Littman, Cut Last Year, Shows He’s Sharp
It wasn’t surprising Mike Gartlan signed a goalkeeper almost immediately after being hired as Zodiac coach. After all, Gartlan had to find a replacement for himself, last season’s starting goalkeeper.
But it was a little surprising Gartlan picked Mike Littman, 30, as his heir apparent. Littman hadn’t played professional soccer in two seasons and he was cut from the Zodiac last year before the season started.
“I’m sure there were some questions about how I would perform, since I hadn’t been at that level in a while,” said Littman, who last played professionally with the Los Angeles Salsa in 1996. “And I wasn’t very fit when they signed me, so I’m sure there were some worries there too.”
Obviously, Gartlan knew something the rest of the league didn’t. Littman, who has dropped 20 pounds since signing March 1, is one of the big reasons the Zodiac stands in first place in the A-League’s Pacific Division. Littman is ranked fifth among the A-League’s 28 regular goalkeepers with a 0.97 goals-against average before Friday’s game against Staten Island, and has four shutouts. He has been A-League player of the week once and he has been named to the A-League’s team of the week twice.
“If anything, I’ve shown myself that I can still play at this level,” said Littman, who played at El Camino College and Cal State Northridge but had been playing club soccer the past two years. “And that’s all I really wanted to do.”
Gartlan said Littman has more than lived up to his end of the bargain.
“Mike has been one of the hardest workers on this team,” Gartlan said. “He’s won some games by himself when we were struggling early in the year. I’ve seen the goalkeepers in the MLS and Mike’s definitely that caliber.”
Littman was that caliber for four games this season. He was called up to the Los Angeles Galaxy to be the team’s third-string keeper. But just when it looked as if Littman was going to get his big chance, it was pulled away from him. The first two Galaxy goalkeepers were injured and Littman was ready to make his first MLS start. But at the last minute, Kevin Rueda was recalled from San Francisco Bay of the A-League.
Rueda eventually backed up second-string keeper Kevin Hartman for the Galaxy’s 2-0 victory over Kansas City. Littman did not suit up.
“The thing that upset me was the way it was handled,” Littman said. “I felt cheated, basically.”
Littman wouldn’t say who he was cheated by, but the Galaxy’s coach, Octavio Zambrano, was the Zodiac’s general manager last season.
Despite still having a sour taste in his mouth over this year’s disappointment, Littman said he hasn’t given up on the MLS.
“I don’t know how much longer I can go,” Littman said. “I’m 30 now. I don’t have a lot of years left. But I’d like to see myself in the MLS.”
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Before Friday night’s 2-1 loss to Staten Island, The Zodiac had not played an A-League game since defeating El Paso on June 26.
“This break has given us a chance to rest some guys,” Gartlan said. “It’s been a good break for us heading into the stretch run.”
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The Zodiac’s nearest challenger in the Pacific Division is San Diego (10-5, 30 points), which trails Orange County (11-7) by one point and leads third-place Vancouver by four. San Diego has 13 games remaining, including three with last-place California (5-14). Orange County has 10 games left, one with California.
“California’s a mess,” Gartlan said. “They’ve gotten rid of all their top players. They’re nothing more than a men’s club team.”
Gartlan believes nine more victories will give the Zodiac the Western Division title. Whatever happens the rest of the way, this season will be an improvement on last year. Orange County has already equaled last year’s win total of 11.
