Heading into training with the Portland Timbers, the day before the team’s Major League Soccer game against visiting Los Angeles Galaxy, Brian Rowe received a phone call.
And then another, and another.
First, it was the former UCLA goalkeeper’s agent calling to tell Rowe the Galaxy had made a trade and were signing him. Then, Galaxy coach Bruce Arena called to congratulate him and tell him of the signing. And lastly, the Galaxy team manager called.
It was official: Rowe finally had a place to call home for the rest of the season after spending most of his first year out of college bouncing around from team to team. He was signed by the defending MLS champions on July 13 and was officially a member of the Galaxy when they faced the Timbers the next day.
That made for a surreal experience for 23-year-old Rowe.
“To be honest, it felt really weird showing up in Galaxy gear at (Jeld-Wen Field) and in the away guest room,” Rowe said. “It sort of felt like (I was) in between, just because I had been with the Timbers and led the field with them numerous games, so it was a little bittersweet.”
But that sentiment quickly subsided as, for the first time, he took the field under contract with an MLS team.
“I couldn’t be happier that I’m actually on a roster right now with a good team and just excited to get back down there, get settled in and really start up with them,” Rowe said of playing with L.A. “(I’m) excited to be able to secure myself with one team and such a great organization.”
As an MLS pool goalie, Rowe was property of the league and used to fill a void on any team’s roster when a player received an injury, suspension or international call-up. He would train with teams and serve as a backup goalie in MLS games or reserve games, essentially owned by every team and no team.
Rowe was able to negotiate working as a Portland-based pool goalie, since he is from Eugene, Ore. This meant he trained with the Timbers when he wasn’t called to other teams across the country. Rowe had actually practiced and trained with the Galaxy before Los Angeles signed him, as well as four other teams.
A two-time team MVP as a junior and senior at UCLA, Rowe served as a backup in two MLS games and one reserve game with the Galaxy. Clearly, something about the former Bruin stood out enough during that time for L.A. to sign him.
The path to the Galaxy was a whirlwind one for Rowe, who is less than a year removed from competing for the Bruins in the December 2011 NCAA College Cup Final Four. In January, Rowe participated in the MLS Combine, a four-day annual event in which prospects are physically and mentally checked out ahead of the MLS Superdraft.
Following the combine in January, Rowe went overseas to train for a professional team in Vaasa, Finland. Rowe sat nervously at his computer overseas and watched as names of players being drafted flashed across his screen. His wait finally ended when Chivas USA, Los Angeles’ co-tenant at the Home Depot Center in Carson, made the UCLA goalie their selection in the second round of the supplemental draft held on Jan. 17. The supplemental draft is a secondary draft held by MLS consisting of four rounds.
Rowe came back early from training in Finland, but by then Chivas USA had brought other goalies into camp and left him “behind the eight ball,” he said. After a drawn-out battle with another goalie for the No. 3 goalie spot, Rowe was not signed and was left to fend for himself at a time when teams were closing their rosters as the season neared.
“I think Chivas kind of dragged it out a little too long,” said UCLA goalkeepers coach Patrick Seymour. “I think they kind of led him on a little bit.”
Not knowing what options might become available to him, Rowe returned to L.A. to train. A month later, his agent called with a unique opportunity.
The league was interested in signing Rowe as one of a few MLS pool goalies. Seymour encouraged Rowe to sign on, saying it’d be like his own personal “combine” where he could showcase himself to every team in the league.
“We knew his talent, and we knew if he just had some time to show the other teams in the league kind of what he can do … him getting signed by the L.A. Galaxy, it’s not a surprise by me,” Seymour said.
For Rowe, being a pool goalie was a good experience, as he got the opportunity to train with various teams and see how different coaches handled their squads, while also adapting to the professional level.
“I’d say the hardest part was coming back, getting released by Chivas, and then not really knowing where I was going to be for the year, but I never really gave up hope,” Rowe said. “I knew at some point it was going to come along.”
Rowe is one of three goalies for the Galaxy, replacing veteran Bill Gaudette, who was recently traded to the New York Red Bulls. Rowe joins former UCLA teammate and fellow goalie Brian Perk with the Galaxy as the two backups to starter Josh Saunders.
“He is extremely hardworking and is willing to commit himself to whatever he needs to do to be successful,” said UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo. “That’s what I saw in him at UCLA and I’m sure that’s the way he’s going to approach his opportunity with the Galaxy.”
As a member of the UCLA soccer team, Rowe trained with and played scrimmages against Los Angeles. Galaxy manager Bruce Arena’s son, Kenny Arena, was an assistant coach with the Bruins during that time, and currently, five UCLA players are on the Galaxy roster.
But landing his spot with the Galaxy gives Rowe a sense of familiarity with the team that he could not possibly have gotten as a pool goalie.
“The fact that I’ve trained with them before, I’m not as shell-shocked or wide-eyed as you might think,” Rowe said. “But it definitely is fun being a part of that and being able to train with these amazing players throughout the whole team.”