Top 100 American Goalkeepers - August 2015

Cover Photo by John Rieger at USA Today Sports

After a quiet summer, here's a top 100 with bonus content to make up for the time lost. First, there are four newcomers to the elite class. 

Matt Perrella (88)
Kevin Corby (92)
Robby Gogatz (93)
Dom DiMaggio (98)

Rafael Diaz returns after a two year absence. The first top one hundred, actually. On the up-and-up, Tim Melia has jumped to the ten slot due to stellar play with Sporting Kansas City. If SKC doesn't want to hold onto the emerging veteran, he will most definitely have his options next year, both in and outside of MLS. Patrick McLain also sees a jump after putting himself into a position to win the USL Goalkeeper of the Year Award with Sacramento.

Clint Irwin, Jeff Attinella, Quentin Westberg, and Joe Bendik all slip down the list. Each of the four have struggled to find consistency this season, some doing so with more playing time than others. The most frustrating of the four is Joe Bendik's performance, who I had ranked at number seven coming into the year. He's slower and less sure of himself than a year ago so hopefully he can regain some confidence in Toronto. 

Top 100 American Goalkeepers

1. Brad Guzan (Aston Villa / England.1) - 77.8 (30.9)
2. Tim Howard (Everton FC / England.1) - 75.9 (36.4)
3. Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders / USA.1) - 70.2 (29.3)
4. Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls / USA.1) - 69.8 (31.3)
5. Steve Clark (Columbus Crew / USA.1) - 69.3 (29.3)
6. Tyler Deric (Houston Dynamo / USA.1) - 69.2 (27)
7. Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake / USA.1) - 69.1 (36.2)
8. William Yarbrough (Leon / Mexico.1) - 68.6 (26.4)
9. Andrew Dykstra (DC United / USA.1) - 68.6 (29.6)
10. Tim Melia (Sporting Kansas City / USA.1) - 68.6 (28.4)

11. Evan Bush (Montreal Impact / USA.1) - 68.5 (29.4)
12. Chris Seitz (FC Dallas / USA.1) - 68.5 (28.4)
13. Bobby Shuttleworth (New England Revolution / USA.1) - 68.2 (28.3)
14. Bill Hamid (DC United / USA.1) - 68.1 (24.8)
15. Zac MacMath (Colorado Rapids / USA.1) - 68.1 (24)
16. Jimmy Maurer (New York Cosmos / USA.2) - 68.1 (27.8)
17. Tally Hall (Orlando City SC / USA.1) - 67.9 (30.3)
18. Brian Rowe (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) - 67.9 (26.8)
19. Joe Willis (Houston Dynamo / USA.1) - 67.9 (27)
20. Alex Horwath (SK Brann / Norway.2) - 67.8 (28.4)

21. Patrick McLain (Sacramento Republic / USA.3) - 67.7 (27)
22. Matt Pickens (Tampa Bay Rowdies / USA.2) - 67.6 (33.3)
23. Troy Perkins (Seattle Sounders / USA.1) - 67.6 (34.1)
24. Andrew Weber (Portland Timbers / USA.1) - 67.5 (32)
25. David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes / USA.1) - 67.5 (25.8)
26. Brad Knighton (New England Revolution / USA.1) - 67.4 (30.5)
27. Matt Pyzdrowski (Helsingborg IF / Sweden.1) - 67.4 (29)
28. Dan Kennedy (FC Dallas / USA.1) - 67.4 (33.1)
29. Clint Irwin (Colorado Rapids / USA.1) - 67.3 (26.3)
30. Ryan Meara (New York City FC / USA.1) - 67.3 (24.8)

31. Jon Busch (Chicago Fire / USA.1) - 67.3 (39)
32. Jeff Attinella (Real Salt Lake / USA.1) - 67.2 (26.9)
33. Quentin Westberg (Sarpsborg 08 / Norway.1) - 67.2 (29.3)
34. Josh Saunders (New York City FC / USA.1) - 67.2 (34.4)
35. Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire / USA.1) - 67 (26.3)
36. Evan Newton (Oklahoma City Energy FC / USA.3) - 67 (27.3)
37. Mitch Hildebrandt (Minnesota United FC / USA.2) - 67 (26.8)
38. Andrew Fontein (Minnesota United FC / USA.2) - 66.9 (25.4)
39. Devala Gorrick (Colorado Springs Switchbacks / USA.3) - 66.9 (28.1)
40. Akira Fitzgerald (Carolina RailHawks / USA.2) - 66.9 (28.1)

