Adrian Heath hails Dayne St. Clair after breakout performance vs. NYRB

Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair delivered a stellar performance against the New York Red Bulls, leading Minnesota United to their first victory of the 2022 Major League Soccer season. 

St. Clair was tested early in the match after teammate Hassani Dotson committed a handball inside the box to award the Red Bulls an early penalty. The Canadian goalkeeper was not fazed, becoming an instant hero in the 15th minute when saving Patryk Klimala’s penalty to maintain the clean sheet. 

The 24-year-old went on to make eight crucial saves throughout the 90 minutes to earn three points and the first shut out of the season.

Now, he has one goal: become the starting goalkeeper. 

“Opportunities like this don’t come often. I want to be a starter for this team, in this league. I know that when I get an opportunity like this I got to take it, similar to how I did it two years ago.”

“When the players can see my size in the net, hopefully the goal feels a little bit smaller. I think my reaction time is great so I can kind of wait for the striker to go instead of having to guess earlier. The work that Minnesota United goalkeeping coach Stuart Kerr does behind the scene is obviously incredible as well,” he added. 

The player first joining the team after being selected as the seventh overall pick during the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. He debuted with the club in September 2020, earning his first win and clean sheet in a 3-0 triumph over Real Salt Lake. 

The Loons have reportedly seen offers for the young goalkeeper, but have no intentions of selling the breakout star. 

“We’ve got four goalkeepers and we’re not giving them away,” Heath said. “We will make decisions as and when we feel fit. But trust me, you can’t have enough good goalkeepers. So if we keep them, we keep them. If somebody offers us enough money, then maybe we’d have to think about it. But at this moment in time, I’ve got no thoughts of trading any of them or selling.”