Sean Johnson (soccer)

For other people named Sean Johnson or similar, see Sean Johnson (disambiguation).

Sean Johnson

Johnson in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Sean Everet Johnson [1]
Date of birth	(1989-05-31) May 31, 1989 (age 34) [2]
Place of birth	Lilburn, Georgia, United States
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.90 m) [3]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Toronto FC
Number	1
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2008	UCF Knights	37	(0)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009	Atlanta Blackhawks	7	(0)
2010–2016	Chicago Fire	176	(0)
2017–2022	New York City FC	179	(0)
2023–	Toronto FC	23	(0)
International career‡
2009	United States U20	4	(0)
2012	United States U23	2	(0)
2011–	United States	13	(0)
Medal record Representing   United States Men's soccer CONCACAF Gold Cup Winner 2013 Winner 2017 Winner 2021 Runner-up 2019 CONCACAF Nations League Winner 2022–23
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of April 6, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 28, 2023

Sean Everet Johnson (born May 31, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC and the United States national team.

Career

College and amateur

Sean Johnson in 2011

Johnson grew up in Lilburn, Georgia, where he attended Brookwood High School. ^[4] For a brief period he attended school in California where he played for his high school in Los Angeles County. He would graduate from there in 2005.

Johnson moved to Florida to play college soccer at the University of Central Florida, ^[5] where he earned Member of the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll and was named Team MVP in 2008. He left college early to enter the 2010 MLS SuperDraft as a Generation Adidas player.

During his college years Johnson also played one season with Atlanta Blackhawks in the USL Premier Development League. ^[6]

Professional

Sean Johnson was drafted in the fourth round (51st overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by Chicago Fire. ^[7] He was the last Generation Adidas player selected in that draft. He made his MLS debut on August 1, 2010, during a 3–2 victory over Los Angeles Galaxy after earning the starting spot over Andrew Dykstra. In his rookie season, he earned back to back "Save of the Week" honors. In 2013, he was named the Chicago Fire's Defender of the Year. He had an 11–9–7 record with the Fire, including with 6 clean sheets.

On December 11, 2016, Atlanta United acquired Johnson from the Chicago Fire for general allocation money. Later that day New York City FC acquired Johnson from Atlanta United in exchange for general allocation money and target allocation money. ^[8] He made 206 total appearances for NYCFC and won the 2021 MLS Cup with the club as their starting goalkeeper.

On January 27, 2023, Johnson signed a two-year contract with Toronto FC. ^[9]

International

Johnson holds United States and Jamaican citizenships. ^[10] He had brief tryouts with the Jamaican under-17 team in 2005 and under-20 team in 2008.

Johnson was selected to the United States men's national under-20 team in 2009. He appeared in one match in the 2009 CONCACAF U-20 Championship and later took part in three friendly matches. He also participated in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup as an unused substitute. ^[11]

Johnson was a member of the under-23 national team that participated in the 2012 Olympic Games qualifying tournament. After an injury to Bill Hamid, Johnson entered the game on the 39th minute of the last group match against El Salvador. ^[12]

Johnson earned his first senior cap for the United States national team entering as a halftime substitute in a friendly match against Chile on January 22, 2011. ^[13]

Johnson was named one of three goalkeepers assigned to the United States's 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup roster by coach Jurgen Klinsmann. He served as second choice keeper to Nick Rimando during a pre-tournament friendly against Guatemala and for the duration of the tournament. Johnson earned his first senior national team start on July 17, 2013, in the final match of the group stage, recording a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory against rival Costa Rica. During that game he made a key save in the 80th minute which led to the US's winning goal. The start officially cap-tied the dual-national Johnson to the United States. ^[10]

On November 9, 2022, Johnson was named to the United States's roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. ^[14] He did not play during the tournament, serving as a backup to Matt Turner.

