Tim Howard

Hometown: North Brunswick, New Jersey
Citizenship: USA
Birth date: March 6, 1979
Acquired: Acquired via the Allocation Process on March 20, 2016, after Colorado secured the #1 spot in the Allocation Ranking Order.

MLS CAREER

2019

• Made 2019 debut on 3/2 at DSGP during the infamous Snow Clasico 3 against the Portland Timbers.
• Made five saves in the 3-3 tie with the Portland Timbers (3/2) and was named to the MLS Team of the Week - Week 1.
• Earned his first clean sheet of the 2019 season on the road against LA Galaxy (5/19). 
• Earned his second clean sheet of the 2019 season at home against Minnesota United FC (6/8). His performance in that game landed him on Major League Soccer's Team of the Week (Week 15). 
• Earned his third overall and second home clean sheet of the 2019 season against LAFC (6/28). 
• Made his 120th MLS appearance on 7/20 at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park against New York City FC.
  
• Recorded two saves against NYCFC surpassing 1750 combined saves in MLS and Premier League play on 7/20.
  
  

2018

• Appeared in 33 MLS games, all from the start.
• Howard hit career-high figures in numerous categories, including MLS games played (33), games started (33), and minutes played (2,900).
• Recorded six total clean sheets in 2018, his second most as a Rapid.
• Logged a combined 119 saves in 2018, third most in MLS this season.
• He sits on 699 career saves in MLS.
• On the bench for the second leg of the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League match in Toronto FC (2/27), but he has otherwise been the regular between the pipes.
• Made seven saves in the 2-2 tie with Sporting Kansas City (3/24) and was named to the MLS Team of the Week - Week 4.
• Kept successive clean sheets at home, with the wins over Philadelphia Union (3/31) and Toronto FC (4/14).
• Sent off for only the second time in his MLS career, when dismissed for handling outside the penalty area just 20 minutes into the 3-0 loss at Real Salt Lake (4/21). 
• Missed the 2-1 home loss to Orlando City SC (4/29), but returned for the 1-0 defeat at Sporting Kansas City (5/5) in which he made his 600th save in MLS.
• Named to MLS Team of the Week - Week 18 following his 10-save, clean sheet performance at Vancouver Whitecaps FC on 7/1.
• Kept a clean sheet against the Houston Dynamo at home (0-0).
• Recorded his 150th MLS appearance during the 2-2 tie on the road at LA Galaxy on 8/14.
• Named to MLS Team of the Week - Week 28 following his six save performance at Portland Timbers on 9/8.
• Topped the 100 saves mark on 9/22 against Columbus Crew SC.
• Kept successive clean sheets on the road against Minnesota United FC (10/13) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10/21).

2017

• Made his return from injury in a 1-0 loss at New York Red Bulls (3/11), in which he made seven saves - many of which were top class. He was named to the MLS Team of the Week for his performance.
• Handed a three-game suspension by MLS, following incidents at Sporting Kansas City (4/9), forcing him to miss the home game with Real Salt Lake (4/15), and the trips to Minnesota United FC (4/23) and Orlando City SC (4/29).
• Returned from suspension for the 1-0 home loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC (5/5).
• Kept his first shutout of 2017, and his eighth for the Rapids, in the 3-0 home win over San Jose Earthquakes (5/13). His previous clean sheet was on October 1, 2016 in a 1-0 home win over Portland Timbers.
• His second shutout of the season came in the 1-0 home win over Sporting Kansas City (5/27).
• Made MLS Team of the Week (Week 18) with six saves in the 3-1 home win over Houston Dynamo (7/1).
• Missed the games at Toronto FC (7/22) and San Jose Earthquakes (7/29) due to Gold Cup commitments.
• Also absent for the games at LA Galaxy (9/2) and home to FC Dallas (10/7) as he was involved in World Cup qualifiers with the USMNT.
• In all, Howard kept five shutouts in 25 appearances for the Rapids. Only once before (2016) had he managed more clean sheets in a MLS season.
• Named Players' Player of the Year at the club's end of season awards.

