Former Vikings goalie Brad Stuver drafted to pros

The Columbus Crew, a major-league soccer team, has selected former Cleveland State University goalkeeper Brad Stuver in the 2013 MLS Waiver Draft.

Stuver, a Cleveland State graduate from Twinsburg Ohio, spent the 2013 season as a pool goalkeeper. This means that an MLS team in “extreme hardship” which had lost some of its goalkeepers could call Stuver up as a replacement. Stuver was on the gameday roster for four different teams last season, but he hasn’t yet made his MLS debut.

The Montreal Impact drafted Stuver in the second round of the 2013 MLS Super Draft, but because of the Waiver Draft he wound up on the Columbus Crew, where he will join Matt Lampson and Daniel Withrow at goalkeeper.

As a goalie at Cleveland State University, Stuver got a 33-27-7 record. In his senior year, the Vikings’ record was 11-6-3, with Stuver as starting goalkeeper. Stuver allowed, on average, about 0.86 goals (or about 86 hundredths of a goal) per game. He saved about 80 percent of the shots that came at him.

The Vikings won that year’s Horizon League championship. Stuver was Horizon League MVP, and made the All-League team. That season also saw the Vikings’ first return to the NCAA tournament since 1980.

Cleveland State’s Tumblr page quotes Stuver as saying, “To play at the next level would be awesome. I’ve been playing soccer almost my whole life.”

The coach of the Vikings soccer team, Ali Kazemaini, said, "For us to continue to build [the CSU] program, we need to recruit players that can advance to the professional ranks. Of course, it's great to see that happening now with Brad and Josh Williams."

Coach Kazemaini said the team wishes Stuver the best."[He's] just a local kid that loves his hometown," Kazemaini said. "He has great tools, and he's just realizing how good he can be."