Top 24 Goalkeepers Under 24 - July 2016

Cover photo belongs to Tim Heitman / USA TODAY Sports

It's only two years until the 2018 World Cup and the US might need to turn to some rising talent to advance out of the group stage in Russia. Here are twenty-four names to keep an eye out for down the line. Some share dual-citizenship with another country but until they're officially cap-tied, they'll stay on the list. Specifically Sanchez, Gonzalez, Romero (Mexico), Sylvestre (Haiti), Danny Rogers (Ireland), and Machini (Spain, Netherlands).

24 Under 24

1. Ethan Horvath (Molde FK / Norway.1) - 21.1
2. Richard Sanchez (Tigres UANL / Mexico.1) - 22.3
3. Jon Kempin (Swope Park Rangers / USA.3) - 23.3
4. Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas / USA.1) - 21.2
5. Brian Sylvestre (Carolina RailHawks / USA.3) - 23.6
6. Zack Steffen (SC Freiburg / Germany.1) - 21.3

No surprise that Horvath tops the list. Sanchez has been awfully quiet in Mexico. He was called into Mexico's U23s in February and hasn't made news outside of a pretty adorable coaching video. Kempin just recently notched a 1-0 shutout last week (some nice saves here). Gonzalez has had an up and down season with FC Dallas. Sylvestre only has three starts with Carolina this year while Steffen earned 14 with Freiburg's reserve squad.

7. Cody Cropper (Free Agent / None) - 23.4
8. Alex Bono (Toronto FC II  / USA.3) - 22.3
9. Abraham Romero (Pachuca / Mexico.1) - 18.4
10. Danny Rogers (Aberdeen FC / Scotland.1) - 22.3
11. Eric Klenofsky (Monmouth / USA.N) - 21.8
12. Jeff Caldwell (Virginia / USA.N) - 20.4

Still no word on Cropper and where he'll land. Some say Atlanta while others are hoping he returns to Minnesota. Bono has most recently taken over for an injured Clint Irwin with Toronto FC's first squad and earned his first MLS start last week. Romero was with Mexico's U20s in June but appears to have picked up a injury. Rogers, who shares Irish nationality, started for premier Scottish club Falkirk 35 times last season. Klenofsky and Caldwell are spending the summer with the New York Red Bulls U23s and the Seattle Sounders U23s, respectively. Caldwell was coincidentally named a top PDL prospect by the PDL themselves.

13. Devin Perales (Rio Grande Valley FC / USA.3) - 23.3
14. Benjamin Machini (RCD Mallorca B / Spain.3) - 19.8
15. Wade Hamilton (Portland Timbers / USA.1) - 21.8
16. William Pulisic (Duke / USA.N) - 18.3
17. Tyler Miller (Seattle Sounders II / USA.3) - 23.3
18. JT Marcinkowski (Georgetown / USA.N) - 19.2

Perales is splitting time in Rio Grande Valley after a good season with Austin. Machini helped Mallorca get promoted to Spain's third division after winning their league. Both Hamilton and Miller are getting groomed by their respective clubs with plenty of time with the USL reserves and making the bench on MLS game days. Pulisic has signed with Duke but will train with Dortmund. He will either look to sign overseas or return to Duke a year late, in the fall of 2017. Marcinkowski is currently with the US U20s and is entering his sophomore year at Georgetown.

19. Austin Rogers (Besa Kavajë / Albania.2) - 20.9
20. Alec Ferrell (Wake Forest / USA.N) - 22.3
21. Matt Bersano (Seattle Sounders II / USA.3) - 23.8
22. Mason Stajduhar (Orlando City SC / USA.1) - 18.6
23. Justin Vom Steeg (UC Santa Barbara / USA.N) - 19.3
24. Kevin Silva (UCLA / USA.N) - 18.5

Rogers had a successful season overseas in Albania and somehow ended up in Mongolia's premier league all-star game. Ferrell enters his senior year at Wake Forest. Bersano and Stajduhar have yet to make the field this season but are likely in the plans down the line with their respective clubs. Vom Steeg is spending his summer with Ventura Fusion before starting his sophomore year at UCSB. Silva looks to solve UCLA's goalkeepers woes for this next fall. 