41. Austin Guerrero (Estudiantes de Altamira / Mexico.2) - 66.9 (26.4)
42. Joseph Bendik (Toronto FC / USA.1) - 66.8 (26.3)
43. Scott Goodwin (Louisville City FC / USA.3) - 66.8 (24.8)
44. David Yelldell (Bayer Leverkusen / Germany.1) - 66.7 (34.6)
45. John McCarthy (Philadelphia Union / USA.1) - 66.5 (23.1)
46. Bryan Meredith (San Jose Earthquakes / USA.1) - 66.5 (26)
47. Brad Stuver (Columbus Crew / USA.1) - 66.4 (24.3)
48. Matt Lampson (Pittsburgh Riverhounds / USA.3) - 66.4 (25.9)
49. David Meves (Fort Lauderdale Strikers / USA.2) - 66.3 (26.1)
50. Chris Konopka (Toronto FC / USA.1) - 66.3 (30.3)

51. Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City / USA.1) - 66.2 (22.3)
52. Kyle Reynish (New York Red Bulls / USA.1) - 66.1 (31.8)
53. Josh Wicks (AFC United / Sweden.2) - 66.1 (31.8)
54. Nathan Stockie (Jippo / Finland.3) - 66.1 (26.4)
55. Brian Sylvestre (Philadelphia Union / USA.1) - 66.1 (22.7)
56. Jon Dawson (Indy Eleven / USA.2) - 66 (24.4)
57. Will Dieterich (Haukar Hafnarfjördur / Iceland.2) - 66 (28.4)
58. Eric Kronberg (Montreal Impact / USA.1) - 66 (32.1)
59. John Berner (Charlotte Independence / USA.3) - 65.9 (24.5)
60. Darius Motazed (TuS Koblenz / Germany.4) - 65.9 (26.1)

61. Daryl Sattler (San Antonio Scorpions / USA.2) - 65.8 (34.9)
62. Carl Woszczynski (Arizona United / USA.3) - 65.7 (27.3)
63. Diego Restrepo (Metropolitanos FC / Venezuela.1) - 65.5 (27.5)
64. Caleb Patterson-Sewell (Gil Vicente FC / Portugal.1) - 65.3 (28.3)
65. Brandon Miller (Rochester Rhinos / USA.3) - 65.3 (25.7)
66. Tom Al Madon (Hapoel Tel Aviv FC / Israel.1) - 65.2 (30.8)
67. Matt Van Oekel (FC Edmonton / USA.2) - 65.2 (28.9)
68. Alec Kann (St. Louis FC / USA.3) - 65.2 (25)
69. Kyle Zobeck (New York Cosmos / USA.2) - 65.1 (25.5)
70. Adam Grinwis (Rochester Rhinos / USA.3) - 65.1 (23.3)

71. Lionel Brown (Fort Lauderdale Strikers / USA.2) - 65 (27.9)
72. Kenneth Kronholm (Holstein Kiel / Germany.3) - 65 (29.8)
73. Patrick Lane (Karlstad BK / Sweden.4) - 65 (27)
74. Josh Ford (Fort Lauderdale Strikers / USA.2) - 64.9 (27.8)
75. Trevor Spangenberg (Richmond Kickers / USA.3) - 64.9 (24.3)
76. Justin Luthy (Portland Timbers II / USA.3) - 64.9 (24.3)
77. Daniel Withrow (Portland Timbers II / USA.3) - 64.8 (25.3)
78. Zac Lubin (Tulsa Roughnecks / USA.3) - 64.8 (26)
79. Sebastian Evers (Jacksonville Armada / USA.2) - 64.7 (24.6)
80. Hunter Gilstrap (Carolina RailHawks / USA.2) - 64.6 (32.3)

81. Warren Gross (Western Mass Pro Soccer / USA.4) - 64.5 (26.6)
82. Kris Devaux (Baerum SK / Norway.2) - 64.5 (24.3)
83. Nick Shackelford (Los Angeles Galaxy II / USA.3) - 64.5 (24.8)
84. Cody Mizell (Fram Reykjavik / Iceland.2) - 64.4 (23.9)
85. Ryan Taylor (Richmond Kickers / USA.3) - 64.4 (25.2)
86. Charlie Lyon (Seattle Sounders II / USA.3) - 64.2 (23.3)
87. Tony Halterman (Evergreen Dipolmats / USA.4) - 64.2 (24.6)
88. Matt Perrella (Carolina RailHawks / USA.2) - 64.2 (24.6)
89. Brian Holt (New York Cosmos / USA.2) - 64.1 (26.8)
90. Paul Rachubka (Free Agent / None) - 64.1 (34.3)

