Rank the Goalie Prospects

Discussion in 'College & Amateur Soccer' started by Emile, Nov 22, 2004.

  1. Emile

    Emile Member

    Oct 24, 2001
    dead in a ditch
    I'll try this again, with a more inclusive title.

    Leaving out the underclassmen (since we dont often see P-40 goalies, although Brad Guzan might be an exception), how do you all rate the current crop of senior goalies as MLS prospects. There seem to be no super prospects this year, but a very deep pool of well-regarded players.

    I'm assuming all MLS teams will have three GK's next year, so it might be a good time for some of these guys to latch on. I could see everyone but maybe KC, Chivas and SJ in the market for a develomental keeper this offseason. So how would you rate these guys (and the inevitable ones I left off).

    Biggest Names
    Chris Sawyer (Notre Dame) 6-1 193 10/20/82
    Dan Kennedy (UCSB) 6-1 200 7/22/82

    Enigmas
    Noah Palmer (Maryland) 6-3 190 4/21/83
    Andrew Weber (New Mexico) 6-2 185 8/9/83

    Foreign Question Mark
    John O'Hara (George Mason) 6-2 200 4/18/81

    Solid Winners
    Jay Nolly (Indiana) 6-3 200 1/2/82
    Bill Gaudette (St. John's) 6-1 200 9/14/81

    Sleepers
    Patrick Hannigan (Temple) 6-3 200
    Bouna Coundol (Albany) 6-2 195
    Josh Wicks (Cal State Bakersfield) 6-3
     
  2. IloveFrankieHejduk

    IloveFrankieHejduk New Member

    Jun 10, 2004
    US of A
    wicks is not good. look for chris gomez from Brown to tear it up. the kid is amazing...good positioning, ability to make big saves, perfect distribution. got left out to dry a little this year, but if he makes the combine, look for him to get drafted.
     
  3. Emile

    Emile Member

    Oct 24, 2001
    dead in a ditch
    Good call about Gomez, I always forget him. I wonder if he speaks Spanish? :rolleyes:

    What is wrong with Wicks? He seems to have been pretty consistent over four years at CSUB and I think he played for the Menace two summers ago. He perhaps hasn't been as dominant as you would like to see a D2 prospect be though.

    The more I look into Hannigan, the more intriguing he seems. In the PDL this summer he split time with Hartford's Ryan Carr and his GAA, presumably with the same defense, was 1/2 of Carr's (albeit a small sample).
     
  4. terp fan

    terp fan New Member

    Nov 21, 2000
    I really like Martin Hutton from St Louis, he's had the misfortune to play behind terrible defenses for the past two seasons so his numbers aren't what they should be. The numbers can be misleading.
    Ryan Burke from UVA has a future beyond college if he wants it.
     
  5. oldexpress

    oldexpress New Member

    Nov 22, 2004
    i saw the goalie from binghamton university and i thought he was very good. the only thing that could hurt him in getting drafted is that he is scotish
     
  6. terp fan

    terp fan New Member

    Nov 21, 2000
    That and the fact that very few MLS scouts make it out to the Binghamton games, what's his name anyway?
     
  7. soccerplaya14

    soccerplaya14 New Member

    Jan 16, 2003
    Chris Gomez (Brown)-
    Without question, one of the top goalies in the nation. His reflexes and shotstopping are phenomenal. And his punting accuracy and ability to put the ball 70 yards on a dime, is one of the best in the nation at ANY level.
     
  8. WestCoastSoccerFan

    WestCoastSoccerFan New Member

    Sep 15, 2004
    Despite the lack of experienced college goalkeepers in Southern California, besides Dan Kennedy of UCSB, there are several up and coming young faces that will soon be in the national spotlight if they continue on as they have been playing. If there are any other Southern California college soccer fans, or any fans whose teams have faced any of these keepers, feel free to chime in:

    Eric Reed - UCLA
    Eric is a bit undersized height-wise, but is extremely active and has great decision-making abilities. He has been privledged to play behind a solid backline and has the stats to prove it (0.70 gaa). Physical keeper with good strength. Good distributer, with a cannon for an arm.

    Lance Freisz - USD
    Lance has good size for the position and will be very good in the next few years. He had a great Freshman year, but struggled a bit this year playing behind a mediocre backline. Still, very good decision maker, and is a good leader in the back. Very vocal, and organizes well. Will make the big saves.

    Robert Flores - LMU
    Robert, like Eric Reed, is a bit under-sized, but makes up for it with his great athletic ability. He is very active in the box and has the range to take alot of crosses away. Good leader in the back. He too, will make big saves for his team. Good distribution and shotstopper as well.

    Look for all three young men to be potential pro prospects in a few years. Keep in mind that all three are sophmores this year and Reed and Flores will be meeting Tuesday night (11/23) as UCLA takes on LMU in the 2nd round of the tourney. Anyways, feel free to chime in with any opinions that you have...
     