Best of the Rest

25. Keith Cardona (Indy Eleven / USA.2) - 23.7
26. Andrew Tarbell (San Jose Earthquakes / USA.1) - 22.8
27. Alexandros Tabakis (Charleston Battery / USA.3) - 23.6
28. Paul Blanchette (Burlingame Dragons FC / USA.4) - 22.3
29. Travis Worra (DC United / USA.1) - 23.3
30. Brenden Alfery (Pittsburgh Riverhounds / USA.3) - 22.2
31. Arie Ammann (Penn State / USA.N) - 19.8
32. Tomas Gomez (Rochester Rhinos / USA.3) - 23.2
33. Matt Turner (Richmond Kickers / USA.3) - 22.1
34. Luis Barraza (Marquette / USA.N) - 19.7
35. Bobby Edwards (Saint Joseph's / USA.N) - 20.5
36. Nathan Steinwascher (Detroit City FC / USA.4) - 23.5
37. Ricky Brown (Colgate / USA.N) - 21.5
38. Jeff Gal (Lidköpings FK / Sweden.4) - 23.3
39. Grayson Rector (Belmont / USA.N) - 21.9
40. Mauricio Vargas (Pittsburgh Riverhounds / USA.3) - 23.9
41. Austin Aviza (Syracuse / USA.N) - 19.4
42. Bennett Sneddon (Los Angeles Galaxy II / USA.3) - 19.3
43. Nick Ciraldo (Cleveland State / USA.N) - 21.3
44. Charlie Horton (Richmond Kickers / USA.3) - 21.8
45. Lee Johnston (San Antonio FC / USA.3) - 23.7
46. Colin Hanley (Niagara / USA.N) - 19.7
47. Ben Lundgaard (Virginia Tech / USA.N) - 20.8
48. Jonathan Klinsmann (California / USA.N) - 19.4
49. Josh Cohen (OC Blues FC / USA.3) - 23.9
50. Paul Christensen (Portland / USA.N) - 20.3

Top 100 American Goalkeepers - July 2016

We haven't had a top 100 update in many moons but on the positive side, we hit our three year anniversary of tracking goalkeepers movement up and down the top 100. (Click here to go back to every top 100 since July 2013.) Since the last update was before MLS kicked off, the list has had a large reshuffle. Many goalkeepers have upped their stock, some have fallen down the list, and others have unfortunately not landed on a team for 2016. For goalkeepers not currently playing, they won't be on this edition but the door is always open for them to return if they pen a professional contract somewhere. Newbies to the list include

Tim Murray (60)
CJ Cochran (93)
Christopher Lara (95)
Matt Bersano (96)
Devin Perales (98)

Tim Murray hasn't played consistently in the professional game over the past couple years but he's notched 11 starts for second division Finnish club, Ekenäs IF, after playing for them last year. CJ Cochran plays for the OKC Energy (USL) and Christopher Lara is the OC Blues U23 (PDL) starter. Friend of the site, Matt Bersano, is working his way up with the Seattle Sounders 2 and Devin Perales is splitting time with the Rio Grande Valley squad, which quite frankly has a stacked goalkeeper roster.

Alex Horwath leads the group with the most notable movement by grabbing the number four slot. Horwath had a fantastic game against Molde last month and while he has only had one start this year for Brann, the goalkeeper depth behind Guzan / Howard is so wishy-washy, I don't mind putting Horwath that high for now. Tyler Deric had a rough start to the season in MLS but is starting to show the promise we were all excited about last year and Joe Bendik is finally getting his feet back under him in Orlando. (I wrote more about MLS goalkeepers here for ASA for those of you who can't get enough.)

Matt Pickens is winding back the clock in Tampa and reminding people that he was, and possibly is, MLS quality. Ethan Horvath closes in on the top 20. The youngster still has some room to grow but he's jumped 50 spots in four months. Will he be ready for the World Cup in 2018? Tough to say.

Likely-leaning-Mexico goalkeeper Richard Sanchez has had a completely unnoteworthy year thus far in that I literally can't find anything on him and Louisville's Scott Goodwin has moved on from soccer to attend Harvard Medical School.

