Editor’s note: The following is the first in a series of features breaking down the Whitecaps FC roster by position after Tuesday’s contract update. Stay tuned to whitecapsfc.com for more.
UNDER CONTRACT FOR 2016: David Ousted, Marco Carducci
Carl Robinson has gone with the same trio of goalkeepers during each of his two years as head coach of Vancouver Whitecaps FC, but it looks like there will be a change in 2016. The club did not pick up the option on Paolo Tornaghi, who is now eligible for the MLS Re-Entry Process.
“Paolo wanted to go and try to be a number one somewhere,” Robinson told reporters on Tuesday. “I respected Paolo because he’s a great lad and I’ve got the utmost respect for him.”
Tornaghi didn’t get any MLS minutes during his time with the ‘Caps, but this year he did appear in four CONCACAF Champions League matches (posting a 1W-2L-1D record and 1.25 GAA) and three Amway Canadian Championship fixtures (1W-0L-2D and 1.33 GAA).
He also appeared in seven matches with WFC2 in the USL.
Following Tuesday’s roster announcement, the 27-year-old Italian tweeted a heartwarming goodbye message to the club and fans. He was a good servant during his two years with the club, but his departure means there’s a spot available on the first team.
Not the starter’s shirt, however.
That, of course, belongs to David Ousted.
“We have a very good relationship,” Robinson said of Ousted. “David will be back next year. I’d like to keep a lot of my players for four or five years. He’s one that we’ve spoken to over the last four or five months to try and keep him here longer. We’re continuing to talk, but as I said, David will be here next year.”
The best of David Ousted in 2015
The Dane, whose contract option was picked up for 2016, has now started 84 consecutive MLS matches for Whitecaps FC dating back to his debut back on August 3, 2013.
During that time, he has established himself as one of the top goalkeepers in MLS.
This past season, Ousted manned the net for a Whitecaps FC side that conceded the fewest goals in MLS (tied with Seattle Sounders FC). He also had 13 clean sheets (tied for the league-high), 16 wins (second in MLS), and three penalty saves (league-high).
For his efforts, Ousted was an MLS All-Star and the runner-up for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
Clearly, he’s the number one guy. But who will back him up?
Robinson said on Tuesday that Marco Carducci and Spencer Richey will be given “the opportunity to fight for the number two position.”
Carducci, a Whitecaps FC Residency graduate, is already on Vancouver’s MLS roster.
Aside from his two starts in the 2014 Amway Canadian Championship, however, he has yet to see any first team action. The Calgary native appeared in nine matches with WFC2 in the USL this past season, posting a 2W-3L-4D record and team-best 1.67 GAA.
The ‘Caps believe he has a bright future, but he’s still only 19 years old.
Is he ready for MLS backup duty (which will almost certainly come with CONCACAF Champions League and Amway Canadian Championship action) or does he need more time to develop in the USL? Carducci will be given every opportunity to answer those questions – as will Richey.
The 23-year-old Seattle native, who was selected by Whitecaps FC in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft after five years at the University of Washington, started a team-high 12 matches with WFC2 this past season. He also recorded two of the team’s three clean sheets.
Unlike Carducci, however, Richey is only on a USL contract at the moment. If the ‘Caps coaching staff believe he’s ready to be an MLS backup, moving him up to the first team could be a win-win situation since it would also free up more games for Carducci at the USL level.
Either way, “the two young kids will get a chance now,” as Robinson said.
And it should be fun to watch.
Wholesale changes don’t appear to be coming – nor are they needed – between the posts, but there are still a few questions left to be answered heading into the offseason.
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