Karl Ouimette is unlikely to look back on 2016 as a highlight of his pro soccer career. The 24-year-old was handed an unexpected opportunity for regular starts for the New York Red Bulls this year when a succession of injuries blighted the first team's defensive corps in the opening weeks of the MLS regular season. Ouimette appeared in seven of RBNY's first eight league games, starting in six of them.
Unfortunately, his run as a starter coincided with the disastrous run of form that threatened to torpedo the Red Bulls' 2016 before it had really begun.