1. Brad Guzan (Aston Villa / England.1) - 31.8
2. Tim Howard (Everton FC / England.1) - 37.3
3. Tyler Deric (Houston Dynamo / USA.1) - 27.9
4. Alex Horwath (SK Brann / Norway.1) - 29.3
5. Bill Hamid (DC United / USA.1) - 25.7
6. Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake / USA.1) - 37.1
7. Steve Clark (Columbus Crew / USA.1) - 30.3
8. Joe Willis (Houston Dynamo / USA.1) - 27.9
9. William Yarbrough (Leon / Mexico.1) - 27.3
10. Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls / USA.1) - 32.2

11. David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes / USA.1) - 26.8
12. Andrew Dykstra (DC United / USA.1) - 30.5
13. Tim Melia (Sporting Kansas City / USA.1) - 29.3
14. Evan Bush (Montreal Impact / USA.1) - 30.3
15. Joseph Bendik (Orlando City SC / USA.1) - 27.3
16. Chris Seitz (FC Dallas / USA.1) - 29.3
17. Jimmy Maurer (New York Cosmos / USA.2) - 28.8
18. Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders / USA.1) - 30.3
19. Matt Pickens (Tampa Bay Rowdies / USA.2) - 34.3
20. Patrick McLain (Chicago Fire / USA.1) - 27.9

21. Ethan Horvath (Molde FK / Norway.1) - 21.1
22. Brian Rowe (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) - 27.7
23. Zac MacMath (Colorado Rapids / USA.1) - 24.9
24. Jon Kempin (Swope Park Rangers / USA.3) - 23.3
25. Clint Irwin (Toronto FC / USA.1) - 27.3
26. Matt Pyzdrowski (Helsingborg IF / Sweden.1) - 29.9
27. Ryan Meara (New York Red Bulls / USA.1) - 25.7
28. Jeff Attinella (Real Salt Lake / USA.1) - 27.8
29. Quentin Westberg (FC Tours / France.2) - 30.3
30. Austin Guerrero (Puebla FC / Mexico.1) - 27.3

31. Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire / USA.1) - 27.2
32. Akira Fitzgerald (Carolina RailHawks / USA.2) - 29
33. Jon Busch (Indy Eleven / USA.2) - 39.9
34. Tally Hall (DC United / USA.1) - 31.2
35. Bobby Shuttleworth (New England Revolution / USA.1) - 29.2
36. Matt Lampson (Chicago Fire / USA.1) - 26.8
37. Bryan Meredith (San Jose Earthquakes / USA.1) - 26.9
38. Josh Saunders (New York City FC / USA.1) - 35.3
39. Devala Gorrick (Colorado Springs Switchbacks / USA.3) - 29
40. Mitch Hildebrandt (FC Cincinnati / USA.3) - 27.7

41. David Meves (Puerto Rico FC / USA.2) - 27
42. Richard Sanchez (Tigres UANL / Mexico.1) - 22.3
43. Alec Kann (Sporting Kansas City / USA.1) - 25.9
44. Dan Kennedy (Los Angeles Galaxy / USA.1) - 34
45. John McCarthy (Bethlemhem Steel / USA.3) - 24
46. Evan Newton (Sacramento Republic / USA.3) - 28.3
47. Matt Van Oekel (FC Edmonton / USA.2) - 29.8
48. Brad Knighton (New England Revolution / USA.1) - 31.4
49. Brendan Moore (Torquay United FC / England.5) - 24.3
50. Brad Stuver (Columbus Crew / USA.1) - 25.3

51. Nathan Stockie (PEPO Lappeenranta / Finland.3) - 27.3
52. Adam Grinwis (Rochester Rhinos / USA.3) - 24.3
53. Kyle Zobeck (New York Cosmos / USA.2) - 26.4
54. Chris Konopka (Ross County / Scotland.1) - 31.3
55. Kyle Reynish (New York Red Bulls / USA.1) - 32.7
56. Sebastian Evers (Jacksonville Armada / USA.2) - 25.5
57. Will Dieterich (Haukar / Iceland.2) - 29.3
58. Diego Restrepo (Fort Lauderdale Strikers / USA.2) - 28.4
59. Eric Kronberg (Montreal Impact / USA.1) - 33
60. Tim Murray (Ekenas IF / Finland.2) - 29

