Clint Irwin

Clinton Robert Irwin (born April 1, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Minnesota United.

Clint Irwin
Personal information
Full name Clinton Robert Irwin
Date of birth (1989-04-01) April 1, 1989
Place of birth Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Minnesota United
Number 1
Youth career
Charlotte United
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Elon Phoenix 54 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2009 Carolina Dynamo 8 (0)
2011 Capital City 18 (1)
2012 Charlotte Eagles 3 (0)
2013–2015 Colorado Rapids 89 (0)
2016–2018 Toronto FC 32 (0)
2016 Toronto FC II 2 (0)
2019–2022 Colorado Rapids 16 (0)
2019 → Colorado Springs Switchbacks (loan) 3 (0)
2022 Colorado Rapids 2 3 (0)
2023– Minnesota United 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 9, 2022

Early life

Irwin attended high school at Charlotte Christian School. As a student, he played basketball, where he was a teammate of future NBA player Stephen Curry.[2]

Irwin attended Elon University, where he made 54 appearances for the Elon Phoenix over four seasons.[3]

Club career

While attending university, Irwin played two seasons with USL Premier Development Division club Carolina Dynamo.[4]

After his time at Elon, Irwin joined Capital City of the Canadian Soccer League for the 2011 season.[5] Irwin made 22 appearances for Capital City and scored a goal for the club in a 2–2 draw with Windsor Stars.[6]

Following his stint with Capital City, Irwin joined his hometown club, the Charlotte Eagles in the USL Professional Division. On July 6, 2012, Irwin made his debut in a 2–0 win over the Charleston Battery[7]

In February 2013, Irwin signed with Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids after a successful trial in preseason.[8] He made his debut for the club on March 16 in 1–1 draw against Real Salt Lake, coming on as a 7th minute substitute for Matt Pickens.[9]

Following the 2015 season, in February 2016, Irwin was traded to Toronto FC in exchange for targeted allocation money, a third-round pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft and a conditional first-round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.[10] After featuring as the club's starting goalkeeper for the first part of the season, Irwin sustained in injury in July, and as a result, he was replaced by his deputy Alex Bono in the starting line-up by manager Greg Vanney;[11] Upon his return to action, Irwin later regained the starting spot for the remainder of the regular season and the Playoffs,[12] as Toronto went on to reach the 2016 MLS Cup Final. In the final, held at BMO Field on December 10, Toronto were defeated by the Seattle Sounders 5–4 on penalties, following a 0–0 draw after extra time; Irwin was able to stop Álvaro Fernández's spot kick during the shootout, but misses from teammates Michael Bradley and Justin Morrow ultimately proved to be decisive.[13] On December 13, 2016, Irwin was selected by Atlanta United FC in the third round of the 2016 MLS Expansion Draft, but was immediately traded back to Toronto for Mark Bloom and allocation money.[14]

The following season, Irwin suffered a hamstring injury in the Toronto FC's home opener, a 0–0 draw against Sporting Kansas City; as a result, Bono was once again promoted to the starting line-up in Irwin's absence,[15] and eventually established himself as the team's outright first-choice shot-stopper by September 2017, due to his performances, even after Irwin's return from injury.[16][17][18][19] In a rematch of the previous season's MLS Cup Final, on December 9, Toronto defeated Seattle 2–0 at home to capture the 2017 MLS Cup, and complete an unprecedented treble of the MLS Cup, the Supporters' Shield, and the Canadian Championship.[20][21]

On December 14, 2018, Irwin was traded back to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft.[22] He spent the 2019 season as the backup to former United States international Tim Howard.[23] Irwin's contract with Colorado expired following the 2022 season.[24]

