Canada's St. Clair caps off stellar season with MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award

Neil Davidson · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Nov 03, 2025 1:40 PM EST | Last Updated: November 3

Dayne St. Clair added to his lawsuit to go Canada's No. 1 connected Monday erstwhile helium was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.

The Minnesota United 'keeper bushed retired New York City FC's Matt Freese and the Vancouver Whitecaps' Yohei Takaoka successful voting by MLS clubs' method staff, first-team players and prime media.

St. Clair had 29.4 per cent of the combined ballot with Freese astatine 17.32 per cent and Takaoka astatine 15.49.

St. Clair was the wide victor successful the media information of the ballot (47.46 per cent to Takaoka's 11.30 and Freese's 5.65) portion Freese and Takaoka topped the subordinate information (both astatine 20.37 per cent compared to 18.52 for St. Clair) and Freese led the nine ballot (25.93 to St. Clair's 22.22 and Takaoka's 14.81).

"This has decidedly been my astir accordant and my champion year, without a uncertainty successful my mind," St. Clair said. "But I besides cognize that I haven't reached my highest yet. I deliberation I inactive person much to spell and I cognize that I tin inactive beryllium amended than I person [been]."

It's the latest honour successful a play that saw St. Clair voted onto the MLS all-star team.

The 28-year-old from Pickering, Ont., joins Pat Onstad arsenic the lone Canadian to triumph the MLS goalkeeper award. Onstad, present the Houston Dynamo's president of soccer, won successful 2003 and '05 arsenic a subordinate of the San Jose Earthquakes.

Maxime Crepeau, St. Clair's rival for the Canadian starting position, finished 5th successful the voting successful 2021 portion Greg Sutton was 4th successful 2008.

An oculus connected the World Cup

St. Clair says helium tries to enactment successful the infinitesimal erstwhile it comes to the nationalist squad up of adjacent year's World Cup.

"A World Cup, particularly a location World Cup connected apical of that, that's what dreams are made of," helium said. "Especially the archetypal crippled being successful Toronto wherever I grew up, that's thing I cognize volition ne'er travel again successful my lifetime. So it's truly 1 accidental astatine it.

"And I cognize that this season, starring up evidently to adjacent season, volition person a ample portion successful determining however large of a relation I play for the squad there."

St. Clair, who backed up Milan Borjan astatine the 2022 World Cup successful Qatar, has won 17 caps for Canada with 8 cleanable sheets.

The 28th-ranked Canadian men adjacent retired their 2025 docket with games against No. 23 Ecuador and No. 50 Venezuela connected Nov. 13 and 18 successful Toronto and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., respectively.

St. Clair and Minnesota sojourn Seattle connected Monday successful Game 2 of their best-of-three first-round playoff with the Sounders. Minnesota won the opener successful a punishment shootout (3-2) aft a scoreless draw, with 2 Sounders hitting the woodwork.

Campaign to remember

Playing down a Minnesota squad sporting the 3rd stingiest defence successful the league (conceding an mean of 1.15 goals a game), the seven-year MLS seasoned recorded regular-season highs successful saves (113) and shutouts (10), portion besides tying his regular season-high of 15 wins. He led the league successful saves percent (77.9 per cent) and recorded the second-best goals-against mean (1.00).

Among starting goalkeepers, St. Clair finished the regular play tied for seventh successful wins, 4th successful saves and tied for 4th successful shutouts.

The Loons held the absorption to 1 extremity oregon little successful 23 of their 34 regular-season outings. That included a 3-1 triumph astatine San Diego FC connected Sept. 23 that saw St. Clair marque a career-high 12 saves.

"We person a precise defiant benignant of play and that includes each guys giving their each to support and past being capable to onslaught from those antiaircraft moments," said St. Clair.

Minnesota, which finished 4th successful the West astatine 16-8-10, acceptable single-season records for wins (16) and points (58) and goals allowed (39). It besides posted its best-ever roadworthy grounds (8-3-6) portion its full of 8 losses connected the play was different franchise best.

St. Clair joins Vito Mannone (2019) arsenic the 2nd Minnesota United subordinate to triumph the award.

Minnesota selected the six-foot-three 'keeper successful the archetypal circular (seventh overall) successful the 2019 MLS SuperDraft retired of the University of Maryland.

St. Clair finished his collegiate vocation astatine Maryland by winning the NCAA title, going 5 games astatine the tourney without conceding a goal. He ended his clip arsenic a Terrapin connected a 500-minute shutout run.

St. Clair was 15 erstwhile helium made his debut successful the Canadian younker programme successful 2013 with manager Robert Gale. He made his elder debut astatine 24 successful a 7-0 triumph implicit Aruba successful a World Cup qualifier successful June 2022.

St. Clair started retired arsenic an outfield player, making the determination to goalkeeper astatine property 14. He developed astatine Ajax FC nether Dario Gasparotto, present a unit manager astatine FC Durham Academy, earlier joining Vaughan Soccer Club.