Seattle Sounders trade for Stefan Cleveland, bolstering the goalkeeping unit

Seattle, Washington — There’s another “Stefan” in Seattle.

On Tuesday afternoon, the club announced that Stefan Cleveland is the newest Seattle Sounder. The addition to the goalkeeper unit comes after a trade with the Chicago Fire. Chicago traded Cleveland to the Sounders in exchange for Seattle’s first-round pick in the MLS Draft.

Meanwhile, Seattle also received Chicago’s second-round pick. The trade comes after Inter Miami picked up Bryan Meredith from the Sounders in the Expansion Draft.

Cleveland featured for Lansing Ignite FC in the USL’s League One. He was named the league’s Player of the Month in June and featured in 22 matches. Meanwhile, while at Lansing, Cleveland produced seven clean sheets. He also recorded a save percentage of 72 percent.

“Following Bryan Meredith’s departure in the Expansion Draft last week, goalkeeper depth became a priority for us this offseason,” general manager Garth Lagerwey said. “Stefan is a young goalkeeper that we look forward to bringing into our current group and working with Tom Dutra once preseason begins.”

Cleveland, who attended Louisville, joins a goalkeeping unit that includes a veteran in Stefan Frei and a young, Homegrown player in Trey Muse. Frei is the clear-cut number one goalkeeper, featuring in all 34 regular-season matches last year. Frei recorded 10 shut outs and added one shut out in four postseason appearances. He was also named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Meanwhile, Muse is only 20-years-old and getting valuable minutes with the Tacoma Defiance. In 2019, Muse signed as a Homegrown Player on Jan. 15. Despite not featuring in any MLS matches, Muse picked up 21 starts in 22 appearances in Tacoma. With three clean sheets to his name, Muse recorded a save percentage of 66.9.

Seattle’s full roster, so far, heading into 2020 is below.

Seattle Sounders 2020 Roster 

• Goalkeepers: Stefan Cleveland, Stefan Frei & Trey Muse
• Defenders: Xavier Arreaga, Joevin Jones, Kelvin Leerdam & Nouhou
• Midfielders: Handwalla Bwana, Emanuel Cecchini, Jordy Delem, Danny Leyva, Nicolás Lodeiro, Cristian Roldan & Gustav Svensson
• Forwards: Will Bruin, Justin Dhillon, Jordan Morris, Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez & Raúl Ruidíaz

Always in our hearts. 💚 pic.twitter.com/kCjNxs56rz

— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) November 24, 2019

PHOTO: Cleveland was the Chicago Fire’s First Round selection in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft after a collegiate career at Dartmouth and Louisville. Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke/USA Today Sports. Provided by the Seattle Sounders FC.