Everybody Soccered - December 2014

cover photo taken from PremierLeague.com, uncredited

December 29th

Quentin Westberg is still without a club. He spoke with Tanguy Le Seviller about his situation. Nothing new except that he confirms he is in contact with various clubs, including some interest from MLS.

The U20 USYNT announced their 35 man preliminary roster. The final 20 man roster is released Friday the 2nd. Jeff Caldwell (University of Virginia), Ethan Horvath (Molde FK), Zack Steffen (University of Maryland, SC Freiburg) are the three goalkeepers but only two will be going through qualifying. Steffen is the current lock and starter for the U20s but the backup spot is currently a toss up between the other two. Santiago Castaño, who recently sided with Colombia, would have most likely been the backup but now the spot is open. The US opens the tournament on January 9th against Guatemala.

The Hermann Award was announced January 10th last year so expect to see a similar announcement in a couple weeks. Syracuse goalkeeper Alex Bono is down to the final three. There was some speculation that he'd be offer a Generation Adidas contract but as of now he has not been offered and is expecting to stay for his senior year. Collegiate peer Spencer Richey was added as the fifth goalkeeper in the upcoming MLS Combine. The Combine runs January 8-13th.

Tim Howard is eyeing the 2018 World Cup. The question is, will he be content with not starting?

Sporting Kansas City has solidified their three goalkeepers. Jon Kempin is expected to be the number two behind 31 year old Chilean Luis Marin. Tim Melia should be the third string goalkeeper.

 

December 22nd

I spoke with four collegiate goalkeepers about their time in college and their attempt to make the jump to professional ranks. One of the goalkeepers, Senior Adam Grinwis, has released his highlights.

Some think Alex Bono will land a Generation Adidas contract and be drafted this January. I'd say it's a 50-50 chance he returns for his senior year. Also Chicago homegrown possible signee, Tyler Miller, was sighted at the Philadelphia Union college tryout.

Devin Cook-Perales is the first collegiate signing. He follows the Austin Aztex up from the PDL to USL Pro and foregoes his senior year at Coastal Carolina.

On the MLS front, Donovan Ricketts was selected by Orlando City in the expansion draft. Paul Tenorio wrote that Portland is eating some of Ricketts' contract to have him leave. Ryan Meara is going on loan to New York City, likely being the starter for their inaugural season then heading back to crosstown rival New York Red Bulls the next. Sporting Kansas City is looking at adding two goalkeepers and neither are from MLS. 31 year old Chilean keeper has been rumored to be one of the two. Check out the MLS Goalkeeper Destination for a more detailed recap on all American clubs.

The USWNT came in second in the 2014 Torneio Internacional de Brasília de Futebol Feminino. Hope Solo struggled with low shots in the last game of the group stage, a 3-2 loss. The final, which featured the two nations again, ended in a 0-0 tie. Solo had a few nice punches but that was it on her end.

Brad Friedel and Tim Howard have settled their dispute. In even more positive news, Tim Howard was the top searched meme for 2014. As for Brad Friedel, he started his own website and will be on Fox Soccer, implying his retirement after this EPL season.

The U20s went 2-0 against Honduras. Zack Steffen was in net for both the first and second game. Fellow U20 goalkeeper Santiago Castaño reported for Colombia's camp over the US. This is not necessarily a huge loss as it doesn't officially tie him to Colombia.

After a year completely off the radar, Creighton transfer and Virginia alum Jeff Gal has signed with Lidköpings FK, a fourth division club in Sweden.

Matt Pyzdrowski is reportedly on the move from Sweden. Pyzdrowski recently wrote on De Gea and his stellar save against Balotelli.

 

December 11th

What didn't happened in the past week?? Zac MacMath was rumored to go to SKC, then he didn't go nor was picked up in the expansion draft. Instead, Portland lost one of their four goalkeepers, Donovan Ricketts, to Orlando, where he'll serve as the starter until Tally Hall is 100%. Ryan Meara was linked with OCSC, then with NYCFC but both fell through. After it seemed like Meara was going to stay with the Red Bulls, they loan him to new rival for 2015.

Joe Willis was sent to Houston and will give Tyler Deric a run for his money. David Bingham was given a new contract and the starting spot in San Jose. Joe Nasco was traded to New England then not given a contract extension, effectively being dropped seconds after he was a Revolutionary man. 

For more information on the MLS goalkeeper dance, head over to the more in-depth 2015 American Goalkeeper Destination.

Maryland goalkeeper and USYNT darling Zack Steffen is foregoing his final two years at Maryland to try his hand in Germany. Freiburg is looking to sign Steffen but nothing official has come out yet. MLS goalkeeper hoarder Philadelphia Union will be upset their academy alum is now not available for a homegrown contract.

Tim Howard's book landed this week. Get it for an American $17.76 at Amazon. Related, Brad Friedel still claims his innocence in the drama Howard outlines in his book.

Four goalkeepers were invited to the MLS's 2015 combine. UCLA's Earl Edwards, Penn State's Andrew Wolverton, Georgetown's Tomas Gomez, and Northwestern's Tyler Miller. The combine is fairly well publicized so we should get some good video on the four goalkeepers.

 

December 5th

Bill Hamid edged Nick Rimando out in the Goalkeeper of the Year award. (Only the players disagreed with the media and coaches as to who was a tougher goalie to score on.) It's unfortunate that Rimando hasn't won the award in his career, especially considering the winners these last three years. However he was kind enough to compliment Hamid on the award. Steve Clark also finished third in the voting. In NASL, Jimmy Maurer ended up with the award which is fitting as other top goalkeepers split most of the season with a close backup.

Luis Robles nabbed an award of his own with his stellar double save. Robles gets down and up and down to keep the ball out of the net and claim the 2014 MLS Save of the Year Award.

Tim Howard released an excerpt from his book (available December 9th). In the excerpt, he was very critical of Brad Friedel, who Howard claims actively tried to stop Howard from landing the gig in Manchester. Friedel, in response, asked for an apology claiming it wasn't true.

