Cody Cropper (born February 16, 1993) is a retired American 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 ...

Youth soccer

Born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, Cropper moved to

Maple Grove, Minnesota Maple Grove is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 70,253 at the 2020 census. making it Minnesota's 11th most populous city. Maple Grove serves as a retail, cultural and medical center in the north ...

when he was 10. He played with the

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its h ...

Academy and the

Reading Rage Reading United AC is an American soccer team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club plays its home games at Don Thomas Stadium on the campus of ...

, as well spending time with the US U-17 residency program at the

IMG Soccer Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a boar ...

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

Club career

Cropper had several trials in England, including with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Ro ...

and

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

, before joining the

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...

academy in 2010. He made the bench for the Ipswich first team, but suffered a torn meniscus. He failed to receive a new contract offer from Ipswich and was released after the 2011–12 season.

Southampton

Cropper joined

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

in August 2012. 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. After three years at the south coast club, Cropper was released in May 2015.

Milton Keynes Dons

On June 30, 2015, Cropper joined newly promoted

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. Th ...

. He made his debut for MK Dons on August 11, 2015, in an

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...

first round win against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profes ...

. In September Cropper underwent knee surgery that kept him sidelined for over a month. On April 16, 2016, Cropper was sent off for a foul on

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...

's striker

Eoin Doyle Eoin Doyle (born 12 March 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic. Doyle has previously played for Chesterfield, Cardiff, Preston North End, Portsmo ...

. He returned from the suspension on April 23 and suffered a season ending shoulder injury in a 4–1 loss to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings w ...

. 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 The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

New England Revolution

On August 18, 2016, Cropper signed with

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 Cana ...

club

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 compet ...

. 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. The Revolution's first choice goalkeeper, Bobby Shuttleworth, was traded to

Minnesota United Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Soc ...

ahead of the 2017 season, giving Cropper a shot at the starting job. Cropper impressed head coach

Jay Heaps John Franklin "Jay" Heaps (born August 2, 1976) is an American former soccer player who currently serves as president and general manager of Birmingham Legion FC. He is a former head coach for the New England Revolution in Major League Socce ...

and won the starting job coming out of preseason. He started 28 of the 34 league games during the year, keeping eight clean sheets. However the Revolution finished in 7th place in the Eastern Conference, missing out on the playoffs by five points. 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 Bradley Howard Friedel (born May 18, 1971) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Friedel played 84 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005, and represented his country at ...

kept Matt Turner as the starter with

Brad Knighton Bradley Burton Knighton (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player. College and amateur soccer Knighton played four years of college soccer at UNC-Wilmington as well as for Indiana Invaders in the USL Premier Deve ...

as the second choice keeper. Cropper made his first appearance of 2019 on March 30, a 2–1 win over Minnesota United in the 5th game of the season. He would start the next 7 games for the Revs before Friedel decided to bench him.

Bruce Arena Bruce Arena (born September 21, 1951) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach and sporting director of the New England Revolution. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Arena has ha ...

came in as the new head coach, but Cropper failed to return to the lineup.

Hartford Athletic (loan)

On August 17, 2019, Cropper was loaned to

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 ...

side

Hartford Athletic Hartford Athletic is an American professional soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut. History On June 8, 2021, ...

for the remainder of the season. He made his debut for Hartford on August 24, a 3–2 win over

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 ...

. Cropper started the final nine games of the season for Hartford, keeping one clean sheet. On November 21, 2019, New England declined their contract option on Cropper.

Houston Dynamo

On January 24, 2020, Cropper signed with MLS club Houston Dynamo. He did not make any appearances for the Dynamo in 2020, serving as the backup for Marko Marić. His contract option was declined by Houston following their 2020 season.

FC Cincinnati

On December 30, 2020, it was announced that Cropper had signed for

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

ahead of their 2021 season. On August 27, 2021, Cropper was loaned to USL Championship side

Memphis 901 Memphis 901 FC is an American professional soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. Stadium The club currently plays on the grounds of AutoZone Park, a baseball stad ...

. He was waived by Cincinnati on September 15, 2021.

Vancouver Whitecaps

On March 15, 2022, Cropper was signed as a free agent by the

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Marc ...

. He was signed for the 2022 season with a club option for 2023.

Orange County SC

On March 14, 2023, Cropper signed with USL Championship side

Orange County SC Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship. The team plays its home games ...

. On July 4, 2023, Cropper retired from playing professionally and become an assistant coach at

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina * St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick * St ...

International career

Cropper 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 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

at the 2011 and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

editions of the

CONCACAF U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Under-20 Championship is the second longest running international association football event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, CONCACAF, and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup ...

, the latter of which the US finished as runners-up. He was also the first-choice goalkeeper for the United States at the

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

and the

2015 Toulon Tournament The 2015 Toulon Tournament was the 43rd edition of the Toulon Tournament. The competition began on 27 May and ended on 7 June 2015. Participants AFC * * CAF * * CONCACAF * * * UEFA * * * Source: Squads Venues Group stage Group A ...

, the latter of which the US finished in third place. Cropper has appeared for the US up to U-23 level, including at the 2016 CONCACAF-CONMEBOL Olympic playoff. He received his first

senior team call-up for an August 14, 2013, friendly against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

. He was an unrostered player at the USMNT training camp at Stanford University before the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rig ...

, and later received a senior call-up for a friendly against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

on September 3, 2014. He was also called up to the United States senior squad for a friendly against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

on June 10, 2015.

Honours

Club

Vancouver Whitecaps *

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contes ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

Career statistics

Personal life

Cropper has an English father. He was born in

and moved to

at the age of 10.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cropper, Cody 1993 births Living people American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers Ipswich Town F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players New England Revolution players Hartford Athletic players Houston Dynamo FC players FC Cincinnati players Memphis 901 FC players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Orange County SC players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in England Soccer players from Georgia (U.S. state) Soccer players from Minnesota English Football League players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players American people of English descent Whitecaps FC 2 players MLS Next Pro players