College to MLS: Which SuperDraft picks are most impactful in 2022?
The 2022 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas class is shaping up to be solid, with several players emerging as key contributors heading into the June international break.
Roman Celentano was drafted by FC Cincinnati No. 2 overall in MLS SuperDraft 2022 on January 12, 2022. He was added to the roster as a Generation adidas player.
2022 (FC Cincinnati): Made 27 regular season appearances, all starts, in his rookie season … earned his first start on April 24 in a nationally-televised matchup with LAFC where he made six saves replacing an injured Alec Kann, where he earned MLS Team of the Week Bench honors … started every match throughout the remainder of the regular season and into the postseason, where he recorded five clean sheets and a club record 85 saves in a season … his two penalty kick saves on June 29 vs NYC and on Sept. 17 at RSL matched Spencer Richey’s club record for PK saves in a career and in a single season … earned three total MLS Team of the Week honors, including one in the Starting XI in Week 10 as part of his two clean sheets in a week against TOR and MIN, where he made 11 combined saves … his 27 games started and 10 wins marked club records for most in a season by a goalkeeper … his seven first half saves against NYC on Sept. 7 marked a club record … started both games in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and earned a win against the New York Red Bulls in Round One, where he made six saves.
COLLEGE (Indiana): Celentano became the first goalkeeper in Big Ten history to win the conference’s Goalkeeper of the Year award multiple times in a career, doing so in consecutive seasons … In 2021, he recorded a career-high 11 shutouts, including seven consecutive clean sheets in the month of October, the second-longest single-season streak in Indiana program history … a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection, Celentano twice earned Best XI first-team recognition from Top Drawer Soccer … as a sophomore in the 2020-21 season, he was named a second-team All-American by United Soccer Coaches after conceding just six goals in 1490 minutes of action and registering a 0.36 goals-against-average … Celentano’s stellar play helped Indiana advance to the 2020 NCAA National Championship against Marshall, where he was named the Defensive Most Outstanding Player of the tournament … ended his collegiate career with a record of 37-10-5, allowing just 33 goals in 52 matches.