“I assume he’s been lied to all these years. Or perhaps he was getting pressure from the publisher to put something controversial in the book.”
— Brad Friedel, ESPN

Friedel seems to have a decent case on his side and it's entirely true that Howard could have been misled by the same team that handled him poorly in the short time he was there. Friedel has also been very supportive of Howard in the past so it's a little out of character that he would do this. On the other side of things, Howard himself has come under fire. FourFourTwo released an article yesterday that Howard "may not be the best option" for Everton.

Howard also released a second excerpt, speaking briefly on Donovan not making the team. 

True to his nature, Brad Guzan quietly had a great November. He conceded four goals in five games (1-3-1 W-T-L) for Aston Villa. His performances have been exceptionally valued considering the club has scored just eight goals in fourteen games, a league low. Aston Villa is sitting 12th despite scoring a third of the amount of goals as Everton, who is ahead of Aston Villa by two points in the table. Don't be surprised to see if Guzan earns the club's MVP award at the end of the season.

Marcus Hahnemann retired at the ripe old age of 42 years old.

Officially retired again for 4 th time. Hanging in a #treehouse

A photo posted by Marcus Hahnemann (@hahnemann1) on

Look for a memorial post on Hahnemann later in the month.

The U17s had a rosy start to their annual Nike Friendlies tournament but finished with a 4-1 loss to Brazil in the final game that determined the winner. The US did top Australia 2-1 and England 3-1, which we can all admit we enjoy beating England. Kevin Silva started against Brazil and England while Will Pulisic picked up the game in the middle against Australia.

West Coast Goalkeeping is claiming that Alex Horwath was named the top goalkeeper of the Superettan. I can't find an article confirming this but they might just be ahead of the news.

The NCAA tourney is down to its final eight schools. UMBC hosts Creighton on Friday while Saturday features UNC at UCLA, Providence at Michigan State and Georgetown at Virginia. (All game times can be found here.). In the Bracket Challenge, @liviubird and @ENBSports are fighting for the rightful claim of the Everybody Soccer shirt.

Syracuse goalkeeper Alex Bono represents the goalkeeper position in the Hermann Trophy semifinalist list. Bono is attempting to join Brad Friedel and Tony Meola as one of the few goalkeepers to earn the award. Syracuse lost in overtime to Georgetown in the round of 16 from a golden goal. Bono talks a little bit about the award here.

Matt Reis talked about the difficulty in once playing for New England and not having to coach against them. Although out of fairness he's a goalkeeper coach so it could be worse. Bobby Shuttleworth shared what it was like sitting behind Reis and going forward into the MLS Final on Sunday.

The upcoming MLS expansion is making room for more goalkeepers so obviously we're pretty excited about the next couple months. There are a lot of players moving around but some teams are looking at different starters than they had last year.

FC Dallas - Signed Dan Kennedy in the Chivas dispersal draft and didn't re-sign Raul Fernandez, last year's starter. Chris Seitz is expected to be the backup.

Sporting KC - Released both Eric Kronberg and Andy Gruenebaum and only have Jon Kempin on roster. Vermes isn't handing over the keys just yet but Kempin will get a fair look. If they do bring in a different starter, it should only be for a year.

Orlando City SC / Houston Dynamo - OCSC traded for an ACL tear-recovering Tally Hall. Houston is going forward with Tyler Deric.

Portland Timbers - Rumors of Ghanaian national teamer Adam Kwarasey heading out west. Would indicate a big shake up is on the horizon. 

Montreal Impact - Not a huge shocker but Perkins was let go. Evan Bush is the expected number one man in the great northeast.

Philadelphia Union - Nothing official yet but surely Zac MacMath is on the way out with Andre Blake and recently acquired Raïs M'Bolhi.

Read a more in-depth, team-by-team on the shuffle here

Several MLS goalkeepers are without a contract as 2014 folds. Some a renegotiating, some are on their way out. Here's a look at the top free agents in the country, American or not.

Raul Fernandez (Peruvian) - Option not picked up by FC Dallas
Jon Busch - Out of contract with San Jose
Andy Gruenebaum - Option not picked up by Sporting Kansas City
Troy Perkins - Option not picked up by Montreal Impact
Quentin Westberg - French club team Luzenac folded earlier in the year
Tim Melia - Outgoing MLS Pool Keeper
Eric Kronberg - Option not picked up by Sporting Kansas City
Brock Duckworth - Charlotte Eagles not returning to USL Pro next year
Joe Nasco - Option not picked up by Colorado Rapids
Evan Newton - Not currently on Arizona United's roster
Josh Ford - Option not picked up by Seattle
Patrick McLain - Without team since mid-season
Jordan Jennings - Not on Seattle's roster
Jon Dawson - Option not picked up by Indy Eleven
Sean Kelley - Released from Orlando City SC
Trevor Spangenberg - Chivas USA not returning to MLS next year
Brian Holt - Released by Philadelphia Union mid-season
Doug Herrick (Guamanian) - Charlotte Eagles not returning to USL Pro next year

Patrick McLain, who I interviewed last month, is trailing over in Sweden. Evan Newton is also venturing abroad in Germany.

I was going to do the top 100 American Goalkeepers publication but the list was almost identical to October's so it doesn't get its own post. Biggest jumps up the ladder were Scott Angevine (+25) and Stefan Frei (+12). Both have put in a lot of work and have really progressed from where they were six months ago.