91. Kevin Corby (Charleston Battery / USA.3) - 64 (24.4)
92. Robby Gogatz (Southern California Seahorses / USA.4) - 64 (24.4)
93. Rafael Diaz (New York Red Bulls II / USA.3) - 64 (24)
94. Larry Jackson (Wilmington Hammerheads / USA.3) - 64 (24.9)
95. Dominik Jakubek (Sacramento Republic / USA.3) - 64 (35.9)
96. Trey Mitchell (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) - 63.9 (24.3)
97. Oliver Blum (TB Uphusen / Germany.5) - 63.8 (25.7)
98. Dom DiMaggio (Seacoast United Phantoms / USA.4) - 63.8 (23.5)
99. Jeremy Crumpton (Colorado Springs Switchbacks / USA.3) - 63.7 (25)
100. Cody Laurendi (Austin Aztex / USA.3) - 63.6 (27)

Bonus part number one: I categorized each goalkeeper by their college to find out which conference has produced the most goalkeepers. If there was a transfer, I went with the last attended college. Of course not every goalkeeper went to college (12 of the 100 did not) and some are from DII and DIII schools, but that still leaves us with 79 goalkeepers.

Conference Breakdown

None - 12
Division II - 8
Division III - 1

Conference USA - 8
Pac-12 - 8
ACC - 7
Big Ten - 7
Big East - 6
Colonial - 6
AAC - 5
Atlantic 10 - 4
Big West - 4
Horizon - 4
Missouri Valley - 4
Mid-American - 3
West Coast - 3
Big South - 2
Metro Atlantic - 2
Northeast - 2
Western Athletic - 2
Souther - 1
Summit - 1

If you want to check my work you can see it here, along with past rankings, glove choice, and favorite animal for each goalkeeper. Make sure to click the tab at the top "School".

Lastly, here's the top 50 goalkeepers under 24 years old that are not currently on the top 100 list. Think of this as a prospect list of goalkeepers that will most surely be on the top 100 at some point but aren't quite there. The ranking takes into account for potential as well as current ability, unlike the top 100 which is only current ability.

For the first ten, the additional number is a rough guess of how many months it will be until they're on the top 100. I only did it for the top ten as the following goalkeepers won't be there for a year or two. I thought about doing a specific post for this but it's fairly similar to the college preseason rankings so consider this as a reward for those of you who scrolled this far.

Top 50 Prospect Goalkeeper List

rk. name (club / country) age + months left

1. Ethan Horvath (Molde FK / Norway.1) 20.2 + 8
2. Zack Steffen (SC Freiburg / Germany.1) 20.3 + 11
3. Alex Bono (Toronto FC II / USA.3) 21.3 + 7
4. Devin Perales (Austin Aztex / USA.3) 22.3 + 4
5. Paul Blanchette (Loyola Marymount / USA.N) 21.3 + 10
6. Travis Worra (Richmond Kickers / USA.3) 22.3 + 7
7. Spencer Richey (Vancouver Whitecaps II / USA.3) 23.3 + 2
8. Eric Klenofsky (Monmouth / USA.N) 20.9 + 15
9. Austin Rogers (Kitsap / USA.4) 20 + 21
10. Tyler Miller (Seattle Sounders II / USA.3) 22.4 + 8

11. Evan Louro (Michigan / USA.N) 19.6
12. Matt Bersano (Penn State / USA.N) 22.9
13. Jeff Caldwell (Virginia / USA.N) 19.5
14. Matt Cardone (San Antonio Scorpions / USA.2) 22.2
15. Andrew Wolverton (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) 22.2
16. Alexandros Tabakis (VVV-Venlo / Netherlands.2) 22.7
17. Cody Cropper (MK Dons / England.2) 22.5
18. Paul Christensen (Portland / USA.N) 19.3
19. Jeff Gal (Lidköpings FK / Sweden.4) 22.3
20. Zach Bennett (Michigan State / USA.N) 21.7

21. Keegan Rogers (IFK Lammhult / Sweden.4) 22.3
22. Ashkan Khosravi (UC Riverside / USA.N) 21.6
23. Keith Cardona (Indy Eleven / USA.2) 22.8
24. Alex McCauley (North Carolina State / USA.N) 21
25. Jake Feener (Tulsa Roughnecks / USA.3) 23.3
26. Ben Lockler (Free Agent / None) 22.4
27. Wade Hamilton (Cal Poly / USA.N) 20.9
28. Grayson Rector (Belmont / USA.N) 21
29. CJ Cochran (Atlanta Silverbacks / USA.2) 23.9
30. Danny Rogers (Falkirk FC / Scotland.2) 21.4

31. Alec Ferrell (Wake Forest / USA.N) 21.4
32. Brendan Moore (Fleetwood Town / England.3) 23.3
33. David Greczek (Rutgers / USA.N) 20.8
34. Ben Willis (Gonzaga / USA.N) 19.6
35. Zack Downes (Arizona United / USA.3) 22.3
36. Kamil Kaminski (Icon FC / USA.4) 21.8
37. Ryan Herman (Washington / USA.N) 22.2
38. Ricky Brown (Colgate / USA.N) 20.6
39. Eric Dick (Butler / USA.N) 20.6
40. Kyle Renfro (Harrisburg City Islanders / USA.3) 23.3

