Ethan Horvath, from Highlands Ranch, Colo., and who grew up playing club soccer for Real Colorado, made his first appearance as a professional in an 18-man game day roster on Saturday. The 18-year-old goalkeeper sat on the bench as his Molde FK defeated Sogndal 2-1 in the Norwegian Eliteserien.
Horvath signed for the club this year that is also home to former Chivas USA academy forward Ben Spencer and American Gold Cup call-up Joshua Gatt. Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjær is the head coach of Molde, which will play Rubin Kazan in the Europa League qualifying rounds on Aug. 22 and 29.
Another American, defender Sean Cunningham, was recently released from the club.
Horvath is in the United States under-18 national team pool, and he played for the U15s before that. U.S. Soccer lists him at 6 feet, 3 inches tall and 182 pounds. Before signing with Molde, Horvath trained with Stoke City and Bristol City in England.
The kid from Colorado is one to watch for the future of American goalkeeping. With U20 starter Cody Cropper, who plays for Southampton, getting called into the U.S. squad for Wednesday’s friendly in Bosnia-Herzegovina, it seems head coach Jürgen Klinsmann and his staff are on the lookout for young talent at the position.
For his part, Horvath should challenge for a starting spot on the U20 team by the time the 2015 U20 World Cup rolls around. He split time with Santiago Castaño in goal during the U18s’ recent Milk Cup tournament in Northern Ireland.