Still, here's the list in case you are voting for ASN's top 100 player list:

1. Brad Guzan (Aston Villa / England.1) - 77.1 (31.8)
2. Tim Howard (Everton FC / England.1) - 76.7 (35.8)
3. Steve Clark (Columbus Crew / USA.1) - 71.5 (28.7)
4. Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake / USA.1) - 70.8 (35.5)
5. Brad Friedel (Tottenham Hotspur / England.1) - 70.6 (43.6)
6. Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls / USA.1) - 69.7 (30.6)
7. Joseph Bendik (Toronto FC / USA.1) - 69.2 (25.7)
8. Brian Rowe (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) - 69 (26.1)
9. William Yarbrough (Leon / Mexico.1) - 68.8 (25.8)
10. Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders / USA.1) - 68.7 (28.7)

11. Bill Hamid (DC United / USA.1) - 68.7 (24.1)
12. Chris Seitz (FC Dallas / USA.1) - 68.6 (27.8)
13. Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo / USA.1) - 68.5 (29.6)
14. Matt Pickens (Tampa Bay Rowdies / USA.2) - 68.4 (32.7)
15. Jon Busch (Free Agent / None) - 68.4 (38.3)
16. Clint Irwin (Colorado Rapids / USA.1) - 68.3 (25.7)
17. Dan Kennedy (FC Dallas / USA.1) - 68.3 (32.4)
18. Joe Willis (DC United / USA.1) - 68.2 (26.3)
19. Andy Gruenebaum (Free Agent / None) - 68.2 (33)
20. Zac MacMath (Philadelphia Union / USA.1) - 68.1 (23.3)

21. David Bingham (Strømmen IF / Norway.2) - 68 (25.2)
22. Andrew Weber (Portland Timbers / USA.1) - 68 (31.3)
23. Brian Perk (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) - 68 (25.4)
24. Bobby Shuttleworth (New England Revolution / USA.1) - 67.9 (27.6)
25. Tyler Deric (Houston Dynamo / USA.1) - 67.8 (26.3)
26. Troy Perkins (Free Agent / None) - 67.8 (33.4)
27. Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire / USA.1) - 67.7 (25.6)
28. Ryan Meara (New York Red Bulls / USA.1) - 67.7 (24.1)
28. Jeff Attinella (Real Salt Lake / USA.1) - 67.7 (26.3)
30. Quentin Westberg (Free Agent / None) - 67.7 (28.7)

31. Evan Bush (Montreal Impact / USA.1) - 67.6 (28.8)
32. Andrew Dykstra (DC United / USA.1) - 67.6 (28.9)
33. Caleb Patterson-Sewell (Gil Vicente FC / Portugal.1) - 67.4 (27.6)
34. Diego Restrepo (Tampa Bay Rowdies / USA.2) - 67.4 (26.8)
35. Tim Melia (Free Agent / None) - 67.3 (27.8)
36. Eric Kronberg (Free Agent / None) - 67.2 (31.4)
37. Alex Horwath (Ljungskile SK / Sweden.2) - 67.1 (27.8)
38. Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City / USA.1) - 67.1 (21.7)
39. Mitch Hildebrandt (Minnesota United FC / USA.2) - 67 (26.1)
40. Brad Knighton (New England Revolution / USA.1) - 67 (29.8)

41. David Yelldell (Bayer Leverkusen / Germany.1) - 66.9 (33.9)
42. Matt Pyzdrowski (Angelholms FF / Sweden.2) - 66.9 (28.3)
43. Matt Van Oekel (Minnesota United FC / USA.2) - 66.8 (28.3)
44. Alec Kann (Chicago Fire / USA.1) - 66.8 (24.3)
45. Brock Duckworth (Free Agent / None) - 66.7 (25.7)
46. Joe Nasco (Free Agent / None) - 66.6 (30.5)
47. Evan Newton (Free Agent / USA.1) - 66.5 (26.7)
48. Jimmy Maurer (New York Cosmos / USA.2) - 66.5 (27.2)
49. Kyle Reynish (Chicago Fire / USA.2) - 66.4 (31.1)
50. John McCarthy (Rochester Rhinos / USA.1) - 66.4 (22.4)

51. Devala Gorrick (Ottawa Fury / USA.2) - 66.4 (27.4)
52. Akira Fitzgerald (Carolina Railhawks / USA.2) - 66.2 (27.4)
53. Matt Lampson (Columbus Crew / USA.1) - 66.2 (25.3)
54. Cody Mizell (Tampa Bay Rowdies / USA.2) - 66.1 (23.3)
55. Josh Ford (Free Agent / None) - 66 (27.1)
56. Kenneth Kronholm (Holstein Kiel / Germany.3) - 66 (29.2)
57. Ryan Taylor (Richmond Kickers / USA.3) - 65.9 (24.5)
58. Kyle Zobeck (New York Cosmos / USA.2) - 65.8 (24.8)
59. Patrick McLain (Free Agent / None) - 65.8 (26.3)
60. John Berner (Colorado Rapids / USA.1) - 65.8 (23.8)

61. Chris Konopka (Toronto FC / USA.1) - 65.7 (29.7)
61. Lance Parker (FC Edmonton / USA.2) - 65.7 (29.3)
63. Bryan Meredith (San Jose Earthquakes / USA.1) - 65.7 (25.3)
64. Nick Shackelford (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) - 65.6 (24.2)
65. Austin Guerrero (Estudiantes de Altamira / Mexico.2) - 65.6 (25.8)
66. David Meves (Fort Lauderdale Strikers / USA.2) - 65.6 (25.4)
67. Jordan Jennings (Free Agent / None) - 65.5 (29.7)
68. Justin Luthy (Portland Timbers / USA.1) - 65.4 (23.7)
69. Kevin Piedrahita (Águilas Doradas / Colombia.1) - 65.4 (23.5)
70. Adam Grinwis (Michigan / USA.N) - 65.3 (22.7)

71. Josh Wicks (AFC United / USA.N) - 65.3 (31.1)
72. Scott Goodwin (Carolina Railhawks / Sweden.2) - 65.3 (24.1)
73. Andrew Fontein (Minnesota United FC / USA.2) - 65.3 (24.8)
74. Scott Angevine (Vasa IFK / USA.2) - 65.2 (25.6)
75. Tom Almadon (Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv / Finland.3) - 65.2 (30.1)
76. Jon Dawson (Free Agent / Israel.1) - 65.2 (23.8)
77. Brandon Miller (Rochester Rhinos / None) - 65.2 (25)
78. Patrick Wall (Notre Dame / USA.N) - 65.1 (23.3)
79. Carl Woszczynski (Arizona United / USA.3) - 65.1 (26.7)
80. Hunter Gilstrap (Pittsburgh Riverhounds / USA.3) - 65 (31.7)

