He’s still caught in limbo with Toronto, getting one game in the MLS Is Back tournament but otherwise stuck behind Westberg. At some point, Toronto will have to move on from Westberg but it’s unclear when that is. Ideally they transition to Bono at some point but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards for 2020, barring a surprise injury. Bono is at an age where he needs momentum, not patience, and Toronto has some decisions to make about their rising prospect.
31. Brandon Miller, 30 - Charlotte Independence
32. Spencer Richey, 28 - Cincinnati FC
33. Danny Rogers, 26 - Kilmarnock (Scotland.1)
34. Matt Lampson, 31 - Columbus Crew
35. Cody Mizell, 29 - New Mexico United
36. Zac Lubin, 31 - Phoenix Rising
37. Stefan Cleveland, 26 - Seattle Sounders
38. Alec Kann, 30 - Atlanta United
39. Matt Bersano, 28 - San Jose Earthquakes
40. Andrew Tarbell, 26 - Columbus Crew
One to Watch: Danny Rogers. The New York-born Irish-American goalkeeper certainly seems closer to playing for the Irish national team than the US’s but the rise to the Scottish Premiership can’t be ignored. After a successful tenure with Greenock Morton FC, Rogers used his time in Scotland’s second division to earn himself a spot with Scottish premier side Kilmarnock FC. For those unfamiliar, Rogers’ game is built on consistency and security, rarely using theatrics to solve an attempt on goal. He embodies the same strong and consistent spirit that filled most of MLS’s early 2000’s goalkeeping cores. If Rogers can use his new platform to springboard himself to an even higher league, he could just feature in the USMNT goalkeeping pool moving forward.
41. Pablo Sisniega, 25 - Los Angeles FC
42. Evan Newton, 32 - Indy Eleven
43. Jon Kempin, 27 - San Diego Loyal#
44. Kendall McIntosh, 26 - New York Red Bulls
45. Chris Seitz, 33 - DC United
46. Eric Klenofsky, 26 - Tacoma Defiance#
47. Jake Fenlason, 27 - San Diego Loyal
48. Bryan Meredith, 31 - Inter Miami
49. Bryan Byars, 28 - FC Tulsa
50. Tim Howard, 41 - Memphis 901
One to Watch: Eric Klenofsky. Klenofsky’s professional career hasn’t matched the momentum he had when he left Monmouth just a few years ago. Since being drafted to DC United at the start of 2017, he’s only amassed 23 starts with four clubs in four years. Most recently Toronto agreed to loan him out west to the Tacoma Defiance, where he immediately started the next two games for Seattle’s USL affiliate. Klenofsky has long battled injuries that slowed the fanfare but Tacoma offers him a chance to reset, get tested in goal, and prove if he can make a run at an MLS roster spot.
51. Alexandros Tabakis, 27 - North Carolina FC
52. Brian Sylvestre, 27 - Miami FC
53. Kyle Morton, 26 - St. Louis FC
54. Adam Grinwis, 28 - Sacramento Republic
55. Bobby Shuttleworth, 33 - Chicago Fire
56. Andre Rawls, 30 - Colorado Rapids
57. Trevor Spangenberg, 29 - Birmingham Legion
58. Brendan Moore, 28 - Atlanta United
59. Richard Sanchez, 26 - Sporting Kansas City
60. Cody Cropper, 27 - Houston Dynamo
One to Watch: Kyle Morton. Morton has a nice blend of size and speed, playing reminiscent of Sean Lewis and Sean Johnson. Morton was the starter for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds last year (starting 31 games and conceding only 23 goals) before moving to St. Louis FC to help boost a mid-table team into contention. Morton’s game can look a little “ugly” at times as he doesn’t always follow the rulebook but there’s no denying he has a knack at finding a way to get his body behind the ball. At the moment, Morton seems on the cusp of either becoming an MLS backup or an MLS starter. The only way we’ll know for sure is he’s given a chance at the next level.