41. Adrian Remeniuk (Wisconsin / USA.N) 19.7
42. Lucas Champenois (Saint Mary's / USA.N) 21
43. Matt Pacifici (Davidson / USA.N) 22
44. Erich Marscheider (Free Agent / None) 22.6
45. Samir Badr (Colorado Springs Switchbacks / USA.3) 23.3
46. Bobby Edwards (Saint Joseph's / USA.N) 19.6
47. Andrew Epstein (Stanford / USA.N) 19.6
48. Justin Vom Steeg (UC Santa Barbara / USA.N) 18.3
49. Josh Weiss (Siena / USA.N) 19.5
50. Eric Osswald (Real Monarchs / USA.3) 23.8

Keegan Rogers Interview: Goalkeeper Moves From PDL to Sweden

Keegan Rogers played four years at Western Washington University and is now playing in Sweden after a successful season with his PDL club FC Tucson. Spending multiple years in the PDL, Rogers is finally getting a chance to continue his professional career in Europe. Rogers talks about his unconventional route and how it helped him get to where he is today.

Talk about your time at Western Washington University. Typically a goalkeeper that ends up playing professional soccer played for a DI school. So what was different about WWU, a DII program?

I had an absolute blast attending and playing for WWU. Our program got better each and every year and it was an awesome experience to play for such a great school in such a great conference with such great players. When it came down to deciding which college to attend, I ultimately made my decision based upon whether I would get the opportunity to play right away, what type of scholarship I would receive, and if they offered a decent program for my major. I was recruited very heavily out of high school and I was in contact with most of the D1 programs in the country. However, just about every program gave me a reason not to attend. Some coaches didn’t have any scholarships left, some wanted me to attend and wait until my junior year to start playing, and some schools didn’t have the academics I was looking for. WWU was the perfect fit for me. They reached out to me and I was offered free schooling, the opportunity to be a four year starter, and academically, WWU is one of the top schools on the West Coast. As an added bonus, WWU is close to home (Portland, OR). It was just something that you couldn’t pass up and if I had the opportunity to go back and choose a college to attend again, I would choose WWU every single time.

There were a lot of things that WWU helped with to get me to the next level. I got a lot of experience that most goalkeepers at the collegiate level wouldn’t get. I was a four year starter whereas a lot of other goalkeepers at the collegiate will wait until their sophomore or junior year to begin playing. Experience is invaluable as a goalkeeper and to get all the games I got has been huge for my career. I also got every opportunity to make saves and have a big influence on games. I had several games with 6+ saves and the games where I played my best were against ranked opponents.

When did you realize you could play professionally?

This question is tough for me because I’ve always wanted to play at the professional level and it has always been my goal. I’d say that I truly knew I could play at the pro level was when I was a senior in high school. I had walked into my high school locker room after baseball practice when I got a phone call from my dad saying that I wasn’t going to be going to school tomorrow. Instead, the Portland Timbers had invited me to training for a couple days which was at 10:30 in the morning. I ended up skipping school and participated in practice with the goalkeepers there and it was an awesome experience. At the time, Jake Gleeson was the starter while Troy Perkins was rehabbing from a knee injury. I played well when I was there and with the amount of confidence I had, I knew that this could be an environment that I could thrive in. I thought to myself, “The Timbers could have picked anyone for training. Any collegiate goalkeeper. Any local goalkeeper… and they picked me. An 18 year old kid in high school.”

FC Tucson 2015 Team Picture

You played for the Timbers U23 team in the past but this season you played with FC Tucson. What were some of the highlights there an how did Tucson prepare you for Sweden?

Playing for FC Tucson was a great experience. This was my fifth year playing in the PDL and I can definitely say that FC Tucson is one of the best, if not the best organizations to be a part of. For me, the high point was undoubtedly the Desert Diamond Cup. Playing against Real Salt Lake, Colorado Rapids, and the New England Revolution was surreal. At that time I was with Arizona United for preseason but Tucson needed another goalkeeper so I traveled down to Tucson and got significant minutes. I got some great exposure from the games and I even got to train with the Sounders first team. I couldn’t have asked for a better environment to be a part of.

I would say that one of the lows was that there was always players moving in and out of the roster. At one point this year, I believe there were about 35 players on the team and when I departed, there were about 24 or so. It was difficult because when you’re playing and connecting well with your back line, the next week, or even next day, your back line can look completely different and you have to start over and adjust quickly. And also with as much talent that FC Tucson brings in, it limits the opportunities for players to play and get experience. However, at the same time, I think this also prepared me for Sweden. I am walking into an entirely new culture, environment, and team and the quicker I can make changes and adjust, the more successful I will be. FC Tucson has a pro-environment vibe and so I believe the transition to professional soccer will be easier now with the experience I had in Tucson.

