Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

Cody Cropper

American soccer player (born 1993)

Cody Cropper (born February 16, 1993) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper.

01Youth soccer

Born in Atlanta, Cropper moved to Maple Grove, Minnesota when he was 10. He played with the Minnesota Thunder Academy and the Reading Rage, as well spending time with the US U-17 residency program at the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

02Club career

Cropper had several trials in England, including with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City, before joining the Ipswich Town 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 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 side Milton Keynes Dons. He made his debut for MK Dons on August 11, 2015, in an EFL Cup first round win against Leyton Orient. 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's striker Eoin Doyle. He returned from the suspension on April 23 and suffered a season ending shoulder injury in a 4-1 loss to Brentford. 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.

New England Revolution

On August 18, 2016, Cropper signed with Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. 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 ahead of the 2017 season, giving Cropper a shot at the starting job. Cropper impressed head coach Jay Heaps 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 kept Matt Turner as the starter with Brad Knighton 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 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 side Hartford Athletic for the remainder of the season. He made his debut for Hartford on August 24, a 3-2 win over Atlanta United 2. 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 ahead of their 2021 season. On August 27, 2021, Cropper was loaned to USL Championship side Memphis 901. 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. He was signed for the 2022 season with a club option for 2023. During the 2022 Canadian Championship Cropper appeared in all four matches, notching one clean sheet while only conceding three goals. Cropper came up huge in the tournament's final as his goalkeeping led to a 5-3 shootout victory over Toronto FC to award Vancouver their first Canadian Championship since 2015.

Orange County SC

On March 14, 2023, Cropper signed with USL Championship side Orange County SC. On July 4, 2023, Cropper retired from playing professionally and become an assistant coach at University of St. Thomas.

03International career

Cropper represented the United States at the 2011 and 2013 editions of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, 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 and the 2015 Toulon Tournament, 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 United States senior team call-up for an August 14, 2013, friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was an unrostered player at the USMNT training camp at Stanford University before the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and later received a senior call-up for a friendly against the Czech Republic on September 3, 2014. He was also called up to the United States senior squad for a friendly against Germany on June 10, 2015.

04Honours

Club

Vancouver Whitecaps

05Career statistics

As of 6 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoals Apps GoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Southampton 2012-13 Premier League 000000, 00
2013-14 000000, 00
2014-15 000000, 00
Southampton Total 0000000000
Milton Keynes Dons 2015-16 EFL Championship 901020, 120
New England Revolution 2016 MLS 1000, , 10
2017 28000, , 280
2018 0000, , 00
2019 700000, 70
Revolution Total 360000000360
Hartford Athletic (loan) 2019 USL Championship 9000, , 90
Houston Dynamo 2020 MLS 0000, , 00
Cincinnati 2021 MLS 1 0 0 0 , , 1 0
Memphis 901 2021 USL Championship 15 0 0 0 , , 15 0
Vancouver Whitecaps 2022 MLS 15 0 4 0 , , 19 0
Vancouver Whitecaps II 2022 MLS Next Pro 1 0 0 0 , , 1 0
Orange County 2023 USL Championship 9 0 2 0 , , 11 0
Career total 9507020001040

06Personal life

Cropper has an English father. He was born in Atlanta and moved to Maple Grove, Minnesota at the age of 10.

Watch videos about Cody CropperExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Cody Cropper, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.