61. Evan Louro, 24 - Tampa Bay Rowdies
62. CJ Cochran, 29 - Oklahoma City Energy FC
63. Earl Edwards, 28 - DC United
64. Mike Lansing, 26 - AC Horsens (Denmark.1)
65. Bobby Edwards, 25 - Cincinnati FC
66. Joe Kuzminsky, 26 - Charleston Battery
67. Michael Nelson, 25 - Houston Dynamo
68. Alex Mangels, 27 - Chattanooga Red Wolves
69. Tomas Gomez, 27 - Pittsburgh Riverhounds
70. Connor Sparrow, 26 - Chicago Fire
One to Watch: Evan Louro. Louro shares the scrambling style that made Nick Rimando, Tim Melia, Steve Clark, and Maxime Crepeau successful in MLS so it only makes sense that he could do something similar. After a decade or so inside the New York Red Bulls’ system, he’s reset himself with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL Championship. The Rowdies are eyeing some serious hardware to close out 2020 and it’s anyone’s guess as to how this helps Louro’s career going forward. On one hand, he’s undersized and doesn’t “look” the part for many MLS coaches. On the other, his approach has worked in MLS and getting minutes in the USL might be the exact formula to ironing out any shortcomings before he takes a shot at the first division again.
71. Diego Restrepo, 32 - Austin Bold
72. Jeff Gal, 27 - Degerfors (Sweden.2)
73. Tim Murray, 33 - FC Honka (Finland.1)
74. John Berner, 29 - St. Louis FC
75. Charlie Lyon, 28 - MLS Pool
76. Tyler Back, 27 - Spansko (Croatia.3)
77. Andrew Putna, 25 - Real Salt Lake
78. Eric Dick, 25 - Phoenix Rising#
79. Matt Van Oekel, 34 - Birmingham Legion
80. Akira Fitzgerald, 33 - Richmond Kickers
One to Watch: Charlie Lyon. You may recognize the name after Lyon received some publicity on ESPN covering his life as an MLS Pool goalkeeper. However, Lyon is unfortunately in a long line of goalkeepers who didn’t quite get the playing time he deserved. Lyon once displayed an exciting range of motion but it’s been years since we’ve seen him in action and it’s difficult to know where his game currently resides. As of late, he’s been backing up Kyle Zobeck with Dallas after Jesse Gonzalez’s dismissal and Jimmy Maurer’s injury created a void in their depth chart. Although Tim Melia used the pool system to revitalize his career, at this age and lack of first-team minutes, Lyon has a tall order ahead of him to get himself back on the field.
81. CJ dos Santos, 20 - Benfica (Portugal.1)
82. Sam Howard, 27 - Union Omaha
83. Jake McGuire, 26 - Örebro SK (Sweden.1)
84. Thomas Olsen, 25 - Las Vegas Lights FC
85. Ben Lundgaard, 25 - Atlanta United 2
86. Kyle Ihn, 25 - Rio Grande Valley FC#
87. Paul Blanchette, 26 - Rio Grande Valley FC
88. Adrian Zendejas, 25 - Nashville SC
89. Justin vom Steeg, 23 - Los Angeles Galaxy
90. Jeff Caldwell, 24 - New England Revolution
One to Watch: CJ dos Santos. I’ve covered dos Santos multiple times before (read his scouting report here) but the highly competitive environment at Benfica has made it difficult for the young Portuguese-American to earn game time. The summer transfer window could open up some avenues for an opportunity for a loan, whether stateside or somewhere else in Europe. Dos Santos has the ability to take on some more responsibility but finding the right environment is key, as many have learned with Ethan Horvath’s situation.
91. Rafael Diaz, 29 - Sacramento Republic
92. Bryant Gammiero, 26 - Miami FC
93. Dylan Castanheira, 25 - Fort Lauderdale CF
94. Mike Novotny, 24 - Hartford Athletic
95. Luis Barraza, 23 - New York City FC
96. Danny Vitiello, 24 - Pittsburgh Riverhounds
97. Austin Rogers, 25 - Detroit City FC
98. Paul Christensen, 24 - Greenville Triumph
99. Benjamin Machini, 24 - IK Frej (Sweden.3)#
100. Jim Barkei, 24 - Memphis 901
One to Watch: Danny Vitiello. Vitiello has quietly snowballed some potentially serious momentum. After finishing at UAlbany in 2018 with a respectable career (finishing as one of - if not the - best goalkeeper in the school’s history) Vitiello joined the professional ranks without much fanfare, bouncing from Nashville SC and New Mexico United without a start. However 2020 has been a different year for Vitiello who has taken over the starting spot at one of the most dominant teams in USL. (The Riverhounds currently have a +28 goal differential through 13 matches.) Vitiello doesn’t look out of depth despite having only five professional starts and with Vitiello hopping on the hottest commodity in USL, Vitiello could be on the start of something big if things fall his way.