Tucson lost in the first US Open Cup game to Chula Vista 2-1, in extra time. What happened in that game?

That was a definitely a rough result and probably the toughest result in my opinion. FC Tucson prides itself in US Open Cup success. So for us, we really expected to go far in the tournament. We were undoubtedly the better team that night. I thought we did everything right except put the ball in the back of the net. Defensively we left a couple players unmarked on a cross and we also got caught on a counter. Chula Vista did well sitting behind the ball and they took advantage of the opportunities they got.

It was particularly tough for me because I barely touched the ball at all. I touched the ball a couple times with my feet, but that’s about it. I believe they had four total shots, and two went in. Nothing I could do on either goal. One was a shot off the post, and the other was a slotted ball from about seven yards out.

At WWU, I usually had to make two or three big saves each game and an average of about five saves a game, but for that particular night, I think I made one save. It was tough as a goalkeeper because there isn’t much you can do about the result on that night. Despite us being the better team in my opinion, Chula Vista did well and upset Arizona United and put on a show against Sacramento Republic, so it was a good showing by them.

Overall how would you rate your season with Tucson?

Overall, I thought the season was great. We won the division, beat the undefeated Kitsap Pumas to make it to the conference finals, and sent players back to their [school] programs as better players. With players moving in and out each and every week, I thought the team met expectations. Obviously, every team has the ambition to win a national championship, but after watching the conference finals against the Sounders U-23s, it just looked like some of the FC Tucson players were tired at the end and I believe that was more of a total roster problem than a personnel problem. We had the players, just not the energy. If we had the 35 players that we had mid-season for those two conference games, I have no doubt that FC Tucson would have won both games handedly. But from my perspective, it looked like they just ran out of gas. Overall, I thought the team did well and I’m proud of the way we played.

How did you get in contact with IFK Lammhult? Were there any other clubs you were talking with?

I was actually contacted by IFK Lammhult through my brother. My brother Austin Rogers plays professionally for Kitsap Pumas and he has a ton of connections with teams all over the world. Lammhult reached out to him asking if I’d be interested in coming over to Sweden to finish out the season and I said yes. Not very many people get an opportunity like this, so I didn’t hesitate to accept the offer. At the time they contacted me, I was focused on coaching and getting ready for school in the fall to finish my degree, so I wasn’t directly talking or trailing with any teams. However, I am always keeping updated with teams in the USL and MLS and their goalkeeper situations.

What tier is IFK Lammhult in the Swedish set-up? I was having trouble finding an answer on this.

Lammhult has been going through a lot of change recently. They were in the 3rd division a couple years ago, but when they moved down to the 4th division, the club decided to essentially restart due to finances. Last year they won the 6th division and now we are in the 5th division.

What’s the goalkeeper situation like over there? Are you being brought in to start or will you be competing with someone else?

I have been brought in to start. Their starting goalkeeper has been having some issues with his hand, so I have been brought in to replace him. There are two other goalkeepers on the roster; one is 15 and the other is 26.

And when do you leave for Sweden?

I have been here for two days now. I have had one training with the goalkeeper coach and we have our first game August 1st. I am looking forward to all the challenges that await. This is a great environment to be a part of and I can’t wait to continue develop my skills as a goalkeeper.

Everybody Soccered - July 2015

Covered photo is from Self. I don't know what's going on in the picture

Eight yards out, this ball is routinely left by most goalkeepers for defenders to clear out on their own.

1. Guzan Leaves Gold Cup with Mixed Reviews - After conceding five goals in six games, CONCACAF rewarded Brad Guzan with the Golden Glove for the tournament. Statistically, it was an easy pick as Guzan had the lowest total of the top four nations but his performance in the semifinal match left some fans sour. After not coming out to collect a long throw-in in the first half, Jamaica took a 1-0 lead off a stunning header tucked back post. The frustration towards Guzan was only intensified as Guzan was called for a handball minutes later, setting up a free kick to put Jamaica up 2-0 just ten minutes before half time.

Guzan is unfortunately a victim of bad luck. On the first goal, the header is taken from eight yards out, a gray area for goalkeepers to challenge the cross or not. Yes, there's enough time for Guzan to chase the ball down but if anything goes wrong in the collision with two men his own size, he's far away from the goal. Retreating to the line in itself isn't a bad move as the shot turning to a goal is a low percentage play. Only the perfect header, which Mattocks pulls off, will score over the 6'4" John Brooks. The goal looks bad on Guzan's part for not pressuring the shot, but if he goes for the punch and can't get through the two players for a clean punch, he could easily be in a messier situation.

John Brooks shrinking under the free kick that scores for Jamaica's second goal.

