Young Union backup goalkeeper Andrew Rick proved his potential in his first MLS win

With Andre Blake likely to return to the lineup on Sunday vs. D.C. United, the Union can finally breathe easy about his chief backup. At just 18, Rick has earned the role, and brought stability to it.

Union backup goalkeeper Andrew Rick, age 18, had the best game of his young career in Wednesday's 5-1 win at New York City FC.Read morePhiladelphia Union

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published Sept. 20, 2024, 3:46 p.m. ET

Of the seven saves that young Union goalkeeper Andrew Rick made in Wednesday’s big 5-1 win at New York City FC, the one that made the top 10 plays on ESPN’s SportsCenter might not have been his best.

It was a big one, no doubt: a leap backward in the 66th minute to palm away Mounsef Bakrar’s chip shot attempt from 12 yards and push the ball just far enough wide of the nearest post. But the stop that sent the biggest message about the 18-year-old’s potential might have been his first of the night, in the 30th minute.

Tayvon Gray had floated a tidy cross over Kai Wagner and Jakob Glesnes, and it landed right on cue for Keaton Parks to hit one-time from just outside the six-yard box. Rick dove low in an instant and snuffed the play out, falling on the ball without giving up a rebound. It was the kind of play a goalkeeper makes on instinct, having time only to react, not think. And while Rick got a little lucky that Parks shot right at him, it was luck that Rick made for himself with his agility and athleticism.

“A lot of goalkeeping is just kind of instinct,” Rick said during practice Friday. “[At] that moment, I’m thinking, make myself as big as possible. I’m a little fortunate that he hits it straight at me, but you can’t really train too much of that sort of stuff — just try and make yourself as big as possible.”

It was also the kind of play that Andre Blake makes so routinely that fans take it for granted. But while the veteran’s high standard is one that few goalkeepers anywhere in MLS can reach, too few of his backups over the years have just reached a normal standard.

Forced to grow up fast

Rick shouldn’t be expected to play like that every game at his age. The Union academy product has 170 pounds on his 6-foot-2 frame, or at least he did when he signed his first-team contract in May. So he still has plenty of growing to do, physically as much as skill-wise.

“It takes a while,” Rick, 18, said. “Even now, I think my range could be more, I think I could dive further, I could get physically more robust, and physically more prepared for the MLS level. And thousands and thousands of reps, on the field, in the gym, all lead up to that.”

While those reps await, what matters most is that Rick has backed up the talk of his potential. Saturday was his first win with the Union’s first team. It was just his sixth start, pairing with 34 games with the reserves. His previous best result was a scoreless tie against the New York Red Bulls in early July, and in the other four games, he was scored on 11 times.

“Obviously, there’s a huge jump between MLS Next Pro [where the reserves play] and MLS, but I think one of the main things I’ve been focusing on is just kind of doing my job, not trying to do too much,” Rick said. “They put me on the field to just make saves and help the team win. I’m not trying to come out here and ping 90-yard side volleys for an assist. Just doing my job and trying to help the team win.”

That’s the right perspective to have, especially when considering that not all 11 of those goals were Rick’s fault alone. Teammates in front of him didn’t step up to help a young goalkeeper in ways they could have.

On Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, they did. The Union’s defensive stats included 24 clearances, 14 interceptions, and nine blocks.

“It’s not easy to be thrown in front of the lions,” forward Mikael Uhre said, having seen it all from the other end of the field. “I think [Rick] handled it well, and he’s a great guy — keeps his head down and works. He’s just got to keep doing that, and then we’re going to see even more great things from him.”

A long-sought player for the long-term

In the bigger picture, after years of cycling through Oliver Semmle, Joe Bendik, Matt Freese, and Carlos Coronel as Blake’s backup, the Union have a homegrown No. 2 who can hold that position for some time. That is a very big deal, from team chemistry to the salary cap experts in the front office.

“I think it helps build the relationship with the players because they see that I can do this, and they see that I am building that experience and building that relationship with them, and they begin to trust me more,” Rick said. “And that’s, for me, really important, that all of them trust me. Because if they don’t trust me, then how are we going to go and win?

Does this make Rick the potential successor for Blake? Let’s put it this way: The idea shouldn’t come up for a while. Blake is 33, an age where goalkeepers still have plenty in the tank.

While Blake is in the last guaranteed year of his contract, with a team-held option for 2025, it should be a slam dunk to get a new deal done well before he hopefully leads Jamaica into his long-awaited first FIFA World Cup in 2026.

Rick, meanwhile, is young enough that there shouldn’t be a repeat of what happened with Freese any time soon. Freese left for New York City FC two years ago because he was 25 and wanted to be a starter somewhere. The Wayne native was old enough to deserve it, and Union manager Jim Curtin understood as well as anyone.

In the short term, Blake is on track to return to the Union’s net for Sunday’s home game vs. D.C. United, the Union’s last regular-season game this year on traditional television (6:15 p.m., FS1, free on Apple TV). He has missed the last two with the latest of the many groin injuries he has suffered over the years.

But Rick will get his chances. There’s a Concacaf Gold Cup coming next summer — before the biggest show of all in 2026. And sadly, Blake’s groin problems might never fully go away, because that’s their nature.

It’s good to know that Rick has shown what he’s capable of and has secured himself a firm place within the Union’s goalkeeper depth chart.