Joseph T. Bendik (born April 25, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays 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 the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer.

Club career

Clemson

Bendik grew up in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth larges ...

and attended

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...

for four years after graduating from

Harrison High School Harrison High School may refer to: in the United States ''(by state)'' *Harrison High School (Harrison, Arkansas), listed on the National Register of Historic Places * Harrison High School (Colorado Springs) — Colorado Springs, Colorado * Har ...

Kennesaw, Georgia Kennesaw is a suburban city northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, located within the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under its ...

Sogndal

After university, Bendik signed with

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

club

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages ...

. He began the 2010 season as a backup, and made his professional debut in the first round of the

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

against Årdal FK. Bendik ended the season starting in four league matches helping his club gain promotion to the Norwegian top flight. Bendik began the 2011 season as the starter, and made his

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

debut on March 20, 2011, against

Strømsgodset IF Strømsgodset IF is a Norwegian multi-sports club from Gulskogen in Drammen. It has sections for association football, handball and bandy, but is best known for the top-level football section known as Strømsgodset Toppfotball, which plays in Eli ...

. He ended the year starting the final two matches of the season, including a 2–1 victory over eventual league champions

Molde FK Molde Fotballklubb () is a professional football club based in Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club was originally known as International and changed its name t ...

Portland Timbers

On February 24, 2012, Bendik signed with the Portland Timbers of

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 ...

. He made his Timbers debut as a second-half sub for an injured

Troy Perkins Troy Perkins (born July 29, 1981) is an American former soccer player. During his career, he played for clubs in the United States, Canada, and Norway. The 2006 Major League Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year award winner earned seven caps with th ...

in a 2–0 loss to the Montreal Impact.

Toronto FC

On December 12, 2012, Bendik was acquired by

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

along with Portland's third overall pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft in exchange for Ryan Johnson and Miloš Kocić. While originally considered a back-up, Bendik went on to make 33 appearances for Toronto during the 2013 season after starting goalkeeper Stefan Frei was injured during a pre-season friendly. On December 1, 2015, it was announced that

had declined their options on Bendik, and that he would not return to the team. Along with Bendik, fellow goalkeeper Chris Konopka's options were also declined, leaving the team with only one goalkeeper Quillain Roberts.

Orlando City SC

On December 21, 2015, it was announced that Bendik had been traded to Orlando City in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in the

2017 MLS SuperDraft The 2017 MLS SuperDraft was the eighteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The first two rounds of the 2017 Su ...

. Despite conceding a league high 60 goals for that season in his first league campaign with Orlando, Bendik became a fan favorite as he played every minute of the club's 34 league games, making 114 saves and posting 5 shutouts. He won 11 "MLS Save of the Week" awards in the process and his stop against Sporting Kansas City's

Dom Dwyer Dominic James Dwyer (born July 30, 1990) is a professional soccer player who plays as a forward. Born in England, he represented the United States national team. While in England, Dwyer represented, among other teams, Norwich City as a youth ...

in the Lions' 2–1 road loss on May 15 was voted "MLS Save of the Year". After a difficult 2018 season in which the team conceded an all-time MLS record 74 goals and Bendik himself had lost the starting job to both

Earl Edwards, Jr. Earl William Edwards Jr. (born January 24, 1992) is an American association football, soccer player who currently plays for MLS side New England Revolution. College and amateur Edwards spent his entire college career at University of California, ...

and then again to

Adam Grinwis Adam Grinwis (born April 21, 1992) is an American soccer player who plays for Orlando City in Major League Soccer. Career College and youth Grinwis attended Forest Hills Central High School, where he was a four-year all-conference selectio ...

, his contract option was declined at the end of the year. At the time of his departure he had the second most appearances in the team's post-expansion history behind only

Cristian Higuita Cristian Higuita (born 12 January 1994) is a Colombian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Atlético Junior in Categoría Primera A. Club career Deportivo Cali Higuita made his debut with Deportivo Cali in 2009. A year later, he played a ...

Columbus Crew SC

On December 27, 2018, Bendik's rights were acquired by

Columbus Crew SC The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

in exchange for $50,000 in targeted allocation money.

Philadelphia Union

On July 19, 2019, Bendik was traded to the Philadelphia Union for a second-round pick in the 2020

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada. It takes place in January and is used by teams to select players who have graduated from college or otherwise been signed by the l ...

. Bendik's contract expired with Philadelphia following their 2020 season. He re-signed with the club on March 5, 2021. Bendik again re-signed with the Union following their MLS Eastern Conference Championship season in 2022 on a one-year deal for the 2023 season. Bendik was elevated to the Union's No. 2 goalkeeper following the trade of Matt Freese to the New York City Football Club.

International career

Bendik has represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

at the under-17, under-18 and under-20 levels. On June 3, Bendik was named as one of six goalkeepers in Bruce Arena's preliminary 40-man roster for the 2017 Gold Cup, although he was left off the final 23-man squad.

Career statistics

Club

Honors

Club

;Sogndal *

Norwegian First Division The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon and OBOS-ligaen (named sponsor is property developer OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are ...

Championship: 2010 ;Philadelphia Union * Supporters' Shield:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

References

External links

*
altomfotball.no player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bendik, Joe 1989 births Living people Soccer players from Georgia (U.S. state) American soccer players American expatriate soccer players Clemson Tigers men's soccer players Atlanta Silverbacks U23's players Sogndal Fotball players Portland Timbers players Toronto FC players Orlando City SC players Columbus Crew players Philadelphia Union players Sportspeople from Marietta, Georgia Expatriate footballers in Norway Expatriate soccer players in Canada USL League Two players Norwegian First Division players Eliteserien players American people of Norwegian descent Major League Soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Association football goalkeepers