Galaxy’s Ricketts has MLS Cup in mind
Few members of the Galaxy want to get back to the MLS Cup final more than goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts. That’s because few members of the Galaxy have more unfinished business to attend to there than Ricketts.
The second-year keeper went to the sidelines because of a hand injury midway through the second half of last year’s Cup final, which Real Salt Lake won when Robbie Russell beat backup goalie Josh Saunders in the seventh round of a dramatic penalty shootout.
Could he have changed the outcome?
“They probably would have just blamed me for allowing the goal,” Ricketts says now with a smile.
The loss wasn’t a laughing matter then, however. And now the 33-year-old Jamaican finds himself closing in on what could be a second chance at a title next month in Toronto. But he and his teammates have a number of obstacles to negotiate to get there.
First, the Galaxy must close out its regular-season schedule, starting with Saturday’s match against the Colorado Rapids at the Home Depot Center (for final results, go to latimes.com). Then comes the first two rounds of the MLS playoffs. It can be an arduous journey, but not more difficult than the path Ricketts took to get to the Galaxy and MLS in the first place.
A striker in his youth in Jamaica, Ricketts found a home in goal after failing to make his school’s U-14 team as an outfield player. And, he said, he has never wanted to go back to forward.
“It’s a lot of running, man,” he joked. “I didn’t get picked as a striker, so I said I’ll go into goal. And I just stayed.”
After spending much of his career with Bradford City in England, Ricketts was sent back to Jamaica in 2008 when his application for a work permit was turned down. Although disastrous at the time, the move proved fortuitous a few months later when Bruce Arena, recently hired as coach of the Galaxy, reached out to Ricketts.
“I believe everything happens for a reason,” Ricketts said.
Providence didn’t wait long to come knocking on Ricketts’ door.
The Galaxy was coming off a season in which it won a franchise-low eight matches and gave up a league-high 62 goals. Ricketts was brought in to stop the bleeding.
“I’ve always thought he was a good goalkeeper,” Arena says of Ricketts, whom Arena had seen play often as coach of the U.S. national team. “I said in the back of my mind, ‘This would be a good goalkeeper to have at the club level.’ He was my priority and we were fortunate in being able to sign him.”
Ricketts, whose stay in England was marked by injury and suspension, rewarded Arena with a spectacular rookie season in which he registered nine shutouts and had a string of 314 scoreless minutes in the postseason. He has been even better this season, tying a franchise record with 11 shutouts and leading the MLS with 17 victories entering Saturday.
“There have been a bunch of goalkeepers that had had good seasons. So maybe it’s kind of gone unnoticed,” Arena said. “But Donovan now, for two consecutive seasons, has performed quite well for our team.”
Now comes the final challenge: getting the Galaxy back to the MLS Cup and playing a full 90 minutes — or more — this time. And Ricketts isn’t the only one who would like to see that happen.
“When you have to count on him to make a big save to keep you in the game or preserve a game, he’s consistently done that,” Arena said. “That’s a real plus.”