81. Brad Stuver (Columbus Crew / USA.1) - 65 (23.7)
82. Sean Kelley (Free Agent / None) - 64.9 (26.7)
83. Phil Saunders (Bolungarvík FC / Iceland.2) - 64.9 (23.3)
84. Trevor Spangenberg (Free Agent / None) - 64.8 (23.7)
85. Cody Laurendi (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) - 64.7 (26.3)
86. Cody Cropper (Southampton / England.1) - 64.7 (21.8)
87. Carlos Rojas (CD Cruz Azul / Mexico.1) - 64.7 (24.8)
88. Michael Abalos (Cal FC / USA.4) - 64.7 (25.1)
89. Nicolas Platter (Carolina Railhawks / USA.2) - 64.6 (33.1)
90. Dominik Jakubek (Sacramento Republic / USA.3) - 64.6 (35.3)
91. Brian Holt (Free Agent / None) - 64.6 (26.1)
92. Patrick Lane (Karlstad BK / Sweden.4) - 64.6 (26.3)
93. Nick Noble (Harrisburg City Islanders / USA.3) - 64.5 (30.3)
94. Josh Saunders (New York City FC / USA.1) - 64.5 (33.8)
95. Paul Rachubka (Oldham Athletic / England.3) - 64.4 (33.6)
96. Lionel Brown (Fort Lauderdale Strikers / USA.2) - 64.4 (27.3)
97. Gregory Blum (Pittsburgh Riverhounds / USA.3) - 64.3 (25.7)
98. Daniel Withrow (MLS Keeper Pool / USA.1) - 64.2 (24.6)
99. Nathan Stockie (Jippo / Finland.2) - 64.1 (25.8)
100. Zac Lubin (IFK Lulea / Sweden.3) - 64 (25.3)

Our concluding note has nothing to do with goalkeepers but @nleimbach made some killer mock ups for what could be (should be) home-and-away jerseys for every US state.

The Everybody Soccer Shirt

The Everybody Soccer Shirt

Everybody Soccer has now become an established site: we've made t-shirts. Scroll down to take a look at the two different ones or head over to the shop to purchase one! They're 19.99 with shipping and handling but if you can meet me in Arkansas or Dallas, depending on the time of the year, we can cut out the middle man for a cool $15.

2014 NCAA Soccer Bracket Challenge

It's over! Congrats to Liviu to winning the competition! Apparently Big Soccer has running a pool since 2003 so credit to those guys. I pulled in the top two entries from BS but Liviu still topped them.

Everybody Soccer is running the NCAA Soccer Bracket Challenge, which I believe ES is the only place hosting one this year. (Crimson Cast offered one in 2010 but doesn't look like they've done one since. Update, Big Soccer has been doing one since 2003. Oops.)

About the NCAA Tournament

Every year NCAA soccer concludes their season with a 48 team tournament. 24 conference representatives are selected by either winning their conference or tournament. The remaining 24 spots are filled by teams earning at-large bids. The first round features 32 teams and the second round introduces 16 seeded teams given a bye past the first round. (Check out the 2013 bracket for more info.)

How to Play

Go to google templates and search for "NCAA Soccer" in the public gallery. There you will find a bracket you can enter in your selections. You can also make your own bracket to send in but I just figured this would be the easiest way to get everyone on board.

Once you have completely filled in the bracket, send to it me by selecting File > Share > Email: everybodysoccer@yahoo.com. Also make sure to enter in your name, team name, state, and twitter handle to appear on the scoreboard.

How to Win

The winner will be determined by who scores the most points. There will be one point for correct first round guesses, two points for the next round, and so on until the final, which is worth six points. There is a maximum 104 points available.

Prize

To give some incentive to sign up to play, if 42 people send in a bracket I will give the winner one (1) free Everybody Soccer t-shirt. There are two designs to choose from:

(Mock ups and design provided by Ground Glass)

If you are a loser or if we don't get enough participates you can still purchase a shirt in the near future, once they are finished printing around the end of the year.

When the bracket is released (potentially November 17th but nothing official yet) send in your bracket before the start of the first tournament game to enter the competition.

 

"But Bill, I don't know anything about college soccer! What resources are available for me so that I can submit a bracket with the confidence of winning a sweet shirt?"

Great question. Here are four resources available to those with the poorest of foot-to-eye coordination so that even they will have a shot to grab some great garb.

1. Top Drawer Soccer - Besides their composite top 25 rankings, TDS is the major hub of college soccer news. They have rankings, interviews, scores... basically everything you'd need to know in 15 minutes.

2. Conference Tournaments - Did a high seed drop an easy game? Did a school redeem a crummy season by winning their tournament? Check out the conference tournament results to see if a team is coming in hot or not.

3. History - Here's a history of how each school has performed in the post season tournament since 2003, when they switched to the 48 team format. Teams were given points for how many rounds they went and if they held a seed. The first few columns are weighted points for the round reached and seed given. "DIFF" is gauging if they over (+) or underperform (-) in the tournament given their seed.

Everybody Soccered - November 2014

November 25th Update

Really late on this but the USWNT not only qualified for the 2015 World Cup but they didn't allow a single goal in qualifying through five games. Hope Solo faced only two shots shots on goal in the four games she started. Ashlyn Harris started the last group game and also kept a clean sheet although only faced one shot in the game. In the group stage, Trinidad and Tobago's goalkeeper Kimika Forbes had a great game against the US and kept the US to only one goal.

More USYNT action occurred last week. The U16s lost 3-0 to France with Eric Lopez in goal. The Kevin Silva and Will Pulisic split time with the U17s, who recently went 0-2-1 with a rough loss to Brazil (4-3) and then ties against Qatar and Chile. Both Lopez and Silva weren't at their best in these games. Lopez was caught moving forward too much on a 1v1 and was set too low on a shot inside the 18. Silva struggled with crosses and got caught on a long chip after a long ball slipped through the defense. Pulisic, on the other hand, didn't have a lot to do against Qatar.

MLS is in their last round of Save of the Year candidates. Vote here. Feel free to pick any of the non-Ricketts saves as I don't know how that one finished in the final four.