2016

• Howard made his Rapids' debut and MLS return on July 4 in a 0-0 draw with defending champions Portland Timbers at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
• Made his 100th MLS appearance on October 13, in the 2-1 home win vs San Jose Earthquakes.
• Selected to MLS Team of the Week three times (Weeks 25, 27 and 28).
• Faced seven of the Rapids' eight penalty kicks. He was beaten on four occasions, but twice made saves to deny the taker, including a miraculous effort to keep out the spot kick from Javier Morales at Real Salt Lake on August 26.
• Ended the regular season with a 1.12 Goal Against Average.
• Howard's 2016 stats placed him fourth on the club's all-time list for goalkeepers so far as Winning Percentage (0.588) and Saves Percentage (73.6). The Rapids were 6-3-8 when Howard played.
• Along with Zac MacMath, named Co-MVP for the Rapids for 2016.
• Nominee for Allstate MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
• Made two saves in the penalty shootout of the Western Conference Semifinal second leg, denying Ashley Cole and Jeff Larentowicz, as the Rapids triumphed over LA Galaxy at Dick's Sporting Goods Park (11/6).

OTHER MLS NOTES: Made his MLS debut on August 18, 1998 in a 4-1 home win for the Metrostars vs Colorado Rapids. Metrostars team that day included Alexi Lalas, Mike Petke and Tab Ramos. Rapids included Marcelo Balboa, Paul Bravo, Chris Martinez, Peter Vermes and Chris Henderson.

Prior to his return this year, Howard had last played a MLS match on July 12, 2003, and a 3-3 tie for the Metrostars at New England Revolution. Two days later the then 24-year-old was signed by Manchester United.

Howard made 85 regular season appearances in MLS first time around, starting 83 of them. He played 7,682 minutes, kept 15 shutouts, and of the 607 shots on goal he saved 442 of them at a save percentage of 72.8.

The US national team great was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in his first year as a regular starter, in 2001. He was named in the MLS Best XI in both 2001 and 2002, before departing for England the following year.

INTERNATIONAL: Howard represented the USMNT in every year from 2002-2017 and, during that time, amassed 121 caps. He was ever-present for his country during the 2014 World Cup and created a record for the most saves in a tournament game with 16 stops against Belgium in the Knockout Round. He has also represented the US in the World Cups of 2006 and 2010. With his national team, Howard has won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup and was runner-up at the 2009 Confederations Cup. He took home the Golden Glove as the best keeper in the latter event. He was voted the CONCACAF Goalkeeper of the Year in 2013, 2014 and 2015. His first start for the USMNT came on March 10, 2002 in a 1-0 win against Ecuador in Birmingham, Alabama. The US side that day included Landon Donovan, Cobi Jones, Gregg Berhalter, Jeff Agoos, Brian McBride and Eddie Lewis. In June, 2014 he became just the 15th player in USMNT history to reach 100 international appearances.

Injured his right adductor in the 2-1 loss to Mexico on November 11, 2016, and replaced by Brad Guzan after 40 minutes. The injury ended his 2016 season, and he was expected to be sidelined for up to four months.

Returned to the USMNT (3/24/17) and the historic 6-0 win over Honduras in World Cup qualifying at San Jose's Avaya Stadium.

He made two saves to earn his 14th clean sheet in 36 World Cup qualifying appearances, and 39th in 115 total games for the USA, in the 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago at Dick's Sporting Goods Park (June 8, 2017).

OUTSIDE MLS: At club level, Howard played in the English Premier League from 2003 - when he joined Manchester United after a six-year spell with the MetroStars in MLS - to May, 2016. During his time at Old Trafford he played 77 games, winning the FA Cup, Football League Cup and FA Community Shield. He also represented Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in the UEFA Champions League. Howard moved to Everton in 2006, initially on loan and then on a permanent deal. He featured in 418 games for the Liverpool-based club. In 2009, he set a club record for most clean sheets in a season and saved two penalties in a shoot-out against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final to send his team to the final. At the end of the 2013 season, he kept his 100th clean-sheet for the club against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby.

OTHER:
May, 1997: A month before graduating from high school, Howard played for the North Jersey Imperials - United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues (USISL) - in his first professional game.
February 2, 1998: Howard was assigned to the Metrostars (now New York Red Bulls) as a Project-40 player.
April 4, 1998: Made his debut for the USA’s U-20 team in a 1-1 tie with Iceland at the Paolo Valenti Tournament in Italy. Sigi Schmid was head coach, and teammates included Nick Rimando, Carlos Bocanegra, Chris Albright, Steve Cherundolo and Danny Califf.
April 5, 1999: Kept a clean sheet in the USA U-20’s opening group game of the FIFA World Youth Championships in Nigeria, and a 1-0 win against England. The England side included Ashley Cole, while Peter Crouch was an unused sub.