LAFC addressed one of its most inconsistent spots that plagued them all last season; Keeper. LAFC on Thursday acquired Maxime Crepeau from the Vancouver Whitecaps, and in exchange, Vancouver will receive $1 million in General Allocation Money (GAM), plus a natural first round pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft and conditional GAM if certain performance metrics are met.
Crepeau is expected to solidify the Keeper position for LAFC, which in 2021 was anything but consistent. LAFC started the season with Pablo Sisniega between the pipes, but inconsistent play for Sisniega forced then-head coach Bob Bradley to replace him with Tomas Romero, who started out well, keeping a clean sheet in his debut, a 2-0 win against FC Dallas. Romero managed to hold down the starting spot for a while, but ultimately also fell victim to inconsistent play, and Bradley went overseas to address the position, signing the 6-6 Jamal Blackman, who had spent most of his career in England’s lower divisions. Blackman made his debut on September 29, a 2-1 loss to the Portland Timbers. Blackman did not get his first clean sheet until October 26, a 3-0 win over Seattle.Inconsistent play at the Keeper spot ultimately cost LAFC a playoff spot.
Crepeau, a native of Greenfield, Quebec, started out with the Montreal Impact academy and had loan spells with the now-defunct CF Montreal and the Ottoway Fury. Crepeau was then traded to the Whitecaps prior to the 2019 season and soon established himself as Vancouver’s starting keeper. Crepeau missed most of the 2020 season due to a broken thumb suffered in the MLS is Back Tournament, but reestablished himself in 2021, as his play was one of the kay factor’s in Vancouver’s surprise late-season run to the MLS playoffs. Crepeau’s play has not gone unnoticed by the Canadian Soccer Association, as he has 14 caps for the Canadian National Team.