61. Brandon Miller (OC Blues FC / USA.3) - 26.6
62. Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas / USA.1) - 21.2
63. Josh Ford (San Antonio USL / USA.3) - 28.7
64. Trevor Spangenberg (Puerto Rico FC / USA.2) - 25.3
65. Scott Angevine (FC YPA / Finland.3) - 27.2
66. Josh Wicks (AFC United / Sweden.2) - 32.7
67. Brian Sylvestre (Carolina RailHawks / USA.3) - 23.6
68. David Yelldell (Bayer Leverkusen / Germany.1) - 35.5
69. Ryan Taylor (Richmond Kickers / USA.3) - 26.1
70. Carl Woszczynski (Arizona United / USA.3) - 28.3

71. Daniel Withrow (Portland Timbers II / USA.3) - 26.2
72. Brian Holt (New York Cosmos / USA.2) - 27.7
73. Kris Devaux (Hönefoss BK / Norway.2) - 25.2
74. Aaron Perez (Minnesota United FC / USA.2) - 29.9
75. Caleb Patterson-Sewell (Rayo OKC / USA.2) - 29.2
76. Cody Mizell (Charlotte Independence / USA.3) - 24.8
77. Andre Rawls (New York City FC / USA.1) - 26.5
78. Patrick Lane (Karlstad BK / Sweden.4) - 27.9
79. Zac Lubin (Swope Park Rangers / USA.3) - 26.9
80. Justin Luthy (Portland Timbers II / USA.3) - 25.3

81. Trey Mitchell (MLS Pool / USA.1) - 25.3
82. Charlie Lyon (Seattle Sounders / USA.1) - 24.3
83. Lionel Brown (Miami FC / USA.2) - 28.8
84. Tom Al Madon (Hapoel Rishon / Israel.2) - 31.7
85. Dan Williams (Arizona United / USA.2) - 27.5
86. Kevin Corby (Charleston Battery / USA.3) - 25.3
87. Cody Cropper (Free Agent / None) - 23.4
88. Alex Riggs (St. Louis FC / USA.3) - 28.3
89. Mark Pais (St. Louis FC / USA.3) - 25.1
90. Rafael Diaz (New York Red Bulls II / USA.3) - 24.9

91. Robby Gogatz (Albion Pros / USA.4) - 25.3
92. Spencer Richey (Vancouver Whitecaps II / USA.3) - 24.2
93. CJ Cochran (Oklahoma City Energy FC / USA.3) - 24.8
94. Dominik Jakubek (Sacramento Republic / USA.3) - 36.8
95. Christopher Lara (OC Blues U23s / USA.4) - 25.2
96. Matt Bersano (Seattle Sounders II / USA.3) - 23.8
97. Cody Laurendi (Oklahoma City Energy FC / USA.3) - 27.9
98. Devin Perales (Rio Grande Valley FC / USA.3) - 23.3
99. Hunter Gilstrap (Pittsburgh Riverhounds / USA.3) - 33.3
100. Tyler Miller (Seattle Sounders II / USA.3) - 23.3

Ranking the Copa America Goalkeepers

cover photo belongs to REUTERS/Jorge Adorno

The Copa America kicks off this weekend and you still don't know which goalkeepers are the best ones in the tournament. You're sweating bullets as your friend's watch party draws near. How will you answer the bombardment of goalkeeper-based questions? Who is Justo Villar and where is Keylor Navas? Save this page on your phone for a quick cheat sheet of which goalkeepers to keep an eye out for this tournament. The top eight feature a quick run through of the top talents while the bottom eight are relegated to a simple blurb here and there. Tune in next century for the second Copa America Centenario ranking list.

1. Chile

1. Claudio Bravo, 33
(Barcelona / Spain.1)
2. Cristopher Toselli, 27
(Universidad Católica / Chile.1)
3. Johnny Herrera, 35
(Universidad de Chile / Chile.1)

It's not really a surprise when the starter for Barcelona (a good club in Spain) is the best goalkeeper in a regional tournament. Notching 32 starts for his club, Bravo sets a high standard that no one else really comes that close to. I'd say ESPN undersold him a little bit by only putting him at 21st in their top players in the tournament list. (To be fair, they listed Bravo only behind Costa Rica's goalkeeper, Keylor Navas, who was not named in the final squad.) Bravo is good enough that he could win goalkeeper of the tournament despite not being on the winning side, although Chile are looking to retain their title they won last year.

