Revs Defense Continues to Take Hits

Thought to be one of the strengths of the club at the conclusion of the 2009 season, the Revolution defense has already lost one player to retirement, and another to injury.  A third key member is a free agent, a fourth is due to return to Africa at the conclusion of his loan, and a key back up is now a member of the Philadelphia Union.

To recap:

• Jay Heaps retired.  Say what you will about him, but he was a key part of what was a pretty stingy defense last year.
• Emmanuel Osei’s loan agreement is up.  I liked him.  Prone to the types of mistakes that are likely to give Steve Nicol a coronary at some point in the future, but he was clearly up to the task most of the time.
• Jeff Larentowicz is a free agent.  He likely won’t be back.  Ivy League grads don’t play three years of soccer at $30,000/year unless they see a big time payoff.  This is Jeff’s time to cash in, and I doubt that will happen in MLS.
• The situation in goal is a mess.  Brad Knighton was picked up by Philadelphia in the Expansion Draft.  No problem, the Revs still have Matt Reis, right?  Err…  not so much.  You see, Reis just had shoulder surgery that should keep him sidelined for the next 4-to-6 months.  Before you run to the calendar, that means he’ll likely miss the start of the Regular Season.  The only healthy goalkeeper on the roster at the moment?  22-year old Bobby Shuttleworth, last seen playing Division I soccer with the University of Buffalo.  There’s talk that the Revs have talked to Philadelphia about reacquiring Knighton, but if I were Peter Nowak, it would not come cheaply.

Do the Revs now have a problem in defense?