Donovan Ricketts in action against Tijuana Xolos in San Diego

MLS Soccer News: LA Galaxy Trade Donovan Ricketts

On Monday, November 28, LA Galaxy announced in a press release that they had traded star goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts to Montreal Impact for “allocation money.” The move will free up space on the team’s salary cap for the upcoming MLS season.

“The trade of Donovan Ricketts to Montreal was really difficult for the Galaxy,” said head coach Bruce Arena in a video interview on the Galaxy website. “We think Donovan’s one of the top two or three goalkeepers in the league. He’s been an outstanding performer for the Galaxy. But this business is a difficult business when we have certain rules we gotta comply to with the salary cap and everything else.”

Ricketts joined the Galaxy in December of 2008 and spent three seasons in the net, starting 70 games and logging 6,168 minutes. Over that span he logged 27 clean sheets, with a club record 11 in 2010 – the year he was voted MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. His performance helped turn around a previously weak defense that gave up 62 goals the season before he joined. In 2011 Galaxy posted a total of 18 shutouts behind the work of Ricketts and fellow keeper Josh Saunders, for a 0.79 team goals against average, according to FIFA statistics.

In 2009, his first season with Galaxy, Ricketts played in 26 of the teams 30 games, recorded 9 shutouts and was a finalist for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. His efforts also helped Galaxy return to the MLS playoffs for the first time in five years, the team losing to Real Salt Lake in penalty kicks in the finals. In 2010, Ricketts was named to the MLS Best XI while helping Galaxy to a club record low of 26 goals allowed.

The 2011 season was not as kind to Ricketts, who suffered from a number of injuries and only played in 15 of the team’s 34 matches. In spite of the injuries, and call ups for the Jamaican National Team, he still managed to notch seven shutouts and a GAA of 0.77.

Donovan Ricketts will be missed for more than just his stellar goaltending efforts. “We were a better team with Donovan,” said Arena in the video interview. “He was great for us for three years – an All-Star performer, First XI performer. We’re going to miss him.” In the same video interview, Josh Saunders, who looks to be Ricketts’ primary replacement in goal, talked about what Ricketts meant to the team.

“Obviously it was a surprise, having Donovan the goalkeeper he is and the person that he is, it’s sad to see him go,” said Saunders. “He was the best – always happy, always smiling, came in every day, you know, had a good joke. Even training with him, we kept if very light. Whether I was playing or he was playing or Perky (Brian Perk) was playing we were always very supportive, and he supported me all the way through when he was injured and through the playoffs. I couldn’t ask for anything more from another player.”

The Galaxy are currently in Asia for a post-season Asia Pacific Tour that will take them to Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia before the end of the year.

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