Union goalkeeper Andre Blake’s plan to ‘push through’ in his continued return to full form

The three-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year doesn't want to talk specifics when it comes to his injuries. He will acknowledge that his recent injury struggles can't hold him and the team back.

Andre Blake rolls a pass to a teammate during Saturday's game.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

by Colin Beazley

Published April 28, 2024, 9:00 a.m. ET

Union goalkeeper Andre Blake had a forgettable return from his latest groin injury, playing all 90 minutes but making just two saves in the Union’s 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday night. Salt Lake scored twice despite an expected goals tally of 0.48, according to the advanced statistics site FutMob.

Postgame, Blake said he didn’t want to talk about where he was health-wise. However, he acknowledged that the groin injury — and his recent injury struggles — are something he’s going to have to deal with.

“It’s tough when you feel like you can’t catch a break, you know?” Blake said. “It’s a part of life. It’s a part of soccer. I’ve been going for maybe 10 years strong, so maybe this is just a little phase for me. I’ll hang in there. I’ll keep pushing.

“How long is it going to last? I don’t know. But I’ll push through it and hopefully, it ends sooner than later.”

On Saturday, Salt Lake managed four shots on goal. The first was a slow, long-range dribbler that Blake easily saved, but the second resulted in a bizarre goal. RSL’s Andres Gomez blasted a close-range shot from the right side of the box to Blake’s right, and while Blake reacted well to dive and get his hands on it, his parry looped over his own head and into the net. The shot had an expected goals tally of 0.04.

“I feel like the ball moved a little bit,” Blake said. “He hit it pretty hard. But I’ve got to do better. I will do better. It was just one of those ones where you thought you had enough on it to keep it out, and it still found a way to be in the back of the net. … I’ll take that responsibility and we go again.”

The second goal, an 89th-minute stunner, came on a 35-yard volley by Salt Lake left back Alex Katranis. Katranis’s left-footed shot curled perfectly away from Blake and into the side netting. Postgame, Union manager Jim Curtin described it as a “one in a thousand shot.”

Some may say that a fully healthy, in-rhythm Blake saves that shot, especially from that distance. But the reality is injury struggles have made finding rhythm impossible. Blake missed the first two matches of the season with a groin strain, then came back, only to suffer a concussion in the 74th minute of his second game. He played only 45 minutes in his return against Atlanta United before leaving with the groin injury. Saturday was the first time he’d completed 90 minutes since March 16.

Blake’s final save, on Salt Lake’s fourth shot on goal, showed the form that has made him a three-time MLS goalkeeper of the year. In the 95th minute, he dove to his right and tipped an Anderson Julio shot around the post for a corner.

The Union play twice next week, making up the weather-suspended home matchup with Seattle on Tuesday before heading to DC United on Saturday. Curtin hopes those games help Blake find a rhythm again.

“He’s had little injuries and bumps and bruises that add up and take away from training time,” Curtin said. “You want to get him a consistent run of games now where it’s not as a stop-start. I think we’ll get that now.”

However, there’s limited time. Blake and his Jamaica squad, which he captains, has its first 2026 World Cup qualifier on June 6. The Union has eight games before then. They’re hoping it’ll be enough to get him back in rhythm and back to full health.

“I’ll keep pushing,” Blake said. “I’ll do whatever I can to help the team, to be better and to win.”