BEAVERTON, Ore. — The Portland Timbers have known for a while that Jake Gleeson could become a top-notch goalkeeper. It is why the New Zealander was one of the first players signed by the Timbers when they entered Major League Soccer.
“We always knew he was a very good goalkeeper,” Timbers head coach Caleb Porter said. “You ask anybody – staff, coaches, players – they would have told you that Jake was and is a very good goalkeeper.”
Until Adam Kwarasey’s freak finger injury in April, Gleeson was only the team’s goalkeeper of the future.