Robert "Bobby" Shuttleworth (born May 13, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for multiple teams in

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

and

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

Early life

Shuttleworth grew up in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, and while attending

Nichols School Nichols School is a private, non-denominational, co-educational college- preparatory day school in Buffalo, New York, United States. The average enrollment is 570 students with an average Upper School grade/class size of 98 students. The average ...

he set the school record with 48 career

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

. Among his other accolades were winning 2 New York State Private High School Championships as well as earning first-team All-Western New York, All-State and All-East region honors. He finished his high school career with a 20–2–1 record in his senior year.

Career

College

Shuttleworth initially attended and played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

at Loyola College in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Eventually, he transferred to the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

where he played soccer with the Bulls. He finished with a 0.94 goals against average and an 8–2–2 record. During his college years he also played with Kalamazoo Outrage in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

where he helped the Stu Riddle-led franchise to the elite 8 before succumbing to the eventual 2008 PDL champions Thunder Bay Chill. Shuttleworth has also coached in an assistant coach role at

Bentley University Bentley University is a private university focused on business, accountancy, and finance and located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham ...

Professional

Shuttleworth played briefly with Buffalo City in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially affiliated to the Uni ...

before being signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on June 18, 2009 by

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

after the Revs played against

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

team Austin Aztex in a pre-season match, with whom Shuttleworth was on trial. He signed one-year deal with an option for another four years and later spent a short time on loan with

Western Mass Pioneers Western Mass Pioneers is an American soccer team based in Ludlow, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Lusitano Stadium ...

in the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer (t ...

. He made his debut for the Revolution in a 3–0 loss against the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

in U.S. Open Cup qualifying on May 12, 2010. He made his first appearance in MLS league play on May 29 vs New York Red Bulls, coming on as a substitute after a serious injury to Preston Burpo. Shuttleworth earned his first

Regular Season clean sheet on October 16 in a 1–0 win against visiting Kansas City. On February 15, 2017, Shuttleworth was traded to Minnesota United in exchange for

Femi Hollinger-Janzen Oluwafemi Hollinger-Janzen (born 14 December 1993) is a Beninese former footballer. Early life Hollinger-Janzen was born on 14 December 1993 in Cotonou, Benin. A mission worker named Lynda Hollinger-Janzen was working in a church-based health ...

. Shuttleworth came on late in United's home opener after an injury to starter

John Alvbåge John Rune Alvbåge (; born 10 August 1982) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Beginning his career with Torslanda IK in 1999, he went on to play professionally in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the United States, a ...

, and went on to start the team's next three games. He tended goal for Minnesota United's first MLS point, a 2–2 draw against the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

, and first MLS win, a 4–2 victory over

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

. On August 6, 2019, Shuttleworth was loaned to

side Sacramento Republic for the remainder of the season. Following his release by Minnesota at the end of the 2019 season, Shuttleworth joined Chicago Fire on January 30, 2020. Following the 2021 season, Shuttleworth's contract with Chicago expired. On January 14, 2022, Shuttleworth joined

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

on a one year contract with a club option in 2023. On July 7, 2022, Shuttleworth announced his retirement from professional soccer. Beginning with the 2022 season, Shuttleworth is serving as an assistant coach with the Florida State University women’s soccer team.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shuttleworth, Bobby 1987 births Living people American soccer players Loyola Greyhounds men's soccer players Buffalo Bulls men's soccer players Albany BWP Highlanders players Kalamazoo Outrage players New England Revolution players Western Mass Pioneers players Minnesota United FC players Sacramento Republic FC players Chicago Fire FC players Atlanta United FC players Association football goalkeepers Soccer players from New York (state) USL League Two players USL Second Division players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Sportspeople from Erie County, New York People from Tonawanda, New York