2. Uruguay

Muslera prepares himself to punt the ball very far

1. Fernando Muslera, 29
(Galatasaray / Turkey.1)
2. Martin Campana, 33
(Vasco da Gama / Brazil.1)
3. Martin Silva, 27
(Independiente / Argentina.1)

Following Galatasaray's sixth place finish in league play, Muslera is looking for some redemption and Uruguay is the right team for the job. With arguably the easiest group in the tournament and starting for a nation that has a history of winning the tournament (oh just fifteen times, the most ever), Muslera is in a great position to find himself in the final. While the backups don't provide a ton of depth for Uruguay, the bigger issue will be getting the attack to fire on all cylinders, after scoring on two goals in four games in last year's tournament.

3. Argentina

Romero practices his levitating skills at halftime

1. Sergio Romero, 29
(Manchester United / England.1)
2. Nahuel Guzmán, 30
(UANL / Mexico.1)
3. Mariano Andújar, 32
(Estudiantes / Argentina.1)

Just two years ago Sergio Romero and Argentina were battling Germany in the World Cup final. Now they are facing the giants of Chile! Panama! Bolivia! Okay maybe not the same powerhouse match ups as the World Cup final but the ManU backup will at least get some warmup games before the knockout stage kicks in. With Argentina the odds on favorite to win, Romero could find some gold plated gloves to... well I don't know exactly what you do with gold plated gloves. Hang them up? He might want to figure that out, actually.

4. Brazil

photo belongs to Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images

1. Alisson, 24
(Roma / Italy.1)
2. Diego Alves, 30
(Valencia / Spain.1)
3. Marcelo Grohe, 29
(Grêmio / Brazil.1)

Brazil has historically struggled to match their flare up top with a goalkeeper of the same caliber and this year is no different. The three goalkeepers share a total of 16 caps between them and while Alisson has been given the number one spot, he still brings along the typical problems a twenty-three year old goalkeeper has: trying to do too much and lacking the calm composure you'd want from a veteran player. Still, he has the tools to succeed and, age aside, is in a somewhat similar position as Iker Casillas was in 2014: we know he can play but don't know how he will play. We could just as easily see a monster reflex save to seal the game or a soft goal to the blues of everyone.

5. Colombia

1. David Ospina, 27
(Arsenal, England.1)
2. Róbinson Zapata, 37
(Santa Fe / Colombia.1)
3. Cristian Bonilla, 23
(Atlético Nacional / Colombia.1)

Just because you're a backup doesn't mean you level of play has dipped. Yes, Ospina hasn't received a bulk of the starts at Arsenal, but you don't get to that high point in your career without maintaining yourself regardless of playing time. Ospina isn't going to be making the top ninety saves (although he does make a fantastic save at 0:35) but he will provide the calmness that Colombia will need if they're expecting to leave a tough group and face likely Brazil (oh no) or Ecuador (yes please) next round.

6. Mexico

Photo belongs to Mexsport. Only one shoe belongs to Corona. He lost the other one on the way to the game.

1. José de Jesús Corona, 35
(Cruz Azul / Mexico.1)
2. Alfredo Talavera, 33
(Toluca / Mexico.1)
3. Guillermo Ochoa, 30
(Málaga / Spain.1)

CONCACAF finally gets on the board with a nation whose goalkeepers would almost combine to be the same age as the tournament itself. Despite not being the oldest starter (see Paraguay), Corona has actually returned to the scene just a little over a year ago. The agile elder sat the 2014 World Cup but is now in a position to turn some heads and hopefully lead Mexico to a better performance than year's Copa America run, which ended with them bottoming out in the group and a 11th place finish in the twelve team tournament.

7. USA

Brad Guzan and Oribe Peralta discuss fiscal policy during the 2015 CONCACAF Cup.

1. Brad Guzan, 31
(Aston Villa / England.1)
2. Tim Howard, 37
(Colorado Rapids / USA.1)
3. Ethan Horvath, 20
(Molde / Norway.1)

It's somewhat of a low point for the country that has enjoyed great goalkeeping for the past two decades. It's bad enough that Guzan is coming off a less than impressive year with relegated Aston Villa, where he was actually their player of the year just a few years earlier, but the Americans are probably going to need some extraordinary performances from Guzan to simply leave the group. Guzan has a great platform to have a praiseworthy tournament and the free agent could certainly use a boost to his player stock.

