How Union GK Andre Blake conquered hurdles to become a star | THE WORD

Connecticut was a departure from what Blake knew, but he thrived immediately with the Huskies. Blake posted 36 shutouts during his three years as a starter and was twice named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, as well as the American Athletic Conference Goalkeeper of the Year. Courtesy of UConn Athletics

YOU GET THE SENSE THAT EVERYONE WHO SAW BLAKE PLAY in college has a favorite moment, a story they like to tell about how absurdly good the Jamaican was while patrolling UConn’s net.

Union rookie Keegan Rosenberry certainly has one. It was during a UConn-Georgetown game in 2012 when Blake was a sophomore, and Rosenberry a freshman at Georgetown. The game was a showdown between two of the top three teams in the country at the time, but it was still Blake who stole the show in a 2-1 Georgetown victory.

“I think he had the best game I’ve ever seen a collegiate goalie have,” says Rosenberry, who saw plenty of college standouts during his four years with the Hoyas.

“I don’t normally go crazy over saves, but I look back on that game and I’m like, ‘Wow,’” Blake says. “Keegan always talks about it. He’s like, ‘Dude, I still don’t understand. Everyone started celebrating our goal but the ball wasn’t in the net.’”

After that game, Reid didn’t hold back his praise for Blake, telling the UConn website, “He’s the best goalkeeper in America. Plain and simple.” It was a stance he maintained throughout Blake’s college career, especially the next season, when the Jamaican emerged as an NSCAA First Team All-American and a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist.

And like everyone else, he too has a favorite Andre Blake story, recalling the time the Jamaican made a point-blank save in overtime vs. top-seeded UCLA in the third round of the NCAA tournament – a game UConn ended up winning on penalty kicks.

“He made tons of saves,” Reid says. “But that one I remember.”

That upset would prove to be Blake’s last win at the college level as the Huskies were bounced in the next round by Virginia, and the goalkeeper decided to leave school a year early to turn pro. By then, plenty of MLS coaches were closely scouting the Jamaican, but Reid still believed that the attention came a little late. Like Harvey, he often felt Blake didn’t get the respect he deserved.

“A lot of people were asking about him, but we had known this for three years,” Reid says. “People didn’t want to listen, but he knew he was special.”

Blake’s jaw-dropping athletic ability and his knack for makingrub-your-eyes-in-disbelief saves fueled that reputation. But how the Jamaican adapted to UConn off the field played a big part in solidifying himself as a next-level prospect as well.

“I’m sure it was a bit of a transition,” Reid says. “But he has such a great personality, he’s such a likable young man, that he hit it off big on campus right away.

“He’s a great young man – humble, driven, even-keeled, soft-spoken, the whole deal.”

Those personality traits came in handy as Blake navigated the tricky pre-draft process, meeting with teams and trying to figure out where he might land. Based on his dominant collegiate career and how well he played at the MLS Combine, he figured he’d be picked early in the draft.

But he didn’t think he’d go No. 1 – and he never expected to land in Philly, either.

“I didn’t meet with the Union until the last minute, and they didn’t even seem that interested,” Blake says. “Or maybe that’s the way they played it off.”

Other people were equally surprised, considering the Union’s top need at the time was center back, and two center backs – Steve Birnbaum and Christian Dean – went No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Plus, the Union already had a promising young goalkeeper in Zac MacMath, who was actually in the draft room at the time. Even still, Philly decided to not just target Blake but also make an aggressive trade up to the No. 1 spot to do so.

Why’d they do it?

“He separated himself from the rest of the class in that draft,” explains Union head coach Jim Curtin, an assistant coach with the team at the time. “That’s tough for a goalie. I think they really have to stand out even more. He did that, which is no easy task. He made some saves at the combine that were next level.”

Now a pro, Blake made his Jamaican senior national team debut less than two months later, and figured he would compete for Philly’s starting goalkeeping spot right away as a rookie.

“It’s always great to make history,” he says. “For me, that was one of the best days of my life.”

Everything, it seemed, was falling into place. Or was it?