Heart of the Dawg had a great slow motion video of the University of Washington's first win in the NCAA tournament, including Spencer Richey's final save.

 

November 23rd Update

I wrote a long piece on the 25th anniversary of the US topping Trinidad and Tobago, bringing them back to the World Cup for the first time in 40 years. I tried to include as many forgotten details on the game. Scott French had a good interview with Paul Caligiuri on the goal.

Tim Howard was selected as the 2014 USMNT athlete of the year, mainly because of his performance against Belgium in the World Cup. This is Howard's second time to win the award. He first won in 2008.

Bill Hamid went the distance in a 4-1 loss against Ireland.

The U20s went 2-1 this month. Ethan Horvath was in goal for the 4-3 win over Russia and Santiago Castaño started the other two games (1-0 win over Ireland and a 1-0 loss against Canada). Neither goalkeeper stood out as Horvath wasn't sharp against Russia and the goal Castaño conceded against Ireland was the worst of the bunch.

FC Dallas selected Dan Kennedy in the Chivas dispersal draft. That now gives Dallas three starting goalkeepers. Steve Hunt predicted that it would be Chris Seitz on the way out and it's hard to disagree with him. Personally, I think Seitz not only is the best of the three but the only one which isn't on the downswing of his career. Unfortunately for Seitz, he's not as iconic as the other two. Dallas could try to deal Kennedy for some allocation money or another player but the media isn't acting like that's something in the works. 

Senior goalkeeper Adam Grinwis's season was cut short with Michigan not qualifying for the national tournament. The Michigan Daily reports that he's looking at playing for the next level.

“I think it was a huge chance to see if it was actually something that is feasible for me. I truly felt like I fit in, and I feel like I can really help out some of these teams.”
— Grinwis

The NCAA Soccer Bracket Challenge is going strong. John Harkes was kind enough to submit although he was the first person to lose their championship pick, with Wake Forest going down in penalty kicks.

BYU TV made a classic slapstick video about a goalkeeper repeatedly getting hit in the face with the ball.

 

 

November 17th Update

The USMNT fell 2-1 to Colombia on Friday. Brad Guzan was in goal for both goals against Colombia and didn't have any saves that qualify as "savazos". The first goal was a bit controversial as it was not awarded offside.

Guzan is put in an unfortunate position as he has to step to the offside man in case he is not called offside but plays the ball. If he puts the ball on frame, and the linesman's flag stays down, Guzan cannot afford to be so far from the ball in that situation. So he must step forward. But the striker dummies for his slashing teammate who has now caught Guzan out of position. The play should be counted offside as Guzan is affected by the player in the offside position but there is some debate about the letter of the law.

Guzan was a little slow on the second goal but the roofed header is a tough shot to stop.

As the US is getting ready to face Ireland on Monday, the the US tweeted some fun photos of Bill Hamid and Guzan in goal.

Tim Howard is one of six finalists for the USMNT player of the year award. So far he is leading the pack at SOT's informal poll. Howard has won the award once already, in 2008.

The Chivas draft order was announced last week and all eyes are on FC Dallas with the number one pick. Dan Kennedy, Chivas' starter this past year, is expected to go high but I don't think it'll be with Dallas. They're already sitting pretty with Chris Seitz and Raul Fernandez. An aging (and expensive!) goalkeeper is not going to help them and I don't think signing-then-trading him will work out in the long run. If Kennedy fell to NYCFC at the second pick, I think it's a given they select him. However, it should be noted Kennedy was dead last in expected goals allowed at American Soccer Analysis.

The most notable collegiate goalkeeping performance from the conference tournaments has to be Chris Glodack. Glodack came through in the clutch in Clemson's first two games by coming off the bench solely for the penalties after neither team could break the deadlock in overtime. Of the twelve penalties he faced, he amazingly saved six (3/5 vs Wake Forest, 3/7 v Notre Dame) and helped Clemson move on to the next round each time. Glodack utilized a patient technique that I wanted to take a closer look at.

Here's the final save against Wake Forest. Notice how Glodack hasn't left the center of the frame as the ball is struck. In the third frame you can see how his full extension almost reaches the post. (You can see the rest of his saves against Wake Forest here.)

In comparison, Notre Dame's Pat Wall employed the spaghetti-legs technique. Typically this is done to distract the shooters. More specifically, watch how early Wall leaves the center. (Watch Clemson's winning save and score here.)

Wall is a fine goalkeeper and what he does is not uncommon. Several goalkeepers are already going one way as the ball is struck. The difference for Glodack is that his frame and explosiveness allow him to wait just a split second longer to read the shot yet still cover the goalmouth all the way to the post. Either way, he went 6/12 so clearly something is working.

Ted dug up an interview with Marcus Hahnemann where he spoke in favor of relegation.

Santiago Castaño kept a shutout against Ireland's U20s. No highlights available yet.

In the graphic design department, we have an old Shep Messing chewing tobacco ad and a wonderful cool-guys-walk-away-from-explosions should-be poster from Aaron Brown

 

 

November 12th Update

The US roster was released on Monday for the matches against Colombia and Ireland. Brad Guzan, Nick Rimando, Bill Hamid, and Sean Johnson all made the cut. Here's a vine of the four in practice.

Brad Guzan was named to WhoScored's team of the week after a 0-0 draw with West Ham on the 8th. Highlights here, most notably his save at the end where Guzan has to go high on a close range shot.

Tim Howard received some buzz about his "unconventional goalkeeping". Howard also has a biography coming out in December.

Tom McCabe found Jimmy Douglas' passport photo from ancestry.com. Douglas was an American goalkeeper who recorded the first World Cup shutout in 1930. McCabe goes on to point out that Douglas' grandfather, James Douglas, played in the first American Cup, which was eventually replaced with the modern US Open Cup. Both Douglases were goalkeepers, oddly enough.

Speaking of US Open Cup, Josh reminded us that the first time the recently playoff paired teams FC Dallas and Seattle met in the Open Cup was in 1996, 18 years ago, and Marcus Hahnemann was in net. Hahnemann is currently 42 years old and on Seattle's roster.

