Red Bulls Gameday Feature

Well-Traveled Goldthwaite Finds His Niche in New York

As a player develops, there are many factors that can contribute to his success, and just as many factors that can lead to his failure. Many of these factors are intertwined and can tilt the scales in either direction. It might be an injury or retirement of another player that offers him an increase in playing time. It may be a chance to gain more consistent playing time at a lower level that enables him to hone and increase his skill set. Other times, it could be a change of teams that gives him a chance to shine. In other instances, it is just stability, confidence, and the right coach that brings out the best in him. But each of these opportunities can lead to either success or failure, and there is a fine line between the two.

New York Red Bulls defender Kevin Goldthwaite has gone through just about every one of these scenarios and some additional experiences as well, and has emerged through the other side as a standout on Juan Carlos Osorio's back line. All this has occurred after playing in five different cities for four different franchises, in two different countries and two different leagues. Add to that a season ending injury and you have the recipe for a player on the brink, teetering between becoming a versatile MLS contributor for a playoff contender and slowly slipping into the void of frustration and self-doubt.

After a standout collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame that saw Goldthwaite named a Hermann Trophy semifinalist, the California native entered Major League Soccer in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, drafted in the second round (17th overall) by the San Jose Earthquakes.

"I went to the draft actually, so I was there for the announcement, but I had absolutely no idea where I was going to go," stated Goldthwaite. "It ended up being a great pick for me, because I was close to home and close to my family."

Having won the MLS Cups in two of the previous four seasons, there was little room for Goldthwaite on the Quakes' back line in a side that ended the 2005 season as the MLS Supporter's Shield winners, and the rookie defender was loaned out to the USL's Portland Timbers on Aug. 1. Being loaned from the team might have been a negative for Goldthwaite, but he turned it into a positive, appearing and starting in 10 games, helping the Timbers to a 5-2-3 record and a playoff appearance, developing his skills in the process.

"It was really good for my development because I got into games and was playing against older guys in a professional environment, which is something I think most young players need to do to develop," commented Goldthwaite. "I wasn't able to get in with the first team (in San Jose), but I was with Portland, and it ended up being great for my development."

Goldthwaite returned to the MLS side at the end of the USL season, making three appearances and two starts for the Earthquakes late in the season, and was with the team when the franchise moved from San Jose to Houston following the 2005 season. Being from the Bay area, the move to Texas was a difficult one for Goldthwaite.

"It was a little tough, because especially me being close to my family (in San Jose), I wasn't able to go home to see them on the weekends," Goldthwaite admitted. "Just getting acclimated to a new city with a new climate and finding a new place to live isn't all that fun."

However, the Sacramento native had shown the coaching staff what he was capable of, and his playing time with the first team increased as a result. Goldthwaite saw action in 20 games, starting eight, during the Houston Dynamo's MLS Cup championship run during its inaugural season, and though he was not a selection for the Cup Final, he did receive a championship ring and describes that championship season as a "great experience."

Just when Goldthwaite was beginning to get comfortable in his role with Houston, his tumultuous 2007 season began. The season kicked off with him being traded to expansion side, Toronto FC, on April 19, just one game into the season.

Goldthwaite stepped right into the starting lineup for TFC, starting nine games and assisting on the game-winning goal in the franchise's first-ever win, though he did have the ignominy of also recording the first own-goal in TFC history. While Goldthwaite enjoyed his time north of the border, his time there was short lived, as he was traded for a second time, this time to New York on June 27. Upon arriving in New York, Goldthwaite had now played in five different cities for four different franchises, in two different countries and two different leagues in less than three full seasons. Needless to say, it would be understandable if Goldthwaite began to have doubts about his professional future.

"The first trade going up to Toronto and getting settled in a different country was something else that I had to deal with, with new banks and all that stuff," Goldthwaite confided. "Then, after getting all settled and getting a new apartment, I find out a week after everything was settled that I got traded down to New York. So it does get a bit draining on you, the little things start piling up on you."