The following handball is a call rarely seen yet somehow extremely fitting for CONCACAF. Should it have been called? While it's a rule, it's inconsistently called and the punishment doesn't fit the crime. A throw that creeped over a line by a few inches (on a pass that didn't even connect to an American player) is punished with a free kick from 18 yards out? The call is harsh and overall unnecessary but insult is added to injury when Jamaica drills the free kick home over a shy wall. Ideally, the wall would jump in the situation to cover the crossbar but the 6'4" center back fails to use his size yet again, squeezing himself under the driven shot that just skims the rooftop of the goal. Had the wall jumped, or even if Brooks had gone to his tippy toes, the shot doesn't make it on frame.

Despite Brian Strauss writing about Guzan's seizing the chance to become USMNT's number one, Klinsmann is being quiet on who the number one will be moving forward. Tim Howard is expected to push for the starting spot again but even timing hasn't been great for him. Howard announced (on the same day as the Jamaica match) that he was ready to come back to the national team. Howard later cleared up that he has been saying the same answer for a year now and that the timing was just a little unfortunate, not trying to imply Guzan isn't capable of the job.

Guzan is the most technically sound goalkeeper since Brad Friedel and should be rewarded with the number one position. After making multiple saves throughout the Gold Cup to keep the US in position to be in the semis, the Jamaica game should not be used to make a sweeping judgement on Guzan as a goalkeeper. Not to mention, Tim Howard is on the decline after a rocky season with Everton. Sticking with Guzan will pay off in the short and long term.

Aside from the National Team, Guzan has been getting some mixed messages on his next season with Aston Villa. Originally there was a vote of confidence with Shay Given moving to Stoke then Guzan was rumored to be on the way out. Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood quelled fans, reassuring Guzan was going to be the number one for next season.

2. Ethan Horvath Shines as Champions League Qualification Begins - USYNT goalkeeper Ethan Horvath has elevated to the starting role at Molde FK after previous starter, Ørjan Nyland, left for Germany. ASN talked with Horvath about his omission from the U20 World Cup and becoming a starter for his club. Horvath only turned twenty last month but he is off to a bright start.

Already early into the season, Horvath has had some interesting matches. We had the rare treat of two American goalkeepers facing off overseas earlier in the month as Horvath's Molde topped Quentin Westberg and Sarpsborg 08 4-1, including an assist for Horvath on the final goal. (Highlights here.) Recently, Molde earned a 1-1 draw away against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League qualifying match. They play the second leg of the qualification at home on August 4th.

Horvath has been the recipient of Olympic buzz, some wondering if he could snag the back up position for the Olympic team. Regardless of how unlikely it would be for Molde to release him for a non-FIFA sanctioned tournament, it's even more unlikely that he would leapfrog older goalkeepers, even if Horvath is playing in the Champions League this year. He's just too young to be playing that high up in a cycle. He will most certainly become a quality goalkeeper, but at twenty (essentially starting his sophomore year in college) he's not there yet.

(Horvath has been occasionally blogging for Reusch, which you can read here.)

3. Only Shooting Stars Break the Mold - Several leagues announced their all-star selections. MLS named Nick Rimando, David Ousted, and Clint Irwin to square off against Tottenham. Rimando made two great saves in the first half while Ousted held down the fort in the second, preserving a 2-1 win for MLS. (Irwin did not play.)

MLS festivities included a MLS Homegrown game, featuring Columbus Crew's Matt Lampson and FC Dallas' Jesse Gonzalez on the roster. Gonzalez started the game and Lampson stayed in for the second half and penalty shootout, which the homegrowns lost. (Highlights here.) Gonzalez, a Mexican-American, has played with the Mexican USYNTs and while he is not technically locked in, it would be a surprise to see him switch to the US.

Other notable all-star selections from across the country:

PDL
Matt Williams (GPS Portland Phoenix)
Yuta Nomura (Springfield Synergy)
Michael Yantz (SW Florida Adrenaline)
Matt Grosey (Kitsap Pumas)

American Soccer League
Tony Halterman (Evergreen Diplomats)

W League
Rachelle Beanlands (Laval Comets)
Britt Eckerstrom (Colorado Pride)
Robyn Horner-Jones (Charlotte Lady Eagles)

Developmental Academy
U18s
Mason Stadjuhar (Orlando City SC)
Marcel DaSilva (Shattuck-Saint Mary’s)
JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

U16s
Trey Miller (New England Revolution)
Ben Hale (FC Dallas)
Pierce Ashworth (Pateadores)

(WPSL, NPSL selections have not been announced yet.)