The U20s topped Russia today 4-3. Ethan Horvath was given the start. No highlights yet but apparently he made a save on a penalty kick. It was Horvath's first appearance with the U20s.

ESPN had some quotes from Brad Friedel about Americans playing abroad versus staying in MLS.

“Is it good for one of our American players to sign with Real Madrid? No, because they’ll play zero. It’s better that they stay in MLS and play 100 percent of the time. That’s how you develop, that’s how you get better. You just have to make sure that you never in your career, no matter where you play, become complacent.”

The University of Washington is releasing a documentary on their men's soccer team. They took a close look at the goalkeepers Spencer Richey and Ryan Herman around the 13 minute mark. Richey talks about his injury and the coach discusses how he handles the two more than capable goalkeepers. They also really enjoy using slow motion.

 

 

November 10th Update

Tim Howard has recorded 150 clean sheets in all European competitions.

The U20s are bringing along Ethan Horvath on their trip to Spain. Hopefully this is a time for Horvath to move up the pecking order as it appears he's sitting at number three, behind Santiago Castaño and Zack Steffen.

 

 

November 6th Update

Aleks Gogic, a twenty year old with Redding, "was recently part of a US film documentary that will be released in the coming months, featuring the likes of Tim Howard et al."

Phil Saunders is keeping sharp with the Baltimore Blast this winter.

Markus Dickerson feels confident he'll represent the US one day. "I must one day represent my country. It's part of my dream so I will achieve it."

Three goalkeepers have been given trials with Mexican clubs through the Sueño Program.

 

 

November 1st

Everybody Soccer has taken a bit of a back burner. I had three interviews over the past month that were published on the supreme Soccer Over There and the terrific Top Drawer Soccer. I talked with French-American goalkeeper Quentin Westberg about his club Luzenac earning promotion then getting outright disbanded. Next there was Pat McLain's bizarre situation with Chivas USA. If you're wondering about behind the scenes at Chivas, McLain has a lot to say. Finally, Coppell (Texas) High School coach Chad Rakestraw's weighed in on the popular developmental academy versus high school debate. Some content was cut for TDS so the rest of the interview can be found here but TDS got all the major talking points.

Taking Westberg's lead, multiple goalies are on the move upward in their Norwegian leagues.

Sweden

Alex Horwath and Ljungskile are very close to getting promoted to Allsvenskan, the first division in Sweden. Ljungskile finished third in the Superettan this year (only giving up 25 goals in 30 games) and have a home-and-home series with Gefle FK on November 6th and 9th. Fun fact: Ljungskile has a population of 4,000.

Matt Pzydrowski and Ängelholm finished 12th in the same second division that Ljungskile is trying to leave. Pzydrowski captained the team about half the season and while didn't have a hot start (23 goals in 8 games), he finished strong by only allowing 22 goals in the last 20 games he played.

Josh Wicks bumped AFC United to the Superettan. Wicks captained the club for most of the season and posted an even 1.00 GAA. If Ljungskile doesn't promote to the first division, we'll be set to have three American goalkeepers in the Superettan.

Zac Lubin and IFK Luleå went 7-10-9 (W-T-L) to land in tenth place. Lubin sat the first six games but played the final nineteen.

Patrick Lane and Karlstad BK finished eight in one of Sweden's six fourth divisions. Lane played most of Karlstad's season and allowed 34 goals in 20 games.

Iceland

Phil Saunders helped BI / Bolungarvik complete their escape from relegation and stay in Iceland's second division, 1. deild karla. BI was giving up 2.3 goals before Saunders joined and after it dropped to 1.8. As Soccer Viza wrote in their interview with him, "the club was impressed enough by his performance that they offered an extension through the end of 2015 to be their number one option in goal."

Norway

David Bingham finished with 16 goals against in the 8 games he appeared for Strømmen IF. Bingham's future is just as unclear as his successor Jon Busch's future. Will he finally take over for Busch in 2015 or will he go on loan again?

Finland

Scott Angevine and Vasa IFK were a game away from getting promoted in Finland. They lost in the promotion playoffs but still ended the season with a 17-5-5 league record. Here are the highlights of your new favorite American goalkeeper who played in Finland last year:

And lastly, Nathan Stockie played backup for JIPPO's season that ended in relegation to the third division.

MLS playoffs are under way but more importantly the voting for MLS Save of the Year is up and running. All of the week's best saves are pitted against each other in one big savazo tournament. But one save that won't make the cut is Stefan Frei's fantastic playoff save versus FC Dallas this last weekend.

Eric Lopez is the youngest goalkeeper to sign an MLS homegrown contract. LAG has a number of good goalkeepers on their roster so I can't imagine Lopez getting more than a handful of games his first years. To put some perspective on hyped young goalkeepers, Hararea went back through the last eight U20 USYNT goalkeepers and outlined how even the ones who were successful didn't find it until well into their 20s.

In early October the U17s went 3-0 in Panama. They'll be playing again at the popular Nike Friendlies in late November, they same tournament that the U17s bossed Brazil into literally not playing soccer anymore. Kevin Silva and Will Pulisic split the responsibilities of protecting the net.

The U23s had less fortune with Brazil as they were bested 3-0. Reviews of goalkeeper Cody Cropper were not favorable.

Back when Landon was having his testimony match, Kasey Keller was asked what his favorite Donovan moment and he said it was him setting the shutout record. Tim Howard also weighed in:

Yet another young American goalkeeper is making a name for himself overseas. Eighteen year old Bryce Billington is on Aberdeen FC's U20 squad.

