Josh Saunders

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Josh Saunders
Personal information
Full name Josh Saunders
Date of birth March 2, 1981 (1981-03-02) (age 27)
Place of birth    Grants Pass, Oregon, United States
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Miami FC
Number 1
Youth clubs
1999-00
2001-02
CS Fullerton
California
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2003
2003-04
2005-06
2007-2008
2008-
San Jose Earthquakes
Portland Timbers (loan)
Los Angeles Galaxy
Puerto Rico Islanders
Miami FC
00 (0)
40 (0)
00 (0)
22 (0)
0 (0)   
National team2
2008 Puerto Rico 2(0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 7 March 2007.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 21 January 2008.
* Appearances (Goals)

Josh Saunders (born March 2, 1981) is an American soccer goalkeeper who has enjoyed stints in both MLS and the USL First Division (formerly the A-League) and had split his time between Los Angeles Galaxy and the Portland Timbers prior to being released by the Galaxy during the 2007 pre-season. During his senior season at the University of California, Berkeley, he became the first keeper ever to be named Pac-10 Player of the Year.

He formerly played for the Puerto Rico Islanders, making his debut in a 2-1 victory over the Rochester Raging Rhinos on 14 April 2007.

In 2008, Saunders made his debut with the Puerto Rican national team.

Contents

[edit] Major League Soccer

In 2003 Saunders had two stints on the roster of the San Jose Earthquakes, but did not appear in an official match. Since 2005, Saunders has been on the Galaxy roster without appearing in a game, serving as a third-choice keeper behind Kevin Hartman and Steve Cronin. He has, however, logged 15 minutes as a substitute in a game for the Galaxy reserves.

In 2007, Saunders and three other players were waived from the LA Galaxy.[1] Some bloggers suspected this was due to the massive expense of acquiring soccer star David Beckham[2]. During the 2007 pre-season Saunders trained with the Chicago Fire in Florida having a successful run for several weeks of play, before signing for the Islanders.[3]

[edit] USL

Between his stints at the Earthquakes and the Galaxy, Saunders played on loan with the Portland Timbers. In 2003, his first year on loan, he played every minute of Portland's remaining 16 games, allowing only 15 goals, giving him a 0.90 GAA for the season. The next year, he started 24 games and posted a 1.11 GAA with six shutouts. Chief among his feats was a 363-minute scoreless streak, which, until recently, was the longest in Timbers history.

On April 11, 2008, he signed with Miami FC.

[edit] College

Saunders spent the final two seasons of his collegiate career at Berkeley after spending the previous two at Cal-State Fullerton. He was named a First Team All-Pac 10 selection in each of his two seasons with the Golden Bears. He has a B.A. in American Studies.

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ [1] Los Angeles Galaxy Media Relations, "Los Angeles Galaxy waive four players" 02/01/2007
  2. ^ [2] Soccerjones.com, "ReAL Salt Lake, I’ve Got A Keeper For You" 02/21/2007
  3. ^ [3] Chicago Fire Media Relations, "Scoreless draw for Fire vs. Crew" 02/13/2007