4. American Goalkeepers on the Move Overseas:

• Quentin Westberg is heading back to France with Tours FC after having trouble finding the field for Sarpsborg 08.
• Megan Kinneman is heading to Norway with Arna-Bjørnar. The google translated page landed this headline, "Arna-Bjørnar new goalkeeper impressed with YouTube videos"
• Scott Angevine is back training with Vasa IFK after successful shoulder surgery as well as VPS.
• PDL goalkeeper Keegan Rogers is moving to Sweden.
• Northern Pitch interviewed fellow Minnesotan Cody Cropper on a variety of topics. It's a long interview but they discuss several interesting topics. 
• U23 goalkeeper Charlie Horton has signed and is now training with Leeds.
• Matt Pyzdrowski wrote about the Silly Season and how he ended up at Helsingborg

5. U23 College Camp Called In -  As Olympic qualifying approaches, Herzog has called for a college-based combine to look at some outside options for the Olympic pool. Last month I weighed in on who I thought were the front runners were and boy was I wrong. Of the four - Wade Hamilton (Cal Poly), Jonathan Klinsmann (Cal), Kendall McIntosh (Santa Clara), and Andrew Tarbell (Clemson) - only Tarbell is without any USYNT experience. So while it's good to see him getting a look, both Klinsmann and McIntosh are out of their depth here. Hamilton can be given a solid argument for, but like I listed in my article for Soccer Over There, there are several better options getting overlooked.

Credit to Soundersfc.com

6. Tyler Miller Returns to Seattle - After an unsuccessful run in Germany, Tyler Miller returned to sign with USL Sounders. Miller spoke a little bit about the tough time in Germany and coming back to the team who originally drafted Miller last January. While Miller had some time with the U23 US team overseas, it's hard to tell what Seattle is going to do with both him and Charlie Lyon, who has been playing very well this season. As of right now, Charlie Lyon has moved up to the first team since Stefan Frei got injured earlier this month. Once Frei comes back and Lyon bumps back down, I would imagine we'd see Lyon and Miller rotate games as both goalkeepers are more than capable of playing in USL.

7. US Open Cup Heroics -  John "Clutch" McCarthy was named the US Open Cup Player of the Round for his penalty heroics. This is nothing new for McCarthy, who also knocked out his old club, Rochester Rhinos, in an earlier round in similar fashion. While McCarthy has struggled to earn back the starting spot, with Philadelphia leaning towards Brian Sylvestre as of late (not to mention Andre Blake is still in the picture), he has really thrived in Open Cup play. The Union take on the Chicago Fire on the 12th, which recently saw Jon Busch earn the ninth recorded goalkeeper assist in modern era of the US Open Cup.

Thanks to Josh Hakala at thecup.us for the information.

Mildly related: Once a Metro published a touching video for every goalkeeper to play for the Philadelphia Union.

8. MLS Incorrectly Suspends Konopka for a Game - Toronto FC goalkeeper Chris Konopka was suspended for one game for his slide against Andoni Iraola. MLS doesn't go into detail what Konopka did wrong, nor did the announcers find anything wrong with Konopka's slide at the time, so it's a little confusing what Konopka exactly did wrong. He challenges the ball cleanly with a compact body frame. His legs and arms aren't in an awkward position that could endanger anyone and he is not using his body as a weapon. On top of that, Iraola has plenty of time to jump over Konopka, which he does, and land safely. Perhaps the most confusing thing is that MLS is implying that Konopka should have chosen a different action, which is unknown to anyone of what that would be. Hopefully we do not see an overreaction by MLS to suspend goalkeepers being justly aggressive on 1v1 situations.

9. MLS Salaries Released - Nothing really to see here outside that there is only one pool goalkeeper listed: Trey Mitchell at four cents over $50,000. Los Angeles had originally reported they signed him back in March but he is technically a pool goalkeeper training with the Galaxy. Either way, the end of the MLS pool goalkeeper is surely near. Every team has a USL alliance now so the emergency call-up can be relegated to a loan. I don't have a complete list, but I would have to think the most successful pool goalkeeper is Tim Melia, the current starter for Sporting Kansas City. The pool keeper had its purpose but now that the league is more stable they can do without it.

10. Angel Alvarez Finishes as Runner-Up - Angel Alvarez and LVSA 97 Red lost last weekend to FC Golden State White 2-1. Alvarez was compared to Nick Rimando by Top Drawer Soccer, which I assume is a great article because there is a paywall on the writeup. You can watch highlights from the game here, where he makes multiple saves, and read an old interview with the dual national's interesting backstory here.

Lastly, Everybody Soccer had multiple things pushed out this month. I interviewed Mallori Lofton-Malachi, an outstanding goalkeeper whose career was cut short by a severe concussion. The USWNT GK Pool was updated and expanded to seventy goalkeepers. The amateurs were treated with a ranking of the top college goalkeepers in each class for this upcoming NCAA season. And there's my monthly post on ASA where I break down the inefficiencies of the GmxG stat and give MLS GOTY Power Rankings. 