8. Paraguay

This is Justo Villar, the goalkeeper of the Paraguay National Team, and he has DirecTV

1. Justo Villar, 38
(Colo-Colo / Chile.1)
2. Antony Silva, 32
(Cerro Porteño / Paraguay.1)
3. Diego Barreto, 34
(Olimpia / Paraguay.1)

If you thought Mexico's goalkeepers were old then you will probably think this core is also old. Villar was on scene for the 2-2 draw against Brazil in March for a World Cup Qualifier earlier this year and they're looking to not lose yet again. Villar is incredibly mobile for his age but has a flair for the theatrics. Paraguay managed to sneak past Brazil last Copa America and then lose 6-1 to Argentina in the next match. It's hard to say what to expect from Paraguay or Villar but looking at the rest of the countries we haven't covered, they defaulted into eighth place. If Villar doesn't overplay his hand, there's a good chance they'll find themselves sneaking out of the stacked group.

Best of the Rest

9. Ecuador

1. Alexander Domínguez, 28
(LDU Quito / Ecuador.1)
2. Máximo Banguera, 30
(Barcelona / Ecuador.1)
3. Esteban Dreer, 34
(Emelec / Ecuador.1)

Domínguez started in the 2014 World Cup with Ecuador so facing Peru and Haiti should really throw him for a curveball.
 

10. Costa Rica

1. Patrick Pemberton, 34
(Alajuelense / Costa Rica.1)
2. Leonel Moreira, 26
(Herediano / Costa Rica.1)
3. Danny Carvajal, 27
(Saprissa / Costa Rica.1)

If Navas didn't drop out he'd push Costa Rica to the top five. I wouldn't say this ruins their chances of escaping the group but I wouldn't say it's extremely helpful either.
 

11. Jamaica

1. Andre Blake, 25
(Philadelphia Union / USA.1)
2. Duwayne Kerr, 29
(Sarpsborg / Norway.1)
3. Ryan Thompson, 31
(Saint Louis FC / USA.3)

Andre Blake is the only goalkeeper in the tournament to play a game in MLS this season, in case you were wondering the pedigree of the current MLS goalkeeper pool.
 

12. Venezuela

1. José Contreras, 21
(Deportivo Táchira / Venezuela.1)
2. Dani Hernández, 30
(Tenerife / Spain.2)
3. Wuilker Faríñez, 18
(Caracas / Venezuela.1)

It looks like Venezuela are running with the youngster (who received his first caps this year) and not Hernández (20 caps). Bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it plays off for them.
 

13. Peru

1. Pedro Gallese, 26
(Juan Aurich / Peru.1)
2. Diego Penny, 32
(Sporting Cristal / Peru.1)
3. Carlos Cáceda, 24
(Universitario / Peru.1)

Here's an article about how Gallese will be important in their match against Haiti if they're looking to leave the tournament with more than zero points.
 

14. Panama

1. Jaime Penedo, 34
(Saprissa / Costa Rica.1)
2. Álex Rodríguez, 25
(San Francisco / Panama.1)
3. José Calderón
(Platense / Honduras.1)

Fun fact: Penedo is one of four goalkeepers in this tournament that used to play in MLS and backup Rodríguez used to play for the New York Yankees before quitting to join Panama.
 

15. Haiti

1. Johnny Placide, 27
(Reims / France.2)
2. Steward Ceus
(Minnesota United / USA.2)
3. Luis Valendi Odelus
(Aigle Noir / Haiti.1)

Placide's claim to fame is being scored on by Ibrahimovic.
 

16. Bolivia

1. Carlos Lampe, 29
(Sport Boys / Bolivia.1)
2. Romel Quiñónez, 23
(Bolívar / Bolivia.1)
3. Guillermo Vizcarra, 23
(Oriente Petrolero / Bolivia.1)

Pass

Player Journal: Bobby Edwards, St. Joseph's University

cover photo belongs to Sideline Photos, LLC

Bobby Edwards is the starting goalkeeper at St. Joseph's University, where he recently completed his sophomore year in May. The 6'6" goalkeeper started fourteen games in both of his first two years at SJU and enters the summer with the New York Red Bulls U23s, alongside Eric Klenofsky (Monmouth) and Evan Louro (Michigan). Over the next two years, we'll track Edwards' progress with bi-monthly updates as he pursues his goal of becoming a professional goalkeeper.

As a 6’6” goalkeeper, there’s just as assumption that you’ll be great in the air and saves are rarely an issue because of your frame, unless the save is low. How much truth is there to this? How has being 6’6” affected your training?

