It was the eve of the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft and after more than 24 hours of deliberation following the release of the protected players list, the Orlando City technical staff finally left the office. But that didn’t mean their work was done.
“We went to dinner,” recounted Club General Manager Paul McDonough. “And by the time we left dinner, Donovan Ricketts was our guy.”
Shortly after 2:00 p.m. the next day, McDonough phoned in the Lions’ first selection to kick off the draft, “Orlando City selects Donovan Ricketts.”
Behind The Scenes: Expansion Draft
“We had a lot of mock drafts and we knew we needed another goalkeeper,” McDonough told fans at the Expansion Draft Q&A event held later that evening. “When we made the trade for Tally [Hall], we knew he was going to be out a while. So in our preparations, we went in knowing we were going to take a goalkeeper at some point.”
“We thought, ‘If we are going to sell out the first game with 65,000 fans at the Citrus Bowl, what better goalkeeper to be in the net than Donovan Ricketts?’ ” McDonough continued. “It’s about winning now while giving Tally time to come along.”
The team can be confident in Ricketts leading the way on their journey into MLS for a number of reasons. For one – talent. He is a two-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year recipient, winning the award in 2010 (L.A. Galaxy) and in 2013 (Portland Timbers). During those two seasons, Ricketts compiled a staggering 25 clean sheets and stopped 171 shots.
Second, he’s experienced. Ricketts has appeared 395 times in goal during his professional career, with 167 of those coming in MLS. He has captained the Jamaican National team and has 100 international caps. Ricketts started his career in Europe with Bradford City before transitioning to MLS in 2009. When the lights shine and 65,000 rabid purple-clad fans are screaming at the first whistle of the Lions’ MLS debut – he’ll be more than ready.
This won’t be Ricketts’ first stop with an expansion side either. While protected by the L.A. Galaxy in the 2011 Expansion Draft, the Montreal Impact acquired Ricketts in a deal that sent allocation money to L.A. Ricketts started in twenty-four games for the Impact that season before being acquired by Portland ahead of the 2012 campaign.
When Orlando City SC open training in January, the way the roster stands today, Donovan Ricketts will lead the way while Tally Hall continues his recovery, and that sounds like a good scenario for Head Coach Adrian Heath.
“He's been absolutely fabulous in this league,” said Heath following the Expansion Draft. “Tally is recovering and we want to give him every bit of time to get himself fit and ready. We thought Ricketts was the best available goalkeeper out there and we think he's going to be a good fit for us moving forward.”
