 Knighton withCarolina RailHawks in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bradley Burton Knighton | ||
| Date of birth | (1985-02-06)February 6, 1985 (age 40) | ||
| Place of birth | Hickory, North Carolina, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2006 | UNCW Seahawks | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006 | Indiana Invaders | 11 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | New England Revolution | 6 | (0) |
| 2008 | →Portland Timbers (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2010 | Philadelphia Union | 8 | (0) |
| 2011 | Carolina RailHawks | 28 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 21 | (0) |
| 2014–2022 | New England Revolution | 50 | (0) |
| 2015 | →Richmond Kickers (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2021 | New England Revolution II | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 13, 2022 | |||
Bradley Burton Knighton (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professionalsoccer player.
Knighton played four years ofcollege soccer atUNC-Wilmington as well as forIndiana Invaders in theUSL Premier Development League.
Undrafted byMajor League Soccer, he attended aNew England Revolution tryout in early 2007 and was good enough to be invited on trial for the preseason. He impressed during the trial inBermuda, winning a spot as the Revolution's third-choice keeper and adevelopmental contract with the club.[2] The signing made him the first soccer player from UNC-Wilmington to be on a MLS roster.
After spending his first year and a half with the Revs behindMatt Reis andDoug Warren, he was loaned to thePortland Timbers on July 2, 2008, for the remainder of the2008 Major League Soccer season.[3] The move was aimed at getting Knighton some valuable playing time as he had seen no first team action while with New England. He has now moved on to coaching the academy .
Knighton was selected byPhiladelphia Union in the2009 MLS Expansion Draft on November 25, 2009.[4] His first action with the team was a start in a friendly againstManchester United in which he allowed no goals before being replaced at halftime. He made his league debut for Philadelphia on August 8, 2010, against FC Dallas away, but was sent off for denying of an obvious goalscoring opportunity in 22nd minute. In his next start, he shut out the Chicago Fire at PPL Park on September 11, 2010, earning his first professional clean sheet, and also Philadelphia's first in franchise history. He was given a second consecutive start of the season vs. San Jose but was not able to hold down the starting position over the rest of the season, finishing with just 8 appearances.
On January 25, 2011, Knighton was waived by Philadelphia.[5] In April 2011 he signed withCarolina RailHawks FC of theNorth American Soccer League.[6]
Knighton signed withVancouver Whitecaps FC of MLS in January 2012.[7] AfterJoe Cannon, the starting goaltender for most of the season, had a blunder against thePortland Timbers in August 2012, Knighton established himself as the starting goalkeeper.
Knighton was traded back to New England in December 2013 in exchange for a conditional pick in the2015 MLS SuperDraft.[8]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Indiana Invaders | 2006[10] | USL PDL | 11 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| New England Revolution | 2007 | MLS | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2009 | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||
| Portland Timbers (loan) | 2008[10] | USL-1 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Philadelphia Union | 2010 | MLS | 8 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Carolina RailHawks | 2011[11] | NASL | 28 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2012 | MLS | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 2013 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| Total | 21 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| New England Revolution | 2014 | MLS | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2016 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 46 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 0 | ||
| Richmond Kickers (loan) | 2015[10] | USL | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 123 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 142 | 0 | ||
New England Revolution
NASL Best XI: 2011