On December 6, 2022, Minnesota United announced it had signed Irwin to a two-year contract, beginning in 2023, in support of starting goalkeeper, Dayne St. Clair.[25]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played October 9, 2022[26][27][4]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Playoffs National cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Carolina Dynamo 2008 Premier Development League40———40
2009 Premier Development League40———40
Total 8000000080
Capital City 2011 Canadian Soccer League1814[lower-alpha 1]0——221
Charlotte Eagles 2012 USL Pro30—30—60
Colorado Rapids 2013 Major League Soccer3201[lower-alpha 2]010—340
2014 Major League Soccer260—20—280
2015 Major League Soccer310—00—310
Total 890103000930
Toronto FC 2016 Major League Soccer1906[lower-alpha 2]030—280
2017 Major League Soccer60—40—100
2018 Major League Soccer70—4000110
Total 3206011000490
Toronto FC II (loan) 2016 United Soccer League20———20
Colorado Rapids 2019 Major League Soccer110—10—120
2020 Major League Soccer40———40
2021 Major League Soccer10———10
2022 Major League Soccer00—10—10
Total 160002000180
Colorado Springs Switchbacks (loan) 2019 USL Championship30———30
Career total 1711110190002011
  1. Appearances in CSL Championship
  2. Appearances in MLS Cup playoffs

Honors

Toronto FC

References
  1. "Clint Irwin". Colorado Rapids. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  2. John Molinaro (February 12, 2016). "TFC's Irwin: Curry 'unbelievably skilled' as high schooler". Sportsnet.ca.
  3. "Clint Irwin - 2010 Men's Soccer". Elon University. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  4. "Clint Irwin at SoccerStats.us". SoccerStats.us. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  5. "Canadian Soccer League". October 2, 2011. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  6. "July 16, 2011 CSL--details of Saturday games (from CSL website)". rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  7. "Eagles Get Past Battery". uslsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. July 6, 2012. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  8. "Rapids sign goalkeeper Clint Irwin and defender Kory Kindle". coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids Media Relations. February 21, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  9. "Real Salt Lake 1-1 Colorado Rapids". Soccerway.
  10. Nicholas Rosano (January 18, 2016). "Toronto FC acquire goalkeeper Clint Irwin from Colorado Rapids for targeted allocation money, draft picks". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer.
  11. James Grossi (July 2, 2016). "Alex Bono takes the reins in net as Toronto deal with Clint Irwin's injury". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  12. Laura Armstrong (August 10, 2017). "Alex Bono has grabbed his chance as TFC's keeper". thestar.com. The Toronto Star. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  13. "Seattle Sounders beat Toronto FC on penalties to win 2016 MLS Cup". espnfc.com. ESPN FC. December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  14. "Atlanta United, Minnesota United FC add five players in MLS Expansion Draft". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. December 12, 2016.
  15. Neil Davidson (April 2, 2017). "Toronto FC goalkeeper Irwin out 4-5 weeks with hamstring injury". cbc.ca. CBC Sports. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  16. Chicco Nacion (November 28, 2017). "TFC's Alex Bono unfazed by challenges on and off the pitch". cbc.ca. CBC Sports. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  17. James Grossi (December 4, 2017). "Character, confidence propel TFC's Alex Bono to No. 1 job, MLS Cup start". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  18. Laura Armstrong (December 6, 2017). "MLS Cup features two of the league's best goalkeepers". thestar.com. The Toronto Star. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  19. Chicco Nacion (December 9, 2017). "Tale of the tape: Toronto FC seeks redemption in MLS Cup rematch". cbc.ca. CBC Sports. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  20. "Recap: Toronto FC vs Seattle Sounders". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  21. Laura Armstrong (December 9, 2017). "Toronto FC captures MLS Cup". thestar.com. The Toronto Star. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  22. Boniface, Daniel (December 14, 2018). "Clint Irwin returns to Colorado Rapids via trade". The Denver Post. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  23. Hopkins, Liam (May 12, 2020). "Why Clint Irwin deserves to be the Rapids' starting goalkeeper". Burgundy Wave. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  24. "Who's in, who's out? Gyasi Zardes' future uncertain at Colorado Rapids | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
  25. "Minnesota United sign goalkeeper Clint Irwin in free agency | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
  26. Clint Irwin at Soccerway. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  27. Clint Irwin at Major League Soccer
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