Will Jim Curtin go back to Oliver Semmle in the Union’s net, or give teen Andrew Rick another start?

When Jim Curtin benched goalkeeper Oliver Semmle for teenager Andrew Rick last Saturday, the Union’s manager said he wanted to give Semmle “kind of a break physically and mentally” after a poor game a few days earlier.

That break has now happened, and Curtin now has a decision to make. Does he go back to Semmle for Saturday’s game at CF Montréal (7:30 p.m., Apple TV), or give Rick another start after his top-level debut?

Curtin spent this week reflecting on his own views as much as analyzing film and practice work.

“Oliver is still a very strong young goalkeeper who’s just gone a level up,” Curtin said, referring to Semmle playing well for Louisville City of the second-tier USL Championship last year. “We had hoped to get him to 12 games maximum here at the first team level and have that growth and process be one that is step-by-step. Instead, you know, unfairly to Oliver, we threw him into the deep end.”

Fans can argue about Semmle all they like, but there’s no arguing that he’s blown past that 12-game target. Thanks to Andre Blake’s various injuries, Semmle played 17 of the Union’s 22 games this year before he was benched.

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“If they don’t have a good support system, it becomes very difficult,” Curtin said, and it’s also fair to say Semmle hasn’t had that. It’s a lot harder for a goalkeeper to stop the kinds of breakaway goals that the Union’s (4-7-8, 20 points) back line has given away far too many times this year.

But it was equally true when Curtin said “the situation, sometimes, in this sport doesn’t wait for the perfect moment. Things happen, injuries happen to Andre, and now Oliver is called upon to make more plays than is probably fair.”

Rick played well enough against Charlotte FC, making five saves in the 2-0 loss, but he was far from perfect. While the first goal he gave up was pretty much unstoppable, the second was a low, near-post shot that was a bad look to concede, even though Jakob Glesnes was caught flat-footed in front of him.

So while it was just one game, it wasn’t quite enough to convince some observers that Rick is so much better than Semmle right now that he should stay the starter until Blake returns.

“The second one, there’s always something you can do about it at the near post,” Curtin said. “So he’ll learn from it, too.”

And as Curtin said the night of the Charlotte game: “We made a decision to make a change to try to give a spark, and we didn’t get it.”

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No one doubts that Rick is a high-ceiling prospect, but it’s rare to see teenage goalkeepers at the top level of the pros. Their physical development usually peaks later than field players, and the eye test shows that when the 18-year-old Rick stands next to the 26-year-old Semmle.

Curtin said he’d make his decision after Friday’s practice and film session.

“It’ll be one where one guy’s going to be happy, one guy’s going to be upset, but they both need to be ready for whatever they’re called upon to do,” Curtin said. “It won’t be a game-day decision. You certainly want to have the back line really trained with the starter. We have some ideas. Again, two good young goalkeepers, but we have a decision to make.”

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As for the status of Blake’s recovery from knee surgery, Thursday was his first day back on the practice field.

“He did have gloves on, which was a good first step,” Curtin said. “Not close to starting. But that first step of getting back on the grass, putting the cleats on, being with the guys a little bit more, emotionally and mentally for the guys, I think, is a good thing.”