Andre Blake breaks another Union record

REGGAE BOYZ Captain Andre Blake continues to make history in the US Major League Soccer (MLS), becoming the Philadelphia Union’s all-time leader in regular season starts.

The 32-year-old goalkeeper has made 212 regular season starts for the Eastern Conference Champions and passes former teammate Ray Gaddis for the club’s all-time record.

The Jamaican has amassed quite the resume during the past decade with Philadelphia, where he has made 648 saves in nearly 19,000 minutes of regular season action.

In 2022, the Jamaican international saved 79.4% of the shots he faced, the most among MLS goalkeepers who have appeared in at least three games. With Blake between the sticks, the Union conceded the fewest goals ever – 26 – by any MLS team during a 34-game season.

Blake is one of two Union players to play every minute of the 2022 MLS regular season, where he led the league with 15 shutouts, another club record.

“To see him go through some adversity early on in his career with injuries and not getting the opportunity to be a starter right away. He put his head down and worked hard so to now see his rise to be the best goalkeeper in our league has been awesome to watch,” said Tim Curtin, head coach of the Union.

“I’ve loved watching his leadership in the locker room. When he speaks, everyone listens. He is a big part of the culture change at this club and us getting to our winning ways. I cannot say enough about Andre. To watch him grow and improve little aspects of his game every year. If you watch him now with his feet, he adds a layer to his game and he is never satisfied.”

Blake lives what his coach has seen and believes his achievements are down to that hard work.

“This is a very proud moment for me to pause and look at all the work I’ve done to be in the Philadelphia Union history books again. I’m humbled by this achievement, and the hard work continues. I just have to use it to keep going, keep doing my best, and to keep motivating the youth,” said Blake.

Blake has amassed four MLS All-Star Appearances (another team record) and three MLS Goalkeeper of the Year awards (the first player in MLS history to do so).

In 2014, the then 23-year-old became the first goalkeeper in MLS history to be a number-one draft pick.