One Donovan (the one on the left) is making is return to StubHub Center.
By Ivan Yeo
One keeper is making his way out, but another keeper is making his way back into the StubHub Center.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles Galaxy honored the request by Jaime Penedo to be let out of his contract, bringing and end to a two-year stint between the pipes that included an MLS Cup. Almost immediately after Penedo’s departure, the Galaxy found his replacement, bringing back one-time LA keeper Donovan Ricketts.
Penedo was signed by the Galaxy in August of 2013 after the Galaxy had gotten mixed results from Carlo Cudicini. Penedo immediately established himself between the pipes for the Galaxy from the remainder of the 2013 season well into the following year. Penedo firmly cemented his reputation as a top keeper on November 1, 2014; Playing in the first leg of the Western Conference semifinals against longtime rival Real Salt Lake, Penedo was a one-man wall against RSL, making 10 saves at Rio Tinto stadium as the match ended in scoreless draw. Penedo’s performance that night set the tone for that year’s postseason run, the Galaxy routed RSL in the final leg at home and LA eventually captured its fifth MLS Cup title.
Things however started to turn sour between Penedo and the Galaxy at the start of the season. Penedo missed the Galaxy’s first two games of the season as rumors spread about his unhappiness about his current contract. Penedo eventually returned to LA, but after representing Panama in the recently concluded Gold Cup, Penedo asked for, and apparently got his release. Penedo’s two years with the Galaxy saw him amass a 25-12-17 record and 155 saves.
In order to replace Penedo at the keeper spot, the Galaxy reached back into its past to fill the position, as just hours after Penedo’s departure was announced, LA acquired the rights to Donovan Ricketts in exchange for a second round pick in the 2016 MLS Superdraft.
Ricketts first joined the Galaxy in 2009 and for the next two-and-a-half years, established himself as one of the top keepers in MLS. Ricketts however lost his spot in June 2011, when after playing for Jamaica in that year’s Gold Cup, injured his shoulder in a game against San Jose while colliding with Steven Lenhart in what became known as the Mike Magee game, where Magee ended up playing keeper after LA’s backup keeper, Josh Saunders, received a dubious red card and Magee, despite never having played keeper in his entire soccer career, came in and kept San Jose out of the back net that day.
While Ricketts ended up being a part of a wild set of events that day, the rest of the season ended up being bittersweet, as Saunders established himself as LA’s top keeper that season while Ricketts saw limited action, though he did win a championship with LA that season. Ricketts was traded to the Montreal Impact shortly after the MLS Cup Final, but his tenure with Montreal lasted only half a season, as he was traded to Portland midway through the 2012 season. Ricketts was the Timbers’ starting keeper for the next two years, but the Timbers decided to move in a different direction, and Ricketts was chosen by Orlando City SC in the expansion draft.