Johnson won the 2022-23 CONCACAF Nations League despite not playing during the tournament. ^[15]

Personal life

His parents, Everet and Joy Johnson, are of Jamaican and African-American descent respectively.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played April 6, 2024 ^[16]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Playoffs		National cup [lower-alpha 1]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Atlanta Blackhawks	2009 [17]	Premier Development League	7	0	—		—		—		—		7	0
Chicago Fire	2010	Major League Soccer	13	0	—		1	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	—		16	0
	2011		28	0	—		4	0	—		—		32	0
	2012		31	0	1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	0	0	—		—		32	0
	2013		28	0	—		3	0	—		—		31	0
	2014		33	0	—		4	0	—		—		37	0
	2015		21	0	—		3	0	—		—		24	0
	2016		22	0	—		0	0	—		—		22	0
	Total		176	0	1	0	15	0	2	0	—		194	0
New York City FC	2017	Major League Soccer	32	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	1	0	—		—		35	0
	2018		32	0	3 [lower-alpha 3]	0	0	0	—		—		35	0
	2019		29	0	1	0	0	0	—		—		30	0
	2020		23 [lower-alpha 4]	0	1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		3 [lower-alpha 5]	0	2 [lower-alpha 6]	0	29	0
	2021		29	0	4 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		—		1 [lower-alpha 7]	0	34	0
	2022		34	0	3 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		6 [lower-alpha 5]	0	—		43	0
	Total		179	0	14	0	1	0	9	0	3	0	206	0
Toronto FC	2023	Major League Soccer	20	0	—		1	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 7]	0	23	0
	2024		3	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	3	0
	Total		23	0	0	0	1	0	—		2	0	26	0
Career total			385	0	15	0	17	0	11	0	5	0	433	0

1. Includes U.S. Open Cup and Canadian Championship
2. Appearances in North American SuperLiga
3. Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
4. Includes three appearances in MLS is Back Tournament group stage
5. Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
6. Two appearances in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage
7. Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup

International

As of match played June 28, 2023 ^[18]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
United States	2011	1	0
	2012	1	0
	2013	2	0
	2014	0	0
	2015	1	0
	2016	0	0
	2017	0	0
	2018	0	0
	2019	3	0
	2020	1	0
	2021	0	0
	2022	1	0
	2023	3	0
Total		13	0

Honors

New York City FC

• MLS Cup: 2021 ^[19]

United States

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2013, ^[20] 2017, ^[21] 2021 ^[22]
• CONCACAF Nations League: 2022–23 ^[23]

Individual

• MLS Cup MVP: 2021
• MLS All-Star: 2022 ^[24]

References

1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009™: List of Players: United States" (PDF). FIFA. October 6, 2009. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
2. "Sean Johnson". New York City FC. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
3. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: List of players: United States" (PDF). FIFA. November 15, 2022. p. 31. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
4. "Sean Johnson looking to lift NYCFC following offseason trade from Fire". February 8, 2017.
5. "Player Bio: Sean Johnson - UCF OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE". Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2012. CBS Sports Network
6. "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012.
7. 2010 MLS SuperDraft Archived January 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
8. "Atlanta United make roster moves during active MLS half-day trade window". December 11, 2016.
9. "Toronto FC sign U.S. International goalkeeper Sean Johnson | Toronto FC".
10. "Johnson outstanding in goal in first Gold Cup start for USMNT". July 17, 2013.
11. "FIFA: USA vs Germany, 26 September 2009". Archived from the original on January 20, 2013.
12. "CONCACAF Olympic qualifying 2012: USA vs El Salvador, 26 March 2012". Archived from the original on April 1, 2012.
13. "Former UCF Goalkeeper Sean Johnson Makes Debut with U.S. Men's National Team". January 25, 2011.
14. "Berhalter Names 26 Player USMNT Roster For 2022 FIFA World Cup". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
15. "Game Details". March 12, 2021.
16. Sean Johnson at Soccerway
17. "Sean Johnson | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
18. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Sean Johnson". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
19. "2021 MLS Cup". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
20. "USA 1–0 Panama – as it happened". Guardian UK. July 28, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
21. "U.S. men's national team defeats Jamaica to win CONCACAF Gold Cup". USA Today. July 26, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
22. "United States beats Mexico in Gold Cup final on late Miles Robinson header". ESPN . August 1, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
23. "U.S. beats Canada to win Nations League as Balogun opens account". ESPN. June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
24. "2022 MLS All-Star Game Roster". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved August 10, 2022.

External links

• Sean Johnson at Major League Soccer
• Chicago Fire player profile
• Sean Johnson at National-Football-Teams.com
• FIFA bio