Josh Cohen (soccer)

Summary

Joshua Cohen (Hebrew: ג'ושוע "ג'וש" כהן; born August 8, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United.

Josh Cohen
Cohen with Maccabi Haifa in 2020
Personal information
Full name Joshua Cohen
Date of birth (1992-08-08) August 8, 1992 (age 31)
Place of birth Mountain View, California, United States
Height 6 ft 1+14 in (1.86 m)[1][2][3]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Atlanta United
Number 22
Youth career
2004–2007 Santa Clara Sporting Club
2007 Grêmio
2007–2010 Santa Clara Sporting Club
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 UC San Diego Tritons 52 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 Burlingame Dragons 11 (0)
2015–2016 Orange County Blues 16 (0)
2017 Phoenix Rising 28 (0)
2018–2019 Sacramento Republic 51 (0)
2019–2023 Maccabi Haifa 123 (0)
2024– Atlanta United 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of July 11, 2023

Cohen is also an Israeli citizen.[4][5][1][2][3]

Early and personal life edit

Cohen was born in Mountain View, California, United States, to a family of Jewish descent.[6]

On December 12, 2019, he obtained his Israeli temporary resident status.[4] On February 20, 2021, Cohen acquired Israeli citizenship, with an Oleh Hadash status, on account of the State of Israel's Law of Return for the Jewish diaspora.[4][5]

Club career edit

Cohen played four years of college soccer at the University of California, San Diego between 2010 and 2013, graduating with a degree in bioengineering and computer science.[6] He appeared in 51 games in his collegiate career. In 2012, he started 12 games and led the entirety of NCAA Division II in goals against average (0.397) and save percentage (0.898), earning a place on the Daktronics All-America Second Team. In 2013, he started 22 games and earned NSCAA All-America First Team honors.[7]

In early 2014, Cohen was invited by the Philadelphia Union to a one-week trial from January 25 through February 1.[8]

Burlingame Dragons edit

After college, Cohen appeared for USL PDL side Burlingame Dragons in 2015, making 11 appearances with a goals against average of 0.636.[9]

Orange County edit

Cohen signed with United Soccer League club Orange County Blues on August 10, 2015,[10] where he started one game in the 2015 season.[11] He returned to the team for the 2016 season.[12]

Phoenix Rising edit

Cohen spent the 2017 season with Phoenix Rising where he won the starting goalkeeper role, making 28 starts on the season. He earned the September 2017 Player of the Month Award with a 0.37 GAA and 88.9% save percentage over the course of the month.[13]

Sacramento Republic edit

Cohen signed with Sacramento Republic FC of the USL Championship on January 16, 2018, with a club option for 2019.[14] He played every minute of the 2018 USL Championship season, conceding 32 goals in the 34 games of the regular season, and earning twelve clean sheets. Cohen was named a finalist for USL Goalkeeper of the Year[15] and was selected to the USL All-League Second Team.[16]

He returned to Sacramento for the start of the 2019 season and made 16 appearances, allowing just 17 goals, before his transfer.[citation needed]

Maccabi Haifa edit

On July 19, 2019, Sacramento Republic and Maccabi Haifa agreed to a transfer of Cohen to the Israeli Premier League club in advance of their 2019–20 season.[17] Cohen made his first start on September 25, 2019, where he was in net for a 3–0 victory over Maccabi Netanya. He returned to the starting line-up on October 26, 2019, for another 3–0 victory, this time over Hapoel Kfar Saba. He then started every game until the season's eventual postponement. In that time, he conceded only 15 goals in his 21 games, saw out 12 clean sheets, and helped lead Maccabi Haifa to a second-place finish at the end of the first stage of the regular season.[18]

Cohen was named the Israeli Premier League's Player of the Season in 2020–21, leading Maccabi Haifa to their first league championship since their last one in 2010–11.[19]

In the 2021–22 season, Cohen led the club to repeat as Israeli Premier League Champions, finishing the season with the best defensive record in the league and earning 16 clean sheets across the campaign. This earned Maccabi Haifa a 2022-23 UEFA Champions League playoff round berth, where they would go on to defeat Olympiacos, Apollon Limassol, and Red Star Belgrade.[20] In the ensuing UCL group stage, Cohen's five saves led Haifa to a 2–0 clean sheet win over Juventus.[21]

In May 2023, Cohen and Haifa clinched their third consecutive Israeli Premier League title with a 5–1 win over Maccabi Netanya. [22]

Atlanta United edit

On December 14, 2023, Cohen signed with Major League Soccer club Atlanta United as a free-agent through the 2025 season.[23]

Honors edit

Maccabi Haifa

Individual

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Josh Cohen – Stats and titles won – 22/23".
  2. ^ a b "Josh Cohen :: Joshua Robert Cohen :: Maccabi Haifa".
  3. ^ a b "Josh Cohen".
  4. ^ a b c "ג'וש כהן קיבל אזרחות ישראלית ודרכון". February 20, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל – Joshua COHEN".
  6. ^ a b "המדען המטורף: על שוער הרכש של מכבי חיפה – ספורט 5". July 27, 2019.
  7. ^ "Josh Cohen Bio - UCSDTritons.com". UCSDTritons.com. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  8. ^ Rachel Uda (February 13, 2014). "Goalkeeper Cohen Gets MLS Trial". UCSD Guardian. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  9. ^ "Goalie Stats". USLPDL.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  10. ^ "Burlingame GK Signs With Orange County". USLPDL.com. August 10, 2015. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  11. ^ Charlie Corr (March 11, 2016). "2016 USL Preview: Orange County Blues FC". USLsoccer.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  12. ^ "Goalkeeper Josh Cohen Returns to OC Blues FC". OCBluesFC.com. February 23, 2016. Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  13. ^ USLsoccer com Staff (October 12, 2017). "Cohen Named USL Player of the Month". USL Championship. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  14. ^ "Sacramento Republic FC Sign Goalkeeper Joshua Cohen". January 16, 2018.
  15. ^ November 6, wpengine; Am, 2018 at 12:00 (November 6, 2018). "Josh Cohen Named USL 2018 Goalkeeper of the Year Finalist". Sports 1140 KHTK. Retrieved March 26, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ USLSoccer com Staff (November 5, 2018). "2018 USL All-League Teams Revealed". USL Championship. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  17. ^ "Republic FC and Maccabi Haifa FC Reach Agreement for Transfer of Goalkeeper Josh Cohen". sacrepublicfc.com. July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  18. ^ "Israel Premier League regular season closes as teams are divided". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  19. ^ "Former Championship Standout Josh Cohen Leads Maccabi Haifi to Title". uslchampionship.com. May 31, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  20. ^ "American goalkeeper Josh Cohen in UEFA Champions League: From NCAA Division II to facing PSG, Juventus with Maccabi Haifa". The Sporting News. November 2, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  21. ^ "Josh Cohen delivers shutout in Maccabi Haifa's shock win over Juventus". SBI. October 11, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  22. ^ "Maccabi Haifa clinches Israeli League Championship". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  23. ^ atlutd. "Atlanta United signs goalkeeper Josh Cohen | Atlanta United FC". atlutd. Retrieved December 15, 2023.

External links edit