Thomas Olsen (soccer)

Thomas Olsen (born February 14, 1995) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Las Vegas Lights in the United Soccer League.

Thomas Olsen
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-02-14) February 14, 1995
Place of birth Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Las Vegas Lights
Number 1
Youth career
Las Vegas Soccer Academy
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 San Diego Toreros 71 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 FC Tucson 11 (0)
2018– Las Vegas Lights 41 (0)
2018 → Sacramento Republic (loan) 0 (0)
National team
2015 United States U20 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 4, 2020

Career

Youth

Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Olsen came from a large soccer family and began playing at age four. He switched from striker to defender, and became a goalkeeper by age nine, traveling first with Las Vegas Premier SC and later Las Vegas Sports Academy (LVSA), and winning a number of tournaments and state club titles.

A starter throughout his high school and club career, Olsen completed the double in his senior year of high school by winning both the state high school (Bishop Gorman) championship and state club championship (LVSA) crowns in 2013.[1]

College

Olsen passed on other options and elected to play his college soccer the University of San Diego where he became the starting keeper in 2014, after redshirting the 2013 season, and remained the starter for four years, between 2014 and 2017. During that time he appeared in 71 season games (70 starts), logging 203 saves (3rd all time), and 18 shutouts. He was WCC Freshman Player of the Year in 2014, two-time WCC Player of the Week, and was selected for All-Conference honors in 2014, 2015, and 2017.[1]

While at college, Olsen also appeared in successive summers for USL PDL side FC Tucson, first after returning from the U-20 World Cup in 2015.[2] and again in 2016. With Olsen in goal, FC Tucson advanced to the Western Conference Championship each of those two years[3] and 2016.[4]

Professional

On January 21, 2018, Olsen was selected in the third round (50th overall) of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft by Colorado Rapids.[5] However, he was released by the club just prior to the regular season.

After a very brief 1-0 stint with ASC San Diego, on May 4, 2018, Olsen joined USL side Las Vegas Lights in its inaugural season.[6] On August 3, 2018, Olsen was sent on a short-term loan to USL side Sacramento Republic.[7]

Olsen then returned to the Lights and made his professional debut on September 29, 2018, starting against OKC Energy, and he also started the remaining three games of the season.[8] In those four games Olsen chalked up 18 saves, including seven against conference leading Phoenix and six against his former club, Sacramento.[9]

In 2019, Olsen continued as the starting goalkeeper for the Lights, appearing in all 31 matches. Dubbed “The Mayor of Cashman [Field]” by the local press,[10] he accumulated nine clean sheets and 93 saves during the season, as well as one assist and two penalty saves.[11] Olsen was named by the USL Championship as the Las Vegas Lights Mid-Season MVP,[12] and nominated on multiple occasions for USL Championship Save of the Week.

For the COVID-truncated 2020 season, the Lights found themselves starting late in group play, which forced the team during one stretch to play eight games in a 24-day period and required frequent personnel changes. Olsen appeared in six games, notching 19 saves and one PK save, and garnering a USL Man of the Match honor.[13]

International career

In the spring of 2015, Olsen was selected for training in England with the U.S. Under-20 side and for the U-20 International Friendlies. He made one appearance against the Tottenham Hotspurs under-21’s.[14] Then Olsen was named to the U.S. Under-20 side for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, as a backup to Zack Steffen.[15]

Personal life

Olsen comes from a large extended family, including two sisters and one brother, and 32 first cousins. These include four cousins who played Division 1 college soccer and one, Mike Zaher, who played professionally.[16]

References
  1. "Thomas Olsen - Men's Soccer". University of San Diego Athletics.
  2. "He's a keeper". Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  3. https://www.uslpdl.com/2015-stats
  4. "FC Tucson - 2016 Regular Season - Statistics". www.uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  5. "Colorado Rapids select Olsen, Iloski, Jackson to close out 2018 MLS SuperDraft | Colorado Rapids".
  6. "LIGHTS FC SIGNS GOALKEEPER THOMAS OLSEN, THE CLUB'S SEVENTH PLAYER WITH LAS VEGAS ROOTS". www.lasvegaslightsfc.com.
  7. FC, Sacramento Republic (August 3, 2018). "Republic FC Sign Goalkeeper Thomas Olsen on Loan". Sacramento Republic FC - USL.
  8. https://www.uslsoccer.com/lasvegaslightsfc-okcenergyfc-971734
  9. "Las Vegas Lights FC 2018 Player Stats". www.uslchampionship.com. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  10. Emerson, Justin (2019-06-08). "The Mayor of Cashman: Hometown product Thomas Olsen anchors the Lights in net - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  11. "Las Vegas Lights FC 2019 Player Stats". www.uslchampionship.com. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  12. USLChampionship com Staff (2019-06-28). "2019 Midseason Review – Western Conference". USL Championship. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  13. "Las Vegas Lights FC Player Stats". www.uslchampionship.com. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  14. Abnos, Alexander. "U.S. Soccer names USMNT, U-23, and U-20 rosters for European camps". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  15. "2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup squads", Wikipedia, 2020-11-09, retrieved 2020-11-10
  16. "Mike Zaher", Wikipedia, 2020-10-27, retrieved 2020-11-10
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