"You get frustrated with life in general," continued Goldthwaite. "Family is very important to me, and I was going the opposite way from my family. You are trying to make a career out of this and you keep going to new places and having to re-establish yourself and get used to new people on the teams. It is definitely draining and it definitely gets old, but you have to stick it out and if you can do that and continue to work hard, hopefully it will work out for the best for you."

But Goldthwaite did see the silver lining. "I think you have to take it as a new opportunity," Goldthwaite stated. "If you start thinking that the team is trying to get rid of you, you start to get self doubt about yourself. I look at it as a new opportunity for me to go in and perform well and impress new people and hopefully become a solid contributor on the team. It ended up being a good thing for my career and I am happy to be here."

Though he was establishing himself with the Red Bulls, his turbulent 2007 season was about to hit more rough air, as Goldthwaite suffered a season-ending knee injury in a reserve match in Chicago on September 15.

"(The injury happened during) a reserve game in Chicago," noted Goldthwaite. "I went in for a tackle and ended up (tearing) my MCL. But it is something that just happens in soccer and it happened to me. I had to sit out for a while and then come back and try to get healthy for the next season. I was at full strength in early January."

Getting traded twice and sustaining a season-ending injury can certainly be cited as reasons for a slip in performance, but Goldthwaite does not use it as an excuse, despite taking some criticism for his play during the 2007 Red Bull season.

"I think people might have wrote me off a little bit quicker than I would have liked, but I don't think I came in and performed all that well anyway," admitted Goldthwaite. "I don't try to even think about that. At the end of the day you have to be happy with how you perform, and I wasn't happy with how I performed last season in New York. My thing is to come in and work hard and try to be yourself and play the way you play and not worry about what other people's expectations are of you."

After fully recovering from the injury during the off season, Goldthwaite believes that being able to train with the team and be with his teammates full time has helped him feel more comfortable both in New York and as a part of the Red Bulls in 2008. "I think just going through a preseason with a group of guys you become more a part of it. When you are hurt you aren't as much a part of it. You are doing your treatment. You are doing your rehab. You aren't going on trips. You are not as much a part of the banter in the locker room. I think going through the preseason was something that can really establish yourself as one of the guys on the team. That really helped me feel more comfortable, and that turns into good performances on the weekends."

Goldthwaite's comfort level and positive play can in part be attributed to the support and belief that Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio has in his defender. "I think that Juan Carlos has been more than willing to work with me from the start," Goldthwaite stated. "From me coming off my injury I had some nagging injuries with muscles and stuff. He continued to talk to me and continued to keep me confident and keep me motivated and I think having someone like Juan Carlos on my side and behind me and coaching me is something that has probably been a big part of why I have been playing and I have been playing fairly well this season."

That consistent play and stability on the back line has been noticed by more than just Osorio, as Goldthwaite was nominated for the 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game fan ballot.

"Being considered for (the All-Star Game) is a great honor, a great feeling, and a great accomplishment for me," Goldthwaite noted. "But I don't want to get comfortable and say 'Ok, there we go Kevin, you can take your foot off the accelerator now because you are nominated for the All-Star Game'. I am just going to continue to work hard and continue to try and get better every week and reach for bigger and better things hopefully."

"I am happy with the way things are going," he concluded. "I think I can be playing better, and the concerns that I have and the thing that I work for every week is to continue to get better and continue to work hard and focus on the weaker aspects of my game. I don't become stagnant and stationary and hopefully try to move forward every week and get better."

Goldthwaite refers to his evolution as a professional soccer player as "still maturing" and uses that as motivation to continue to grow as a player. For Goldthwaite, after having been through the trials and tribulations of starting out in Major League Soccer and being traded twice before finally finding stability and success with the Red Bulls, that maturation process seems to be moving along not only swiftly, but successfully. What once seemed like a career hanging in the balance has now become a career on the rise and with a bright future.