Brad Knighton

Brad Knighton

Personal information
Full name	Brad Burton Knighton
Date of birth	February 6, 1985 (1985-02-06)
Place of birth	Hickory, North Carolina, United States
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Youth career
2003–2006	Wilmington 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–	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	0	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of September 24, 2011. † Appearances (Goals).

Brad Knighton (born February 6, 1985 in Hickory, North Carolina) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Major League Soccer.

Career

College and Amateur

Knighton played four years of college soccer at UNC-Wilmington as well as for Indiana Invaders in the USL Premier Development League.

Professional

Undrafted 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. 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. The move was aimed at getting Knighton some valuable playing time as he had seen no first team action while with New England.

Knighton was selected by Philadelphia Union in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft on November 25, 2009. 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 8 August 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 11 September 2010, earning his first professional cleansheet, 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. In April 2011 he signed with Carolina RailHawks FC of the North American Soccer League.

Knighton signed with Vancouver Whitecaps FC of MLS in January 2012.

See also

• List of current MLS players

External links

• MLS player profile
• Portland Timbers profile