Not written by my own hand but still worth taking a look, SASH now has bios up for every player in the US Soccer Hall of Fame. They were all written by soccer historian Roger Allaway.

• Jimmy Douglas (inducted 1953)
• Frank Borghi (1976)
• Arnie Mausser (2003)
• Tony Meola (2012)
• Kasey Keller (2015)

And American goalkeepers did very well in The Guardian's top twenty-five of best American soccer players ever.

2015 Preseason NCAA Goalkeeper Rankings

cover photo by Khoa Nguyen

Picking up from the end of last season's rankings, here are Everybody Soccer's preseason NCAA goalkeeping rankings, sorted by class. Ages may not be exact as some of their exact DOBs aren't listed but you get the idea.

#. Name (school) age

Seniors

1. Paul Blanchette (Loyola Marymount) 21.3
2. Matt Bersano (Penn State) 22.8
3. Zach Bennett (Michigan State) 21.6
4. Ashkan Khosravi (UC Riverside) 21.5
5. Alex McCauley (North Carolina State) 20.9
6. Wade Hamilton (Cal Poly) 20.8
7. Ryan Herman (Washington) 22.1
8. Matt Pacifici (Davidson) 21.9
9. Connor Sparrow (Creighton) 21.2
10. Chris Knaub (Bryant) 21.6

Notes: The top three return from PDL action and are looking ready to go this upcoming fall. Blanchette struggled to nail down the starting role at Loyola last fall but he should regain the number one role soon. Bersano is transferring from Oregon State to Penn State for his final year. Zach Bennett is looking for another strong run with Michigan State, who reached the quarterfinals last year. I interviewed Khosravi earlier this year. Of the rest, Hamilton is probably the most known as a USYNT product from the 2011 U17 team but the other five are more than capable to lead their schools into the final 48.

Juniors

1. Eric Klenofsky (Monmouth) 20.8
2. Grayson Rector (Belmont) 20.9
3. Alec Ferrell (Wake Forest) 21.3
4. David Greczek (Rutgers) 20.8
5. Ricky Brown (Colgate) 20.5
6. Andrew Epstein (Stanford) 19.5
7. Andrew Putna (UIC) 20.8
8. Nick Ciraldo (Cleveland State) 20.3
9. Andrew Tarbell (Clemson) 21.5
10. Will Steiner (Villanova) 20.9

Notes: Only four of these goalkeeper made the big dance last year so all the more reason to become familiar with these names now. Klenofsky leads the pack as an explosive 6'6" goalkeeper (watch here). Epstein carries the USYNT badge as the only 19 year old on the list. Coming from the Colorado Rapids academy, he is definitely playing above his grade. Red Bulls academy product David Greczek is looking help Rutgers get back above .500 this year. 

Sophomores

1. Evan Louro (Michigan) 19.5
2. Jeff Caldwell (Virginia) 19.4
3. Paul Christensen (Portland) 19.3
4. Ben Willis (Gonzaga) 19.5
5. Eric Dick (Butler) 20.5
6. Aitor Blanco (Radford) 20.5
7. Adrian Remeniuk (Wisconsin) 19.6
8. Bobby Edwards (Saint Joseph's) 19.5
9. Josh Weiss (Siena) 19.4
10. Ben Lundgaard (Virginia Tech) 19.8

Notes: Perhaps the most star-studded cast: Louro, Caldwell, and Christensen have all been with the U20s. Most of these goalkeeper are looking to establish themselves as the starter for their respective schools, riding the bench for most of the year last year. There will be some rough bumps in the road but the potential is clearly there for each goalkeeper. Remeniuk looks to tie down the starting spot in Wisconsin and (another) 6'6" goalkeeper, Bobby Edwards returns after a successful year with St. Joe's.

Freshmen

1. Elliott Rubio (Akron) 18.9
2. Justin Vom Steeg (UC Santa Barbara) 18.3
3. Craig Duggan (South Carolina) 19.3
4. Carter Richardson (Wake Forest) 18.9
5. Cameron Keys (La Salle) 18.5
6. Charlie Furrer (Stanford) 18.4
7. Austin Aviza (Syracuse) 18.4
8. Hunter Harrison (Oral Roberts) 19.7
9. Tucker Schneider (SIUE) 18.3
10. James Pyle (North Carolina) 19.8

Notes: Most of these goalkeepers won't start many games. (Two of them have their team's starters higher on this list.) Still, many will go on to have successful tenures with their schools and likely afterwords as well. Aviza probably has the best chance of starting of all the 18 year olds but he's still very young for the job. Harrison, who I interviewed back in March, is older and if he gets his feet under him he will thrive. Half of the group have MLS connections: Richardson (Columbus), Keys (Philadelphia), Furrer (Dallas), Aviza (New England), and Schneider (Colorado).