Mitchell A. Hildebrandt (born November 12, 1988) is an American former professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

goalkeeper. He is currently a coach for the Michigan Wolves youth academy.

Career

College and amateur

Hildebrandt played his entire college career at

Oakland University Oakland University is a public research university in Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson, it was initially known as Michigan State University-Oakland, operating under the Mi ...

. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2007. In his first season as a starter for Oakland in 2009, Hildebrandt finished with seven clean sheets and a 0.73 goals against average and was named to the All-Summit League first team. He had another solid year in 2010, finishing with a 1.24 goals against average and 0.77 save percentage and was again named to the All-Summit League first team. Hildebrandt went on to be named to the All-Summit League second team in his senior season in 2011 and finished his career with a total of 249 saves and 19 clean sheets. During his time in college, Hildebrandt also spent time 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 syste ...

with

Kalamazoo Outrage Kalamazoo Outrage was an American soccer team based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The franchise folded at the ...

and

Michigan Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American association football, soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mi ...

Professional

On April 3, 2012, Hildebrandt signed a professional contract with

Minnesota Stars FC Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...

(renamed Minnesota United FC in 2013) of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. He made his professional debut on May 25, 2012, recording up a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw with the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

. In 2016, Hildebrandt moved to

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

in the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

. Fans of Cincinnati would frequently chant "Mitch Says No" when Hildebrandt made a save. Hildebrandt agreed to a multi-year contract with Cincinnati following the 2016 season. He received national attention for his performance in the

2017 U.S. Open Cup The 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 104th edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. FC Dallas entered the competition as the defending champions, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Sporting Kansas City. First ...

semi-final against Chicago Fire, making three saves in the deciding penalty shootout. Hildebrandt played for FC Cincinnati for two seasons before moving up to

Major League Soccer 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 ...

, signing with

Atlanta United FC 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 December 1, 2017. As of June 27, 2018, Hildebrandt has yet to come off the bench for Atlanta's first team, but he has made two appearances for

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professiona ...

in the USL. Hildebrandt was released by Atlanta at the end of its 2018 season. On February 23, 2019, Hildebrandt announced via his social media accounts that he was retiring from professional soccer. He then joined

Chicago Fire FC (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

as a video scout. In January 2020, Hildebrandt was appointed goalkeeping coach for

Sporting Kansas City II Sporting Kansas City II is a MLS Next Pro club affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. For the 2022 season they will play their home games at Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as Swope S ...

of the

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, pl ...

. Hildebrant came out of retirement to join the Sporting Kansas City II playing roster on September 16, 2020, becoming the first ever player-coach for the club. Following the conclusion of the

2020 USL Championship season The 2020 USL Championship season was the tenth season of the USL Championship and fourth under Division II sanctioning. This was the second season under the name "USL Championship", having used the name "United Soccer League" through 2018. Rea ...

, Hildebrandt returned to Michigan to coach with the Michigan Wolves SC academy where he had played as a youth.

Honors

;Individual * USL All-League Team:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

* USL Goalkeeper of the Year: 2016

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hildebrandt, Mitch 1988 births Living people American soccer players Sportspeople from Livonia, Michigan Soccer players from Michigan Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's soccer players Kalamazoo Outrage players Flint City Bucks players Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players FC Cincinnati (2016–18) players Atlanta United FC players USL League Two players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players USL Championship players Men's association football goalkeepers Atlanta United 2 players Sporting Kansas City II players Association football goalkeeping coaches Sporting Kansas City II coaches USL Championship coaches Chicago Fire FC non-playing staff