It's Pat: how 35-year-old former A-League star Pat Onstad became one of this year's key MLS performers - Major League Soccer - Interview

Soccer Digest, Dec, 2003 by Joseph D'Hippolito

IN 2002, JOE CANNON 0F THE SAN Jose Earthquakes was named the league's goalkeeper of the year. He celebrated by leaving for France, taking an opportunity to play with Lens. So it came as a surprise when his replacement, Pat Onstad, was not only among the league's top goalies this year but outdid Cannon's 2002 performance.

Onstad, a veteran in his first season with the Earthquakes, broke Cannon's club record for shutouts in a year and threatened the league's single-season standard for goals-against average.

The 35-year-old entered the season's final weeks with nine shutouts and 14 victories--both league highs--and a 0.97 GAA. Those statistics practically duplicate the ones he compiled in 2002 with the A-League's Rochester Raging Rhinos. The Vancouver native was the Rhinos' most valuable player after recording 10 shutouts, 13 victories, and a 0.75 goals-against average in 21 games. He left Rochester as the team's all-time leader in wins (52) and shutouts (36).

When he's not playing club soccer, Onstad represents Canada against international opponents. Since he earned his first cap in 1988, Onstad has played 37 games and registered 15 shutouts. "Pat has a great temperament for the game," says Earthquakes coach and former Canada international Frank Yallop. "You don't know if you're winning 5-0 or getting beat he's still the same. If a goal does go in and he thinks he could've done better on it, he'll work very hard in the next week to correct it. He doesn't make excuses, and that makes him a solid professional."

Onstad needed that temperament to overcome a rather embarrassing start. In his first home game, Onstad tipped Preki's corner kick into his own net during a 1-1 tie with Kansas City. "It was a disastrous own goal, probably the worst of my career," says Onstad. "But each one of the guys came up to me after the game and said, 'Listen, don't worry about it. We know what you can do. You're going to be fine. Just forget about it.' That helped a lot."

The following week, Onstad shut out the defending MLS Cup champion Galaxy on the way to recording three consecutive shutouts. "It was a long week before we played L.A.," says Onstad. "The fact that we bounced back and won the game certainly helped settle me down."

Onstad's resilience enabled him to maintain a pro career despite a broken wrist, a frustrating overseas experience, and a feeling of disillusionment so intense that it motivated him to briefly retire.

After winning three Canadian collegiate championships with the University of British Columbia, Onstad played in the Canadian Soccer League from 1987 to 1992. He set a CSL record with 14 shutouts for the Toronto Blizzard in 1990 and helped the Winnipeg Fury win the CSL's final championship two years later.

When the CSL folded, Onstad spent 1993 with Canada's national team before joining the A-League's Toronto Rockets in 1994. But the following season, which Onstad spent with the Montreal Impact, nearly destroyed his affection for the sport. "I had a terrible experience there and that pretty much turned me off to soccer," says Onstad. "There was a lot of tension between the two goalies and the coach didn't handle that very well You never knew who was starting or what was going on. Really, I don't know why he brought me in to begin with. It left a bitter taste in my mouth."

So Onstad, who holds a teaching credential, retired after that season and returned to Vancouver to teach language arts, mathematics and physical education in the seventh grade. "At that stage of my life, I decided that my soccer career was over," he says. "Financially, the A-League really wasn't worth it, and I just kind of thought, 'Well maybe enough is enough.' I just love teaching and I enjoyed every minute of it.

"But when the opportunity came to make a little more money and play soccer again, I jumped at it. I guess that year away really made me appreciate the game."

Onstad signed to play indoor soccer with the National Professional Soccer League's Edmonton Drillers in 1997. He played two winters for the Drillers and two summers for the Rhinos and the A-League's Toronto Lynx before moving to Dundee United in Scotland's Premier League in 1999.

Onstad never made a first-team appearance for Dundee. He spent his two years in Scotland with its reserve squad, playing every Monday night against varying levels of competition. "It was really unpredictable," he says. "They have a rule where you have to play five players under 21 years of age. We played Celtic and they had six internationals and five guys under 21. We just didn't really have the depth to field a good team each week, so I certainly got a lot of work."

Despite the frustration, Onstad's experience in Scotland proved rewarding. "The manager who signed me left early in the 2000 season, and the writing was pretty much on the wall when the new manager came in," he says. "Mentally, it really kind of wore on me at the end. I wasn't playing and I knew I wasn't going to play.

"But I don't regret it at all. The nice thing was the training, day in and day out year round. Even in the games on Monday nights, there was a lot of pressure on the players and I enjoyed that part of it. I developed better training habits. Not that I had bad training habits before, but I understood what it took to make sure I was prepared to play."