Clint Irwin

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.

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

Club career

Early career

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

After his time at Elon, Irwin joined Capital City of the Canadian Soccer League for the 2011 season and was named the team captain. Irwin made 22 appearances for Capital City and scored a goal for the club in a 2–2 draw with Windsor Stars. He would help the Ottawa-based club secure a playoff berth by finishing third in the league's first division. Ottawa defeated Montreal Impact's academy team in the quarterfinal round. In the next round, Ottawa defeated the Serbian White Eagles to advance to the championship final. Ottawa would face Toronto Croatia in the championship final and were defeated by Toronto. After the conclusion of the season, Irwin was nominated for the league's best goalkeeper award.

United States

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

In February 2013, Irwin signed with Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids after a successful trial in preseason. 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.

Toronto FC

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. 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; Upon his return to action, Irwin later regained the starting spot for the remainder of the regular season and the Playoffs, 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 Seattle Sounders FC 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. 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.

The following season, Irwin suffered a hamstring injury in 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, 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. 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.

MLS

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

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

Career statistics

Club

Honors

Toronto FC

• MLS Cup: 2017
• Supporters' Shield: 2017
• Canadian Championship: 2016, 2017, 2018

Capital City FC

• CSL Championship Runners-up: 2011

References

References

1. "Clint Irwin". Colorado Rapids.
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.
4. "Clint Irwin at SoccerStats.us".
5. (29 April 2011). "Sports Flashes - Capital City Net Players". [[Ottawa Sun]].
6. Starnes, Richard. (20 May 2011). "Capital City success will come by committee; Team kicks off CSL season tonight". [[Ottawa Citizen]].
7. "July 16, 2011 CSL--details of Saturday games (from CSL website)".
8. (6 October 2011). "Capital City wins out". Nepean Barrhaven EMC.
9. Desaulniers, Darren. (17 October 2011). "Surviving the Impact; Capital City FC advances into CSL semifinals". [[Ottawa Citizen]].
10. Desaulniers, Darren. (24 October 2011). "Headed for the final; Capital City FC advances to Canadian Soccer League title game". [[Ottawa Citizen]].
11. Barrs, Rory. (30 October 2011). "Just one goal short for Capital City FC; First-year team loses CSL final". [[Ottawa Citizen]].
12. (16 November 2011). "City FC Rookie Nets Award". [[Ottawa Citizen]].
13. (6 July 2012). "Eagles Get Past Battery". United Soccer Leagues.
14. (21 February 2013). "Rapids sign goalkeeper Clint Irwin and defender Kory Kindle". Colorado Rapids Media Relations.
15. "Real Salt Lake 1-1 Colorado Rapids".
16. Nicholas Rosano. (January 18, 2016). "Toronto FC acquire goalkeeper Clint Irwin from Colorado Rapids for targeted allocation money, draft picks". Major League Soccer.
17. (July 2, 2016). "Alex Bono takes the reins in net as Toronto deal with Clint Irwin's injury". Major League Soccer.
18. (August 10, 2017). "Alex Bono has grabbed his chance as TFC's keeper". The Toronto Star.
19. (December 10, 2016). "Seattle Sounders beat Toronto FC on penalties to win 2016 MLS Cup". ESPN FC.
20. (December 12, 2016). "Atlanta United, Minnesota United FC add five players in MLS Expansion Draft". Major League Soccer.
21. (April 2, 2017). "Toronto FC goalkeeper Irwin out 4-5 weeks with hamstring injury". CBC Sports.
22. (November 28, 2017). "TFC's Alex Bono unfazed by challenges on and off the pitch". CBC Sports.
23. (December 4, 2017). "Character, confidence propel TFC's Alex Bono to No. 1 job, MLS Cup start". Major League Soccer.
24. (December 6, 2017). "MLS Cup features two of the league's best goalkeepers". The Toronto Star.
25. (December 9, 2017). "Tale of the tape: Toronto FC seeks redemption in MLS Cup rematch". CBC Sports.
26. (December 9, 2017). "Recap: Toronto FC vs Seattle Sounders". Major League Soccer.
27. (December 9, 2017). "Toronto FC captures MLS Cup". The Toronto Star.
28. (December 14, 2018). "Clint Irwin returns to Colorado Rapids via trade". [[The Denver Post]].
29. (May 12, 2020). "Why Clint Irwin deserves to be the Rapids' starting goalkeeper". Burgundy Wave.
30. "Who's in, who's out? Gyasi Zardes' future uncertain at Colorado Rapids | MLSSoccer.com".
31. "Minnesota United sign goalkeeper Clint Irwin in free agency | MLSSoccer.com".
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