Being tall has definitely given me certain advantages throughout my career. But there is an important distinction between being big and knowing how to use your size. If you tower over everyone and take up half the goal, but you have two left feet when it comes to movement and positioning, you won't be successful. Being big is a foot in the door, but it takes a lot of detailed training and experience to push that door open.
 
As far as high balls go, my height definitely is an advantage in being able to reach balls above attacking players. And yet it's my opinion that they are still one of the toughest situations for a goalkeeper to deal with. One second too late or one second too early can be the difference between a blunder or a great play. My size has saved me a lot of times by being able to make up for perhaps a misread ball or some sloppy footwork on high balls. I also have spent a good amount of time in the gym, trying to get stronger so I can go up in traffic and claim crosses. Having the extra power helps you win 50-50's in the air and makes it easier on yourself being that you aren't usually the one taking the beating in the battle. 
 
I have always heard that big keepers struggle to get down for low balls. My training has always put a lot of emphasis on working on responding to low balls, since in a certain sense there is a greater distance to cover for tall keepers. But with a longer wing span it is easier for big keepers to reach corners and pick the pockets, so I have learned how to compensate. 

As a taller keeper, I have always focused on, and still focus on, my movement, coordination and body control. The key for any keeper to get better is to put in a lot of work to strengthen their weaknesses. Having size means my strengths and weaknesses are different than other goalkeepers and vice versa, so in a sense yes, being big has affected my training.

St. Joseph’s finished 4-12-2 last year, following a 7-7-4 finish the year before. Where did y’all struggle this last year and what needs to happen moving forward into your junior year that will put St. Joseph’s on a more competitive platform?

Yeah, tough year to say the least. I experienced some of my lowest lows on the soccer field this past year, which was really tough mentally.

We lost three fourths of our starting back line, two of whom were captain center backs. As a freshman, I was fortunate to have an experienced back line that had already played together for three years. They had a cohesiveness that was built over time. Anyone who has played on a team over time knows that a solid back line isn't just about having the best players, it involves having a chemistry that enables the back line to work together as one unit. So losing that was tough. This isn't to say our rookies didn't do well this year, I think they did a great job being thrown into the fire their first year, but experience only comes from playing games. So naturally we didn't have the cohesiveness that we had had the year before. We made some mistakes out of a lack of experience, myself very much included.

photo belongs to Sideline Photos

Pressure was also put on our back line because we struggled to score goals. If we gave up a goal, it sometimes felt like we had fallen into a hole that would be hard to come back from. You could see our heads drop after we gave up a goal and our morale took a hit. If we can get more dangerous up top, we take pressure off our backline, which will help us a ton. I'm hopeful that with the experience we gained last year, we will have more cohesiveness and with some talented guys coming in to add to the mix, our overall play will be significantly stronger.

Our whole team was young. We had only two seniors. The majority of our guys who stepped on the field were either first year players or starting for the first time. Again, I think our guys did well, but for a battle between experienced college players looking to go pro vs. our inexperience, it isn't always a fair fight. Chemistry, experience, size, leadership - these are all things that get better with time.

You’re training with the New York Red Bulls U23s this summer. What about their program made you want to train with them?

The New York Red Bulls are a class organization. From the first team to the youth levels, they play great soccer and have a great program. A lot of factors went into deciding to play with them for the summer, and it took a while to come to that decision. First, the staff, facilities, and team are all amazing with the Red Bulls. They create a competitive environment that is second to none, always pushing you to be better. You don't have time to coast there or take your foot off the gas. This ties into another huge reason I wanted to come back: the people training around me are elite players. Evan Louro and Eric Klenofsky are two of the best goalkeepers I have been able to play with so far in my career. Training with them allows me to learn a lot and find out what is working for them and see if I can implement it into my own game. Lastly, I have the amazing luck that RBNY is pretty much in my backyard. To get to the facilities it takes five minutes, and if I really needed to, I could probably walk to practice. This means I can live at home, and still be able to have my life here in New Jersey. Back in February, I blew out my 5th metatarsal (the bone on the side of your foot) which needed surgery and three-to-four months of rehab. That meant that my return to play was just about two weeks before the PDL season kicked off. I knew that if I wanted to get back to where I needed to be fitness wise, living at home would allow me to spend more time training in the gym and rehab.