Throughout the 2010 season, Chris Seitz stood tall in the face of adversity, accepted responsibility for the mistakes that were dooming the Philadelphia Union’s season and pledged to get better.
But in the end, that wasn’t enough for the Union management, which opted to go in a different direction and cut ties with the first starting goalkeeper in franchise history.
Now that Seitz is a member of FC Dallas (after being selected by Seattle in the Re-Entry Draft, the Sounders traded him), the goalie still maintains that same professional attitude, calling the 2010 season a “learning experience.”
But it’s hard to ignore an undercurrent of bitterness in his words as he discusses how, in many ways, he became the scapegoat for the Union’s defensive lapses.
“I think if you look at it, we never really had a standard back four,” Seitz told MLSsoccer.com just a day after arriving in Dallas. “We never had a consistent starting 11. Defensively, as a whole, we struggled. Individually, I got highlighted for that.”
[inline_node:315973]Seitz will be the first to admit there were times he made mistakes, which, as a goalie, can turn success into distress in the blink of en eye. But there were also some unlucky moments – the shot from New England’s Marko Perovic that skipped on a rock and bounced over his head being the most glaring example.
WATCH: Perovic's free kick beats Seitz
And Seitz makes a fair point when he says that the defense wasn’t solidified until the end of the season when Sheanon Williams came on board and settled in at right fullback.
All of that is led to a woeful 1.8 goals-against-average and zero shutouts in 22 starts.
“It’s something I dealt with,” Seitz said. “And it’s something that will prepare me for the future.”
The final straw for Union manager Peter Nowak came on Sept. 4, when Seitz let in a soft goal on a long free kick from Kansas City’s Davy Arnaud. Following the game, Nowak criticized his ‘keeper, saying, “The guys in front of Chris made it very easy for him. He needs to be there for his team.” From that point forward, Seitz was benched in favor of Brad Knighton.
“He was under a lot of pressure,” Seitz said when asked about Nowak’s sharp words. “He decided to blame an individual play when, really, a lot happens in that game. Did I make a mistake? Yeah. But at the end of the day, there were 100 mistakes.
“I’m a big enough man to take it and put my head down and go to work.”
Now, Seitz will go to work for another team, his third since coming into the league. And in Dallas, the 23-year-old hopes to finally reach the potential that helped him become an Olympian, an NCAA champion and the No. 4 overall pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft.
“I think I have a lot to prove,” Seitz said. “I think I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna prove to anyone that’s given up on me that it’s a bad decision.”
