AMSTERDAM – When Molde FK netminder Ethan Horvath notched a string of fine saves to earn his fifth shutout of the campaign at home to Sarpsborg 08 this past weekend, he passed the Euro-rookie year total of Adin Brown.
This may not sound like a big accomplishment, but there are a couple factors to consider. Just for starters, it's worth mentioning that Brown's first foray into big league Old World soccer came with an Aalesund FK side that boarded the express train to relegation about a month into the schedule.
And while Brown was the New England Revolution starter for a season-and-a-half before heading to Norway, the 20-year-old Horvath had all of two NM Cupen games with Molde to his credit before the current campaign began. In 10 starts to date, the Colorado kid had rung up four wins to go with those five clean sheets.
Both of those sums put Horvath firmly in the all-time top-10 showings by Americans playing their first full season in a European top flight or the second division of England, France and Germany in those two key netminding stats. As you can see on the charts below, the Molde 'keeper stands in a three-way eighth-place tie on the victory list, while there are now only six American robbery artists above him on the rookie shutout honor roll.
How far can he climb by season's end? As Molde are already out of the NM Cupen this year, that answer could hinge on how Molde fare in the Europa League playoff duel with Standard Liège that begins in the friendly confines of Aker Stadion on Thursday.
The given is that Molde have 11 league matches remaining and at least two in the Europa League. Winning their Standard tie would automatically add another six games, with the possibility of more. There is also the added variable of Horvath recently splitting cage time with another young MFK netminder, Andreas Linde.
If Molde go no further in Europe, Horvath would look good for about 6-8 starts following the current rotation trend. On a good but inconsistent team, the US Olympic team candidate could certainly aim for passing Brown, Ian Feuer, current Red Bulls ace Luis Robles and Quentin Westberg on the victory list.
He needs another six victories to surpass Brad Guzan's rookie total of nine, so that will be difficult unless he can hog the remaining starts for himself. Catching Seattle 'keeper Troy Perkins and Robles on the shutout scroll also seems a much taller task.
However, the first-year stats put up by the legendary American export firm of Brad Friedel, Marcus Hahnemann, Tim Howard and Kasey Keller will rest comfortably for now. It will take a phenom on a top-five quality squad with enough fixtures to pile up the big numbers to compare with those four current and former stars.
It should also be noted that Friedel (Turkish Cup), Howard (FA Cup) and Perkins (NM Cupen) all captured silver in their Euro-rookie campaigns. While Horvath is technically still alive in two competitions, Molde would need a legitimate miracle to defend their league crown and the UK odds of them lifting the Europa League trophy next spring currently are at least 100-1.
Criteria note: Netminders could have no more than nine appearances from the previous full season if they came up through the club's youth ranks/reserves, or a half-season if the player had previous MLS experience. If the 'keeper was on a European first team for more than a single season, they could have amassed no more than 14 total appearances.
Wins as AE rookie
25 Howard, Man United (03/04)
24 Hahnemann, Reading (02/03)
19 Keller, Millwall (92/93)
18 Friedel, Galatasaray (95/96)
14 Perkins, Vålerenga (2008)
9 Guzan, Aston Villa (09/10)
7 Robles, Kaiserslautern (08/09)
6 Feuer, Molenbeek (91/92)
4 Brown, Aalesund FK (2005)
4 Westberg, Evian (10/11)
Shutouts as AE rookie
19 Hahnemann, Reading (02/03)
17 Howard, Man United (03/04)
16 Keller, Millwall (92/93)
15 Friedel, Galatasaray (95/96)
8 Perkins, Vålerenga (2008)
7 Robles, Kaiserslautern (08/09)
= second division