  9. Emile

    Emile Member

    Oct 24, 2001
    dead in a ditch
    Well, there are several more good goalies coming in the next few years. I expect we'll see a good 8-12 MLS prospects every year now.

    I left off Martin Hutton because he didn't get any post-season award love. Not that that means anything, but I wonder where he stacks up in this group. Same with Gomez - those who follow him, why did he get beat out by a Canadian from Dartmouth for All-Ivy this year (although admittedly the Ivy has one of the more idiosyncratic all-conference votes).

    Stefan Gonet is the keeper at Binghamton, only a Junior though, and an 81, and second to Bouna Coundol this year. The Scottish goalie who is more interesting to me is Ryszard Gorski of LIU, who is an '82, 6-4 and played extensively in the PDL this summer.

    My ranking at the moment:
    1 Chris Sawyer 2 Dan Kennedy 3 Noah Palmer 4 Chris Gomez 5 Patrick Hannigan 6 John O'Hara 7 Andrew Weber 8 Martin Hutton 9 Jay Nolly 10 Bouna Coundol 11 Bill Gaudette 12 Josh Wicks 13 Ryszard Gorski.

    How do people rate Robby Fulton? I'd assume he goes in there somewhere, maybe in the top 5. And does anyone rate T.J. Tomasso?
     
  10. Nanananooooonan

    Nanananooooonan New Member

    Nov 15, 2003

    How many of these guys have you actually seen, and what criteria are you looking at?

    By the way, Noah Palmer at #3 is an absolute joke!!! Your list lost all cred right there.
     
  11. Ax2-Y

    Ax2-Y New Member

    Jul 10, 2004
    "Canadian from Dartmouth for All-Ivy this year"

    he's terrible. but people seem to love him. :confused:
     
  12. IloveFrankieHejduk

    IloveFrankieHejduk New Member

    Jun 10, 2004
    US of A
    the keeper at dartmouth is shockingly bad......the only reason he made first team all ivy is because he let in a few amount of goals in ivy play 1) due the consistently low scoring ivy league games and 2) his defense was solid and didn't put him in bad positions. he is terrible.

    and responding to whoever it was that asked if gomez speaks spanish...he speaks fluently.
     
  13. Emile

    Emile Member

    Oct 24, 2001
    dead in a ditch
    Thanks for providing the classic College Board post, right down to the "you've lost all credibility" line. You really came through :) .

    I'm not sure how they should be ranked, I'm just trying to elicit discussion. I'm not a Noah Palmer fan either, but given his size and accomplishments (2nd team ACC being nothing to look down on) he might get taken in the draft.

    However, I'm thinking now that Gomez could be the first GK taken. To my knowledge, he's the only prospect who meets Chivas' standards (unless someone like Robles signs P-40). If they are bringing in Talavera to play GK, I can't imagine them spending another TI slot on a backup, and I don't think anymore they will bring in Jonny Walker, because he makes too much money. Gomez might find himself as Chivas' backup next year, with maybe a hispanic amateur player as #3.

    Does anyone know why Robby Fulton was sent down to honorable mention in the Pac-10 awards? Did he have a bad year, or is that just a reflection of Stanford's unsettled defensive line?
     
  14. hoosiercountry

    hoosiercountry New Member

    Nov 29, 2004
    indianapolis
    i think that chris sawyer is a bit overrated i saw him when they were in bloomington this year and he is big that is really all i think that he has going for him. as for nolly i think that he is to slow on set pieces and REALLY needs to work on this. As for whoever thought Hutton was good is a joke, we saw him in saint louis and if it wasn't for his defense indiana would have tore him up at 6 or 7 times. He's big, clumsy, and slow not good when your trying to make the pros. As for Dan kennedy he is probably my favorite candidate. He's big, athletic and shut down indiana and a lot of their opponents.
     
