loyola Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 10/05/2007 Onstad in contention for honor By Jeremy Rakes / MLSnet.com Staff With a league leading 9 shutouts, Onstad has guided Houston to the top of the Western Conference. (AP) HOUSTON -- With three weeks remaining in the MLS season the yearly awards talk will start, and Houston Dynamo should have a number of players in contention for a number of awards. Pat Onstad will certainly be in contention for what would be a third Goalkeeper of the Year award following what has been a great season. Onstad leads the league in goals against average at 0.84 along with save percentage at .789. He is also among the leaders in the MLS in shutouts with nine. But to him, goals against average is a team stat, and he gives a lot of credit to the guys in front of him. "We tried to keep our goals against under one this year, and we still have (three) games to go," Onstad said. "I think we want to keep it as low as we can, and I know myself and the guys in the back take a lot of pride in that stat. I think that's definitely a team stat." Onstad said a lot of what he does is make sure the guys in the backline are on the same page. "I think that's one of my strengths. I do a pretty good job making sure I'm organized," Onstad said. "Not only on game days, but also during the week. I make sure we are all on the same page. The fact that the same group of guys has been together for a long time helps as well. A lot of guys in front of me have had great years. I think Wade Barrett, especially, has had a great year for us. Guys like him, Craig Waibel, Richard Mulrooney, Ryan Cochrane, Eddie Robinson made a big difference for me this year." His teammates see the kind of work Onstad puts in and have great confidence in what he can do. "The goalkeeper is the backbone of the defense, and Pat is a tremendous leader on the team," Barrett said. "He helps organize the backline. The most important thing Pat does is make good saves. I think every single player on the team is confident in Pat. I think he is, if not the best, one of the best goalkeepers in the league. We see that every day we come out to training. Pat is an unbelieveable goalkeeper." With Onstad in goal, Houston has conceded the fewest goals in the league this season and has set a new MLS shutout streak. Onstad has also saved numerous games this season with great saves. In the first game of the season, he stopped Los Angeles' Landon Donovan to keep the game tied in the first half. At Kansas City on June 24, Onstad made two saves late to help preserve the win, and on Sept. 1 against the Wizards, Onstad stopped Eddie Johnson in the third minute. Onstad's play also led to a renaissance with the Canadian national team, as he was called into the team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, then made another appearance in August for a friendly against Iceland. "That was a lot of fun," Onstad said. "I didn't expect that, so that was really nice. It was kind of a reward for me with how the season has gone. It was fun for me, and it was nice to get a call-up and play in Iceland. That was really enjoyable." Dynamo goalkeeper's coach Mike Toshack said it's Onstad's attention to detail and professionalism that makes him so good. "With Pat, it's the work he puts in day-to-day, that attention to detail," Toshack said. "He never takes a day off. He's always 100 percent. He has the things he has to do during the week to get himself ready to play. It's attention to detail and a lot of hard work. He's a professional." Onstad admitted he would love to win a third Goalkeeper of the Year award ahead of D.C. United's Troy Perkins and Chivas USA's Brad Guzan, but he would trade it in for something else. "I would love to get Goalkeeper of the Year," Onstad said. "That would be a nice trophy to get, especially when you see other goalkeepers have fantastic years in Troy Perkins and Brad Guzan. I think they are both worthy of Goalkeeper of the Year awards. We'll see what happens. Bottom line is that if I can win an MLS Cup, I will trade any trophy for that one." Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 Did you guys know that Onstad has a B coaching license in Canada? He took it when he "retired" in 1995. Also, it would be interesting to know his intentions towards the MNT. I'm pretty sure DM knows it but we fans would like to know if he plans to compete for a starting spot for the 2008 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 quote:Originally posted by loyola Did you guys know that Onstad has a B coaching license in Canada? He took it when he "retired" in 1995. Also, it would be interesting to know his intentions towards the MNT. I'm pretty sure DM knows it but we fans would like to know if he plans to compete for a starting spot for the 2008 games. I have gained a greater appeciation of his abilities in recent years in large part through being pleasantly surprised by the calibre professional environment that plays in. True, he let in a bad goal (as a result of a spilled ball ) in the game against CRC in Burnaby. But beyond that I cannot recall too many instances where you can point the finger at him directly for indesired results. Looking back at things now, can anyone honnestly state that any of the other contenders for the starting GK job are presently more secure and in a better postion from a club/professional standpoint than Onstad?. I too sympathised with those who lambasted Yallop over his selection but maybe. just maybe Yallop knew more than the Voyageurs did about what Onstad did and could do in comparaison to the others. As it stands now, it wouldn't surprise me Onstad gets the call again next summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 On present form I would pick him over a healthy Sutton & Stamatopoulos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhat Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Quote: "Onstad's play also led to a renaissance with the Canadian national team, as he was called into the team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, then made another appearance in August for a friendly against Iceland. "That was a lot of fun," Onstad said. "I didn't expect that, so that was really nice. It was kind of a reward for me with how the season has gone. It was fun for me, and it was nice to get a call-up and play in Iceland. That was really enjoyable." Considering how he was the WCQ goat for 2001 & 2004, it was really nice to see him play well above expectations in the 2007 Gold Cup. I definitely was glad he got the nod to replace Sutton during the tournament. Good to see that he's still enjoying his role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca On present form I would pick him over a healthy Sutton & Stamatopoulos. Agreed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca On present form I would pick him over a healthy Sutton & Stamatopoulos. Only Lars is in a position to give him competition at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Free kick Looking back at things now, can anyone honnestly state that any of the other contenders for the starting GK job are presently more secure and in a better postion from a club/professional standpoint than Onstad?. I too sympathised with those who lambasted Yallop over his selection but maybe. just maybe Yallop knew more than the Voyageurs did about what Onstad did and could do in comparaison to the others. As it stands now, it wouldn't surprise me Onstad gets the call again next summer. This is what I,ve been saying since 2004, Sutton in the A-League and only 1 caps with the MNT and Hirschfeld without a club, Onstad was kind of an automatic as #1 and without more games it was tough to have a battle for the # 1 spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 quote:Originally posted by loyola Only Lars is in a position to give him competition at this point. But Hirshfeld is who I had in mind when I used the term " secure" to describe Onstand pro performances. There is a reason why keepers like Hirshfeld were/are without a club and why they change clubs frequently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Free kick But Hirshfeld is who I had in mind when I used the term " secure" to describe Onstand pro performances. There is a reason why keepers like Hirshfeld were/are without a club and why they change clubs frequently. I'm speaking as of today. Hirschfeld is in his second season at a very good club and I think he and Onstad are at about the same level at this point. As for 2004, as I say in my previous post, I totally agree with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrennanFan Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 what the hell is going on in this thread. Onstad was completely unimpressive in the first 2 games of wcq last time around. maybe onstad was the reasonable choice going in, but a change needed to be made after poor performances and wasn't. WHY? Because Yallop and Onstad are best buddies. There is a reason Hirschfeld has impressed Big clubs in europe and was Holgers # 1. But Yallop had his own agenda. And how are people saying Hirsch and Pat are on the same level now? MLS = Champions League? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 quote:Originally posted by BrennanFan And how are people saying Hirsch and Pat are on the same level now? MLS = Champions League? I'm not going to argue that Onstad is better than Hirschfeld, but the more reasonable comparison to question is MLS = Norway? Which I think is pretty close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted October 6, 2007 Author Share Posted October 6, 2007 Norway league is pretty similar to MLS. And if the MLS was part of Europe, Onstad would be playing in the CL. It's not because Hirschfeld will play 6 games in the CL this year that he's better than Onstad. If he was playing there every year I would agree with you but it's his first time and he won't be there next year with Rosenborg being a middle of the table norwegian team this year.... As for 2004, I'm just don't see how someone can say Onstad was bad against Guatemala when the 2 goals where scored by a player who was all alone in front of him. Against Honduras, he was scored on a PK. Who are the big clubs who have been impress with Hirschfeld? Tottenham who didn't have the confidence to start him in one Premiership game in 2 1/2 seasons? Hirschfeld is good, but not big club caliber yet (he might be able to get there if he impress in the CL or UEFA and he's still fairly young for a keeper) but no way he is a 100 % starter for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildguy27 Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 The battle for the #1 keeper position is obviously between Sutton and Stamatopoulos. In the last 30 months: Sutton- 5 events/friendlies as starter. 4 other events/friendlies as backup. Stamatopoulous- 4 events/friendlies as starter. 4 other events/ friendlies as backup. Onstead- 2 events/friendlies as starter. 0 other events/friendlies as backup. Hirschfeld- 2 events/friendies as starter. 0 other events/ friendlies as backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 quote:Originally posted by wildguy27 The battle for the #1 keeper position is obviously between Sutton and Stamatopoulos. In the last 30 months: Sutton- 5 events/friendlies as starter. 4 other events/friendlies as backup. Stamatopoulous- 4 events/friendlies as starter. 4 other events/ friendlies as backup. Onstead- 2 events/friendlies as starter. 0 other events/friendlies as backup. Hirschfeld- 2 events/friendies as starter. 0 other events/ friendlies as backup. Are you still here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loud Mouth Soup Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Rudi Are you still crazy in the head? Fixed that for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildguy27 Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 I was just posting facts. It is silly to discuss Hirschfeld and Onstad battling for the #1 spot. Sutton and Stamatopolous have played much more for the MNT then either the last 30 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 quote:Originally posted by wildguy27 I was just posting facts. It is silly to discuss Hirschfeld and Onstad battling for the #1 spot. Sutton and Stamatopolous have played much more for the MNT then either the last 30 months. Your "facts" have already been proven wrong. Please move on to another topic. Or do you not know anything outside of your ridiculous sports conspiracy theories? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 The fact that Hirschfeld started over Stamatopoulos at Kenny's home stadium should be a pretty clear indication of the pecking order at the goalkeeper position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildguy27 Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Rudi Your "facts" have already been proven wrong. Please move on to another topic. Or do you not know anything outside of your ridiculous sports conspiracy theories? There is nothing wrong with what I just posted, and certainly cant be proven wrong as it is fact. Sutton and Stamatopolous have played much more for the MNT then either Hirschfeld or Onstad the last 30 months. They have started double or more the games, and appeared at quadruple or more the games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 quote:Originally posted by wildguy27 Hirschfeld- 2 events/friendies as starter. 0 other events/ friendlies as backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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