TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship today announced Orange County SC goalkeeper Colin Shutler had been voted the league’s Player of the Month presented by Konami eFootball for September as he recorded three shutouts in three outings to help his side remain above the playoff line in the Western Conference with a key string of results.
Shutler is currently in the middle of a career season, which continued in remarkable style over the course of September. The 26-year-old posted an outstanding six-save shutout against Rhode Island FC on September 14 to open the month in a 1-0 win for the side, earning Player of the Match honors, and followed that with a five-save display in a scoreless draw on the road against Monterey Bay F.C.
Over the three outings – which included another shutout in a 2-0 win against Phoenix Rising FC to close the month – Shutler posted a -2.98 Goals Prevented mark.
“The reality is, in football, we need goalkeepers that make saves sometimes,” said Orange County Head Coach Danny Stone after Shutler’s performance against Rhode Island. “Colin, of course, comes up big with a couple of magnificent saves when you needed to.”
In his third season with Orange County, Shutler currently sits with a career-high 89 saves this season, placing him third in the league, and sports a 71.8 save percentage. Earlier this season he became only the third goalkeeper to score in a USL Championship regular season contest when he notched a stoppage-time equalizer against Sacramento Republic FC on the opening weekend of the season.
Shutler earned 35 percent of a weighted poll that included the USL Championship Technical Committee, a national panel of independent media representing every USL market and an online fan vote held at USLChampionship.com. Hartford Athletic goalkeeper Renan Ribeiro finished second on 32 percent after a standout month of his own in which he posted 20 saves across four consecutive shutouts and a Goals Prevented mark of -2.89.
Nominee | Fan Vote | Weight | Media Vote | Weight | USL Vote | Weight | Total Vote |
Colin Shutler (OC) | 59% | 30% | 0% | 0% | 20% | 5% | 35% |
Renan Ribeiro (HFD) | 8% | 4% | 75% | 18% | 40% | 10% | 32% |
Kieran Phillips (SAC) | 30% | 15% | 13% | 3% | 20% | 5% | 23% |
Maxi Rodriguez (DET) | 3% | 2% | 13% | 3% | 20% | 5% | 10% |