Cody Cropper (born February 16, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[1]
Personal information | ||||||||||
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Full name | Cody Cropper | |||||||||
Date of birth | (1993-02-16) February 16, 1993 (age 29) | |||||||||
Place of birth | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |||||||||
Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | |||||||||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | |||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||
Current team | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | |||||||||
Number | 55 | |||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||
2006–2008 | Minnesota Thunder | |||||||||
2008–2009 | Reading Rage | |||||||||
2010–2012 | Ipswich Town | |||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||
2012–2015 | Southampton | 0 | (0) | |||||||
2015–2016 | Milton Keynes Dons | 9 | (0) | |||||||
2016–2019 | New England Revolution | 36 | (0) | |||||||
2019 | → Hartford Athletic (loan) | 9 | (0) | |||||||
2020 | Houston Dynamo | 0 | (0) | |||||||
2021 | FC Cincinnati | 1 | (0) | |||||||
2021 | → Memphis 901 (loan) | 14 | (0) | |||||||
2022– | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 15 | (0) | |||||||
2022– | Whitecaps FC 2 | 1 | (0) | |||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||
2010–2013 | United States U20 | 21 | (0) | |||||||
2014–2016 | United States U23 | 7 | (0) | |||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of July 3, 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of October 26, 2016 |
Born in Atlanta, Cropper moved to Maple Grove, Minnesota when he was 10.[2] He played with the Minnesota Thunder Academy and the Reading Rage, as well spending time with the US U-17 residency program at the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Florida.[3] Cropper had several trials in England, including with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City, before joining the Ipswich Town academy in 2010.[3] He made the bench for the Ipswich first team, but suffered a torn meniscus.[4] He failed to receive a new contract offer from Ipswich and was released after the 2011–12 season.
Cropper joined Southampton in August 2012.[4][5] Cropper served as a backup keeper for the Saints; making the first team bench, but playing for the U-21 and U-23 teams and never making a first team appearance. His time with Southampton included multiple injuries.[6][7] After three years at the south coast club, Cropper was released in May 2015.[8]
On June 30, 2015, Cropper joined newly promoted Championship side Milton Keynes Dons.[9] He made his debut for MK Dons on August 11, 2015, in an EFL Cup first round win against Leyton Orient.[10][11] In September Cropper underwent knee surgery that kept him sidelined for over a month.[12] On April 16, 2016, Cropper was sent off for a foul on Preston North End's striker Eoin Doyle.[13] He returned from the suspension on April 23 and suffered a season ending shoulder injury in a 4–1 loss to Brentford.[14] Cropper was released after the 2015-16 season when the club decided not to take up the one-year option in Cropper's contract after being relegated to League One.[15]
On August 18, 2016, Cropper signed with Major League Soccer club New England Revolution.[16] He made his Revolution debut on October 23, getting a clean sheet in a 3–0 win over the Montreal Impact in the final game of the season.[17]
The Revolution's first choice goalkeeper, Bobby Shuttleworth, was traded to Minnesota United ahead of the 2017 season, giving Cropper a shot at the starting job. Cropper impressed head coach Jay Heaps and won the starting job coming out of preseason.[18] He started 28 of the 34 league games during the year, keeping eight clean sheets.[19] However the Revolution finished in 7th place in the Eastern Conference, missing out on the playoffs by five points.[20]
Cropper did not play during the 2018 season. He missed the start of the season due to a concussion. When he had returned to action, head coach Brad Friedel kept Matt Turner as the starter with Brad Knighton as the second choice keeper.[21][22][23]
Cropper made his first appearance of 2019 on March 30, a 2–1 win over Minnesota United in the 5th game of the season.[22] He would start the next 7 games for the Revs before Friedel decided to bench him. Bruce Arena came in as the new head coach, but Cropper failed to return to the lineup.[24]
On August 17, 2019, Cropper was loaned to USL Championship side Hartford Athletic for the remainder of the season.[25] He made his debut for Hartford on August 24, a 3–2 win over Atlanta United 2. Cropper started the final nine games of the season for Hartford, keeping one clean sheet.[24]
On November 21, 2019, New England declined their contract option on Cropper.[26]
On January 24, 2020, Cropper signed with MLS club Houston Dynamo.[27] He did not make any appearances for the Dynamo in 2020, serving as the backup for Marko Marić.[28] His contract option was declined by Houston following their 2020 season.[29]
On December 30, 2020, it was announced that Cropper had signed for FC Cincinnati ahead of their 2021 season.[30] On August 27, 2021, Cropper was loaned to USL Championship side Memphis 901.[31] He was waived by Cincinnati on September 15, 2021.[citation needed]
On March 15, 2022, Cropper was signed as a free agent by the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. He was signed for the 2022 season with a club option for 2023.[32]
Cropper represented the United States at the 2011 and 2013 editions of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, the latter of which the US finished as runners-up.[33] He was also the first-choice goalkeeper for the United States at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2015 Toulon Tournament, the latter of which the US finished in third place.[34]
Cropper has appeared for the US up to U-23 level, including at the 2016 CONCACAF-CONMEBOL Olympic playoff.[35] He received his first United States senior team call-up for an August 14, 2013, friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina.[36] He was an unrostered player at the USMNT training camp at Stanford University before the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and later received a senior call-up for a friendly against the Czech Republic on September 3, 2014. He was also called up to the United States senior squad for a friendly against Germany on June 10, 2015.[37]
Vancouver Whitecaps
Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | League cup[lower-alpha 2] | Continental | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Southampton | 2012–13 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
2013–14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
2014–15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
Southampton Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Milton Keynes Dons | 2015–16 | EFL Championship | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
New England Revolution | 2016 | MLS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
2017 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | ||||
2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
2019 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||
Revolution Total | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | ||
Hartford Athletic (loan) | 2019 | USL Championship | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
Houston Dynamo | 2020 | MLS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
Career total | 54 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 0 |
Cropper has an English father. He was born in Atlanta and moved to Maple Grove, Minnesota at the age of 10.[42]
Vancouver Whitecaps FC – current squad | |
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