Top 100 American Goalkeepers (October 2014)

Cover photo belongs to Birmingham Mail

Before we get into our spotlight please circle October 2014 in your calendar as the time Brad Guzan officially overthrew Tim Howard as the number one goalkeeper for the US. There has been a small contingent that have already bumped Guzan to the top spot but you can't lose the starting spot off a couple of errors. Up and through the summer Howard had some shaky moments but he was still earning his keep. However in the seventeen goals over seven games against EPL opponents, Howard is starting to show signs of regression. He's relying more on reactions and paying less attention to mechanics. Phil Neville dogged him for his large spring which is close to addressing the problem but not quite. (For the record, Howard can't see the ball before it clears the wall so the time lost argument is invalid. Him "bouncing" isn't necessarily a bad thing, and not in this case.) Howard's stance has grown even wider since the summer, making lateral movement is occur less and less, if at all. On goal against Liverpool, his hands are weak and the ball rolls of his hand into the goal. Against Crystal Palace where Everton lost 3-2 (highlights here but link may not last long) he needlessly causes a penalty kick and later hands Crystal Palace their second goal by missing the cross entirely. The 6-3 loss to Chelsea he looked step behind nearly every goal and Howard gives up a pretty lazy near post goal against Swansea City to open Everton's short lived Capital One Cup run. Howard proponents are going to cite past heroics as to why Howard should remain as number one but the fact is he's 35 and is on the downswing of his career. Guzan, on the other hand, is in his prime. When did the switch between the two happen in skill? Right now. It'll take some time for the public to all agree though.

Bill Hamid is next up for this month's goalkeeper spotlight. He's on the tip of everyone's tongue when it comes to who's next for USMNT goalkeeping. Everyone expects him to be on the 2015 Gold Cup roster if not in goal come 2018. Amid all the hope, Hamid seemingly can't be described as anything else but "athletic" (57,000 results).

CSN Washington

CSN Washington

There's no getting around Hamid's reflexes and leg strength. It's seems like every week Hamid is in the running for MLS's Save of the Week. He's explosive, he's quick, he makes the occasion "You have to be kidding me!" save. But he's had to work to get to where he is now. Early in his career Hamid was taking generous pre-shot jump sets and he's clearly worked to nix those. He's showing more patience in a play and getting all of his body to dive at the ball, not just his arms. But his decision-making and technique in tight, awkward situations is still erratic. For example, he's still using the starfish approach on 1v1s (see above). This technique leaves large gaps between the thigh and bicep and the ice hockey-familiar five-hole. Sometimes it works, like in his save against Henry...

...and sometimes it doesn't. In the same game he vies to go to the ground, instead staying on his feet, and gives up the game-winning goal. Notice how awkwardly his body collapses to the ground and how his right foot moves out of the way of where the ball ends up going.

Hamid's next step is learning to play the percentages better. He didn't do it against Los Angeles (dove unevenly), Real Salt Lake (hands too low), Houston (dives too high), and Colorado (????). His entire body needs to be in smart positions to cover the goal in the most efficient manner. Hamid's gotten this far and at almost twenty-four, he shows no signs of slowing down.

The top five have switched around more than just Guzan overstepping Howard. Steve Clark takes the number three spot and Brad Friedel falls from the top three since... 1993? Clark's been on fire with Columbus and despite the lack of USMNT call-ups, he's the best in MLS right now.

Lastly, a retroactive shoutout to Israeli American goalkeeper Tom Almadon. Almadon kept a shutout in the second leg in the second qualifying round of the Europa with his club Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv. Almadon was born in New York and although he has played up the ranks in Israel's youth system, he has yet to recieve a call up from Israel. So for that, we'll claim him until he's official cap-tied.

Top 100 American Goalkeepers

1. Brad Guzan (Aston Villa / England.1) - 77.8 (30.1)
2. Tim Howard (Everton FC / England.1) - 76.9 (35.6)
3. Steve Clark (Columbus Crew / USA.1) - 71.5 (28.5)
4. Brad Friedel (Tottenham Hotspur / England.1) - 71.4 (43.4)
5. Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake / USA.1) - 71.3 (35.3)
6. Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls / USA.1) - 69.7 (30.4)
7. Joseph Bendik (Toronto FC / USA.1) - 69 (25.5)
8. Brian Rowe (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) - 68.9 (25.9)
9. Jon Busch (San Jose Earthquakes / USA.1) - 68.7 (38.2)
10. Chris Seitz (FC Dallas / USA.1) - 68.6 (27.6)

11. William Yarbrough (Leon / Mexico.1) - 68.6 (25.6)
12. Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo / USA.1) - 68.5 (29.4)
13. Bill Hamid (DC United / USA.1) - 68.4 (23.9)
14. Matt Pickens (Tampa Bay Rowdies / USA.2) - 68.4 (32.5)
15. Dan Kennedy (Chivas USA / USA.1) - 68.3 (32.3)
15. Troy Perkins (Montreal Impact / USA.1) - 68.3 (33.3)
17. Clint Irwin (Colorado Rapids / USA.1) - 68.2 (25.5)
18. David Bingham (Strommen IF / Norway.2) - 68.1 (25)
19. Joe Willis (DC United / USA.1) - 68.1 (26.2)
20. Andrew Weber (Portland Timbers / USA.1) - 68 (31.2)

21. Andy Gruenebaum (Sporting Kansas City / USA.1) - 67.9 (32.8)
22. Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders / USA.1) - 67.9 (28.5)
23. Bobby Shuttleworth (New England Revolution / USA.1) - 67.9 (27.4)
24. Zac MacMath (Philadelphia Union / USA.1) - 67.8 (23.2)
25. Brian Perk (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) - 67.8 (25.3)
26. Quentin Westberg (Free Agent / None) - 67.7 (28.5)
27. Tyler Deric (Houston Dynamo / USA.1) - 67.7 (26.2)
28. Jeff Attinella (Real Salt Lake / USA.1) - 67.6 (26.1)
29. Evan Bush (Montreal Impact / USA.1) - 67.6 (28.6)
30. Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire / USA.1) - 67.6 (25.4)

31. Andrew Dykstra (DC United / USA.1) - 67.5 (28.8)
32. Ryan Meara (New York Red Bulls / USA.1) - 67.5 (23.9)
33. Caleb Patterson-Sewell (Gil Vicente FC / Portugal.1) - 67.4 (27.4)
34. Diego Restrepo (Tampa Bay Rowdies / USA.2) - 67.3 (26.7)
35. Tim Melia (MLS Pool Keeper / USA.1) - 67.2 (27.6)
36. Eric Kronberg (Sporting Kansas City / USA.1) - 67.2 (31.3)
37. Alex Horwath (Ljungskile SK / Sweden.2) - 67.1 (27.6)
38. Kevin Piedrahita (Águilas Doradas / Colombia.1) - 67 (23.3)
39. Brad Knighton (New England Revolution / USA.1) - 67 (29.7)
40. Marcus Hahnemann (Seattle Sounders / USA.1) - 66.9 (42.3)
40. David Yelldell (Bayern Leverkusen / Germany.1) - 66.9 (33.8)

