Josh Saunders

Personal information
Full name	Josh Saunders
Date of birth	March 2, 1981 (1981-03-02) (age 28)
Place of birth	Grants Pass, Oregon, United States
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Los Angeles Galaxy
Number	12
Youth career
1999–2000	Fullerton Titans
2001–2002	California Golden Bears
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2005	San Jose Earthquakes	0	(0)
2003–2005	→ Portland Timbers (loan)	68	(0)
2005–2006	Los Angeles Galaxy	0	(0)
2007–2008	Puerto Rico Islanders	22	(0)
2008	Miami FC	27	(0)
2008	→ Los Angeles Galaxy (loan)	3	(0)
2009–	Los Angeles Galaxy	6	(0)
National team‡
2008–	Puerto Rico	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 October, 2009. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21 January, 2008

Josh Saunders (born March 2, 1981 in Grants Pass, Oregon) is an American-born Puerto Rican soccer player who currently plays for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer.

[edit] Career

[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, and during his senior season he became the first keeper ever to be named Pac-10 Player of the Year. He has a B.A. in American Studies.

[edit] Professional

In 2003 Saunders was on the roster of the San Jose Earthquakes, but did not appear in an official match. Instead, Saunders played on loan with the Portland Timbers in the USL First Division, where he played every minute of his 16 games, allowing only 15 goals, giving him a 0.90 GAA for the 2003 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.

Saunders joined Los Angeles Galaxy in 2005 as third-choice keeper behind Kevin Hartman and Steve Cronin, but again failed to appear in a first team game, logged only 15 minutes as a substitute in a game for the Galaxy's 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], and despite a successful pre-season trial with Chicago Fire, signed for the Puerto Rico Islanders for the 2007 season.^[3]. He made his debut for the Islanders in a 2-1 victory over the Rochester Raging Rhinos on April 14, 2007.

On April 11, 2008, Saunders signed with Miami FC, and subsequently made 27 appearances for the Florida team, until he was loaned to Los Angeles Galaxy in September 2008 for the remainder of the MLS season.

Saunders signed a permanent contract with Galaxy in early 2009, and is expected to serve as understudy to Donovan Ricketts.

[edit] International

In 2008, Saunders made his debut with the Puerto Rican national team, and is now considered to have Puerto Rican sporting nationality.

[edit] Honors

[edit] Los Angeles Galaxy

• Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2005

[edit] See also

• List of current MLS players

[edit] References

[edit] Externan links

• MLS player profile