  15. miamifutbol70

    miamifutbol70 New Member

    Jul 27, 2004
    West Palm Beach, FLA
    yeah it is hard to rank goalkeepers really depends on what day you catch them.. and there are a lot of keepers out there some that you heard and some that you never had.. it will be interesting to see who goes where in regards to the MLS.. see who has the politics on their side.. haha well due to my florida favoritism there are three that kinda have floated among popularity down here.. the goalie from duke is from the tampa area.. Justin Trowbridge.. a 4 year starter out of duke is pretty nice.. all conference honors i believe this year.. his biggest asset is his quickness.. he is a pretty firey kid.. but i havent really seen him or the other tampa kid in years.. so please fill in on either one... my son played him in high school for the state championship.. he was the 3A state player of the year his senior year.. one from our area Thomas Myers out of American Univ. played for a very strong club team down here (Boca) a couple of his teammates star at Michigan.. Kevin taylor being one, state ODP all that and is doing well at American who did well this year.. and he is a very good athlete and strong.. believe he played football also during the fall but not positive soccer in florida is a winter sport, my son played with him for a tournament or two while they were about 18/19 and the other GK out of Tampa, Stash Graham, probably the most accomplished out of the 3 accolade wise doing research on the 3.. looked like he did well over the summer with PDL getting the All-Eastern Region nod but yet looked to have a down year again after being A-10 POY 2 years ago.. tall, rangy kid with a punt at least as a kid that was really unparalled.. his club team played my son's team with Myers in the Sun Bowl final (that was the last time i saw him play so it was a while ago) and he would go 18 to the top of the key on the other box on a regular sized field..
    Really it seems to be whoever makes it to the combine will get in.. and then it will be very interesting to see.. however they are not in South Florida anymore so i will not be able to watch... :mad:
    I really dont know how this class does against the others from previous years.
    Yeah I saw Noah over the summer in PDL and it just didnt seem like he was once what he was coming in.. Do to my job I was in the Virginia, Maryland, South Delaware region over this summer and saw a lot of the MA region teams play.. it was funny to see these GK lists and see all the GKs that played in this region,, quite remarkable to have all that quality.. O'Hara is the real deal.. great mix of size and "soccer sense".. soccer sense being a smart player...
    Hannigan- South Jersey (1st place team in NE region)
    O'Hara- Richmond (3rd out of 6 places)
    Gaudette- Brooklyn (but i believe not this year)
    Graham- Reading (5th out of 9 places; got this region's GK honor)
    Palmer- Chesapeake (5th out of 6 places)
    Hughes- CASL (a National U-20 pool kid, 1st place in MA region)
    This is a very strong region for GK's it would be hard to be paired with another PDL region in this position.. However with that being said PDL had a lot of good/solid goalkeepers.. Thoughts on any of them?
     
  16. soccertom

    soccertom New Member

    Jun 2, 1999
    After watching Martin Hutton very closely over his SLU career I can say without any hesitation that he will not crack the pro ranks at the A League or MLS Level. Hutton has regressed in my opinion and he is also injury prone.
     
  17. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    Must be the coaching! ;)
     
  18. miamifutbol70

    miamifutbol70 New Member

    Jul 27, 2004
    West Palm Beach, FLA
    haha thats a low blow
     
  19. Emile

    Emile Member

    Oct 24, 2001
    dead in a ditch
    Thanks for the quality responses.

    MLS draft combine list has been released and six goalies are invited - Kennedy, Sawyer, Palmer, O'Hara, Nolly and T.J. Tomasso. So I was pretty close. Nobody ever talks about Tomasso though - I wonder which MLS coach or official wanted him there? The Burn is perhaps most in need of a developmental keeper, but you'd think they'd look to one of the other guys first. Also note that Gomez wasn't invited, despite the rave reviews on this thread.

    Trowbridge is interesting, but he seems to lack the combined size/athleticism score to make it to the MLS level. However, he does seem very intense, and that has worked for Jon Busch (although Trowbridge is nowhere near as decorated as Busch was at UNCC). I'm also curious about Stash Graham, given his great PDL success. Playing at a D1 soccer backwater like LaSalle can't help, and he's been stoned by Hannigan the last two years for the A-10 top keeper prize.
     
  20. Smither999

    Smither999 New Member

    Nov 6, 2004
    What about T.J. Tomasso from Southern Methodist. He has had a solid season facing some very good teams, coming up big game in and game out. Invited to MLS combine as well.
     
  21. Dr Beeper

    Dr Beeper New Member

    Dec 1, 2004
    Overthe past two years I have been able to see many of the GK listed......Coundal has all the athleticism but is not a true GK...his technique is very very poor...I would not say he is a professional level GK...is it too late to develop him??? Also, the kid from Binghamton is not a pro...plain and simple. Many of us could shut out the likes of Niagara and Siena..............Gomez (saw on TV) is a good one...but how do you explain his poor senior year in one of the nations worst (and overrated) conferences????
     
  22. Shutout

    Shutout New Member

    Dec 6, 2003
    Weber from New Mexico should be there without a doubt.


     
  23. Emile

    Emile Member

    Oct 24, 2001
    dead in a ditch
    Pretty good goalie matchups in the Final Four - we'll get to see who has the iron stones this year.

    Dan Kennedy vs. Justin Trowbridge - Both a little small, but Kennedy seems to be emerging as the consensus #1 prospect. Trowbridge might be able to get himself drafted if he comes up big on TV against that giant UCSB attack.

    Jay Nolly vs. Noah Palmer - I've never been a big Nolly guy, but if he has another good final 4, it will be hard to ignore him. This is probably Palmer's big chance to win over his skeptics too.
     
  24. Dsocc

    Dsocc Member

    Feb 13, 2002
    I'm not a Nolly fan either, but this season's stats between the two are telling.

    Nolly - 0.57 GAA, .80 Save % (3.0 SOG/Game against)
    Palmer - 0.99 GAA, 0.74 Save % (4.0 SOG/Game against)

    Nolly is a decent keeper that I wouldn't rate as great, but who's faced a lot fewer SOG than Palmer (credit IU's defense), and saved a higher percentage.
     
  25. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    Agreed.
     

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