Bradley Burton Knighton (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player.
 Knighton with Carolina RailHawks in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bradley Burton Knighton | ||
| Date of birth | February 6, 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Hickory, North Carolina, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2006 | UNCW Seahawks | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006 | Indiana Invaders | 11 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | New England Revolution | 6 | (0) |
| 2008 | → Portland Timbers (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2010 | Philadelphia Union | 8 | (0) |
| 2011 | Carolina RailHawks | 28 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 21 | (0) |
| 2014–2022 | New England Revolution | 50 | (0) |
| 2015 | → Richmond Kickers (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2021 | New England Revolution II | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 13, 2022 | |||
College and amateur soccer
editKnighton played four years of college soccer at UNC-Wilmington as well as for Indiana Invaders in the USL Premier Development League.
Professional career
editUndrafted by Major League Soccer, he attended a New England Revolution tryout in early 2007 and was good enough to be invited on trial for the preseason. He impressed during the trial in Bermuda, winning a spot as the Revolution's third-choice keeper and a developmental contract with the club.[2] The signing made him the first soccer player from UNC-Wilmington to be on a MLS roster.
After spending his first year and a half with the Revs behind Matt Reis and Doug Warren, he was loaned to the Portland Timbers on July 2, 2008, for the remainder of the 2008 Major League Soccer season.[3] The move was aimed at getting Knighton some valuable playing time as he had seen no first team action while with New England. He has now moved on to coaching the academy .
Knighton was selected by Philadelphia Union in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft on November 25, 2009.[4] His first action with the team was a start in a friendly against Manchester United in which he allowed no goals before being replaced at halftime. He made his league debut for Philadelphia on August 8, 2010, against FC Dallas away, but was sent off for denying of an obvious goalscoring opportunity in 22nd minute. In his next start, he shut out the Chicago Fire at PPL Park on September 11, 2010, earning his first professional clean sheet, and also Philadelphia's first in franchise history. He was given a second consecutive start of the season vs. San Jose but was not able to hold down the starting position over the rest of the season, finishing with just 8 appearances.
On January 25, 2011, Knighton was waived by Philadelphia.[5] In April 2011 he signed with Carolina RailHawks FC of the North American Soccer League.[6]
Knighton signed with Vancouver Whitecaps FC of MLS in January 2012.[7] After Joe Cannon, the starting goaltender for most of the season, had a blunder against the Portland Timbers in August 2012, Knighton established himself as the starting goalkeeper.
Knighton was traded back to New England in December 2013 in exchange for a conditional pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.[8]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played March 7, 2020[9]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Indiana Invaders | 2006[10] | USL PDL | 11 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| New England Revolution | 2007 | MLS | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2009 | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||
| Portland Timbers (loan) | 2008[10] | USL-1 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Philadelphia Union | 2010 | MLS | 8 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Carolina RailHawks | 2011[11] | NASL | 28 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2012 | MLS | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 2013 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| Total | 21 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| New England Revolution | 2014 | MLS | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2016 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 46 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 0 | ||
| Richmond Kickers (loan) | 2015[10] | USL | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 123 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 142 | 0 | ||
- ^ Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
Honors
editNew England Revolution
NASL Best XI: 2011
References
edit- ^ "Brad Knighton". New England Revolution. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ Knighton to Sign Pact with Revolution Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine UNCW Athletics, February 26, 2007, retrieved March 5, 2007.
- ^ "New England Revolution Loans Out Two Players". July 2, 2008. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
- ^ Union select 10 players in expansion draft Archived November 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Philadelphia Union Communications (January 25, 2011). "Union Waive Goalkeeper Knighton". Philadelphiaunion.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
- ^ "RailHawks Release Roster | North American Soccer League". Nasl.com. April 4, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
- ^ "Whitecaps FC acquire goalkeeper Brad Knighton | Vancouver Whitecaps FC". Whitecapsfc.com. January 17, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
- ^ "Revolution acquires GK Brad Knighton from Vancouver before trade deadline". New England Revolution. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
- ^ Brad Knighton at Soccerway. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Brad Knighton | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
- ^ "Brad Knighton - Vancouver Whitecaps". Archived from the original on February 12, 2012.