Patrick Schulte
Patrick Timothy Schulte is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew and the United States national team.
Early career and college
Originally starting out as a winger, Schulte moved into goal when he was "11 or 12" while playing for St. Louis Scott Gallagher's youth team. In 2017, he moved to the academy of Saint Louis FC. In 2019, Schulte signed to the first team on an academy contract and started in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup fixture against Des Moines Menace on May 15, helping the team progress via penalty shootout by saving three of the four penalties that he faced.In 2019, Schulte committed to playing college soccer at Saint Louis University. In three seasons with the Billikens, Schulte went on to make 51 appearances and record 22 shutouts. During his freshman year, he made a career-high seven saves in a 6–2 win at Marquette on October 1, 2019, and was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Rookie team. His sophomore year saw Schulte take Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year and be named A-10 first-team All-Conference. In 2021, he was again named A-10 first-team All-Conference, as well as United Soccer Coaches second-team All-Region, and Most Outstanding Player of the A-10 Championship.
While at college, Schulte also played in the USL League Two, making nine regular season appearances for St. Louis Scott Gallagher during the 2021 season.
On January 6, 2022, it was announced that Schulte would leave college early and sign a Generation Adidas contract with Major League Soccer, allowing him to enter the 2022 MLS SuperDraft.
Club career
Columbus Crew
On January 11, 2022, Schulte was selected 12th overall by the Columbus Crew in the MLS SuperDraft.In 2022, Schulte spent the entirety of the season with the Crew's MLS Next Pro side Columbus Crew 2, winning the inaugural MLS Next Pro Cup and the MLS Next Pro Goalkeeper of the Year award.
In the first game of the 2023 MLS season, first team goalkeeper Eloy Room was left out of the lineup due to visa issues and Schulte earned his first start with the senior team. He didn't play again until March 26 when Room was left out of the lineup once again, this time due to injury. Schulte started every remaining MLS regular season and playoff game, winning MLS Cup 2023 to conclude the season.
Schulte started all matches for Columbus during their 2024 Champions Cup campaign. After an early mishandling of the ball led to a Tigres UANL goal, Schulte redeemed himself by making two saves in the penalty shootout, helping Columbus pull off the upset and continue their historic run to the tournament final. Following the conclusion of the tournament, he was selected to the Best XI and was named Best Goalkeeper of the tournament.
International career
Schulte was called up for a training camp with the United States under-18 team in 2019, and appeared twice for the under-20's.Schulte made his debut for the senior United States national team on January 20, 2024, in a friendly against Slovenia.
During the 2024 Summer Olympics, Schulte was the starting goalkeeper for the tournament, as the United States U23's were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Morocco U23's.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honors
Columbus Crew 2- MLS Next Pro Cup: 2022
- MLS Next Pro Regular Season Champion: 2022
- MLS Cup: 2023
- Leagues Cup: 2024
- CONCACAF Champions Cup runner-up: 2024
- MLS Next Pro Goalkeeper of the Year: 2022
- MLS Next Pro Goalkeeper of the Month: August 2022
- MLS Next Pro Best XI: 2022
- CONCACAF Champions Cup Best Goalkeeper: 2024
- CONCACAF Champions Cup Best XI: 2024