42. Mitch Hildebrandt (Minnesota United FC / USA.2) - 66.9 (25.9)
43. Jimmy Maurer (New York Cosmos / USA.2) - 66.9 (27)
44. Matt Pyzdrowski (Angelholms FF / Sweden.2) - 66.8 (28.2)
45. Matt Van Oekel (Minnesota United FC / USA.2) - 66.8 (28.1)
46. Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City / USA.1) - 66.7 (21.5)
47. Joe Nasco (Colorado Rapids / USA.1) - 66.6 (30.3)
48. Alec Kann (Chicago Fire / USA.1) - 66.6 (24.2)
48. Brock Duckworth (Free Agent / None) - 66.6 (25.5)
50. Kyle Reynish (Chicago Fire / USA.1) - 66.4 (30.9)

51. Devala Gorrick (Ottawa Fury / USA.2) - 66.3 (27.3)
52. Akira Fitzgerald (Carolina Railhawks / USA.2) - 66.1 (27.3)
53. John McCarthy (Rochester Rhinos / USA.3) - 66.1 (22.3)
54. Evan Newton (Arizona United / USA.3) - 66 (26.5)
55. Matt Lampson (Columbus Crew / USA.1) - 66 (25.1)
56. Josh Ford (Seattle Sounders / USA.1) - 65.9 (26.9)
57. Chris Konopka (Toronto FC / USA.1) - 65.9 (29.5)
58. Cody Mizell (Tampa Bay Rowdies / USA.2) - 65.8 (23.1)
59. Ryan Taylor (Richmond Kickers / USA.3) - 65.7 (24.3)
60. Patrick McLain (Free Agent / None) - 65.7 (26.2)

61. Lance Parker (FC Edmonton / USA.2) - 65.7 (29.2)
62. Kyle Zobeck (New York Cosmos / USA.2) - 65.6 (24.7)
63. John Berner (Colorado Rapids / USA.1) - 65.5 (23.7)
64. Bryan Meredith (San Jose Earthquakes / USA.1) - 65.5 (25.2)
65. Kenneth Kronholm (Holstein Kiel / Germany.3) - 65.5 (29)
65. Jordan Jennings (Seattle Sounders / USA.1) - 65.5 (29.5)
67. Nick Shackelford (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) - 65.4 (24)
68. Austin Guerrero (Estudiantes de Altamira / Mexico.2) - 65.4 (25.6)
69. David Meves (Fort Lauderdale Strikers / USA.2) - 65.4 (25.3)
70. Justin Luthy (Portland Timbers / USA.1) - 65.2 (23.5)

71. Tom Almadon (Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv / Israel.1) - 65.2 (29.9)
72. Andrew Fontein (Minnesota United FC / USA.2) - 65.1 (24.6)
73. Adam Grinwis (Michigan / USA.N) - 65.1 (22.5)
74. Scott Goodwin (Carolina Railhawks / USA.2) - 65 (23.9)
75. Hunter Gilstrap (Pittsburgh Riverhounds / USA.3) - 65 (31.5)
76. Brandon Miller (Rochester Rhinos / USA.3) - 65 (24.8)
77. Carl Woszczynski (Free Agent / None) - 65 (26.5)
78. Jon Dawson (Indy Eleven / USA.2) - 65 (23.6)
79. Patrick Wall (Notre Dame / USA.N) - 64.9 (23.1)
80. Josh Wicks (AFC United / Sweden.3) - 64.9 (30.9)

81. Dominik Jakubek (Sacramento Republic / USA.3) - 64.8 (35.1)
82. Sean Kelley (Free Agent / None) - 64.8 (26.5)
83. Brad Stuver (Columbus Crew / USA.1) - 64.7 (23.5)
84. Nicolas Platter (Carolina Railhawks / USA.2) - 64.7 (32.9)
85. Cody Laurendi (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) - 64.6 (26.2)
86. Phil Saunders (Bolungarvik FC / Iceland.2) - 64.6 (23.1)
87. Trevor Spangenberg (Chivas USA / USA.1) - 64.6 (23.5)
88. Paul Rachubka (Oldham Athletic / England.3) - 64.5 (33.4)
88. Nick Noble (Harrisburg City Islanders / USA.3) - 64.5 (30.1)
88. Josh Saunders (New York City FC / USA.1) - 64.5 (33.6)

91. Carlos Rojas (CD Cruzl Azul / Mexico.1) - 64.5 (24.6)
92. Michael Abalos (Cal FC / USA.4) - 64.5 (24.9)
93. Patrick Lane (Karlstad BK / Sweden.2) - 64.4 (26.2)
94. Brian Holt (Free Agent / None) - 64.4 (25.9)
95. Cody Cropper (Southampton / England.1) - 64.4 (21.7)
96. Lionel Brown (Fort Lauderdale Strikers / USA.2) - 64.4 (27.1)
97. Gregory Blum (Pittsburgh Riverhounds / USA.3) - 64.2 (25.5)
98. Daniel Withrow (MLS Pool Keeper / USA.1) - 64 (24.4)
99. Matt Glaeser (Wilmington Hammerheads / USA.3) - 64 (29.5)
100. Scott Angevine (Vasa IFK / Finland.3) - 64 (25.4)

Some quick stats on the list:

Most popular ages

25 y.o. - 15
23 - 13
26 - 11
27 - 9
24 - 9

Most popular countries

USA - 74
England - 5
Sweden - 4
Mexico - 3
Germany - 2

Don't forget to check last week's goalkeeper action in Everybody Soccered (Week 39) and the 2015 American Goalkeeper Destination list. Over the next six months we should see a big shuffle in American goalkeeping.