Clint Irwin

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

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 (191 cm)
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Colorado Rapids
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 (loan) 2 (0)
2019– Colorado Rapids 11 (0)
2019 → Colorado Springs Switchbacks (loan) 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of September 21, 2019

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.[1]

Irwin attended Elon University, where he made 54 appearances for the Elon Phoenix over four seasons.[2]

Club career

While attending university, Irwin played two seasons with USL PDL club Carolina Dynamo.[3]

After his time at Elon, Irwin joined Capital City of the Canadian Soccer League for the 2011 season.[4] Irwin made 22 appearances for Capital City and scored a goal for the club in a 2–2 draw with Windsor Stars.[5]

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

In February 2013, Irwin signed with MLS club Colorado Rapids after a successful preseason trial.[7]

In January 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.[8] 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;[9] Upon his return to action, Irwin later regained the starting spot for the remainder of the regular season and the Playoffs,[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

The following season, Irwin suffered a hamstring injury in the Toronto FC's home opener on March 31, a 0–0 home draw against Sporting Kansas City; as a result, Bono was once again promoted to the starting line-up in Irwin's absence,[13] 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.[14][15][16][17] 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.[18][19]

Following the 2018 season, Irwin was traded back to the Rapids in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft.[20]

Career statistics
As of September 21, 2019[21][22][3]
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Carolina Dynamo 2008 PDL 40–––40
2009 40––0040
Total 8000000080
Capital City 2011 CSL 181––4[lower-alpha 2]0221
Charlotte Eagles 2012 USL Pro 3030––60
Colorado Rapids 2013 MLS 32010–1[lower-alpha 3]0340
2014 26020––280
2015 31000––310
Total 890300010930
Toronto FC 2016 MLS 19030–6[lower-alpha 3]0280
2017 6040–00100
2018 70400000110
Total 3201100060490
Toronto FC II (loan) 2016 USL 20–––20
Colorado Rapids 2019 MLS 11010–00120
Colorado Springs Switchbacks (loan) 2019 USL Championship 3000––30
Career total 1661180001101951
  1. Includes the U.S. Open Cup and Canadian Championship
  2. Appearances in the CSL Championship playoffs
  3. Appearance(s) in the MLS Cup Playoffs

Honors

Club
Toronto FC

References
  1. John Molinaro (February 12, 2016). "TFC's Irwin: Curry 'unbelievably skilled' as high schooler". Sportsnet.ca.
  2. "Clint Irwin - 2010 Men's Soccer". Elon University. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  3. "Clint Irwin at SoccerStats.us". SoccerStats.us. SoccerStats.us. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  4. "Canadian Soccer League". October 2, 2011. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  5. "July 16, 2011 CSL--details of Saturday games (from CSL website)". rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  6. "Eagles Get Past Battery". uslsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. 6 July 2012. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  7. "Rapids sign goalkeeper Clint Irwin and defender Kory Kindle". coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids Media Relations. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. Laura Armstrong (August 10, 2017). "Alex Bono has grabbed his chance as TFC's keeper". thestar.com. The Toronto Star. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  11. "Seattle Sounders beat Toronto FC on penalties to win 2016 MLS Cup". espnfc.com. ESPN FC. December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  12. "Atlanta United, Minnesota United FC add five players in MLS Expansion Draft". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. December 12, 2016.
  13. Neil Davidson (April 2, 2017). "Toronto FC goalkeeper Irwin out 4-5 weeks with hamstring injury". cbc.ca. CBC Sports. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. Laura Armstrong (December 6, 2017). "MLS Cup features two of the league's best goalkeepers". thestar.com. The Toronto Star. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  17. 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.
  18. "Recap: Toronto FC vs Seattle Sounders". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  19. Laura Armstrong (December 9, 2017). "Toronto FC captures MLS Cup". thestar.com. The Toronto Star. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  20. "Welcome back Clint! Rapids acquire Irwin from Toronto FC". coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. December 14, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  21. Clint Irwin at Soccerway. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  22. Clint Irwin at Major League Soccer
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