Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union

 It is time to continue PSP’s midseason roster analysis.

Before we continue the player by player discussion we repeat some general observations about the organization’s process.

• eight to ten game evaluation run.
• Age
• foregoing an athletic scholarship is major
• other less publicized pathways to the pros.

Jeremy Rafanello and Nick Pariano each exemplify different routes among the less publicized pathways. Rafanello left college early while Pariano  graduated.

The keepers’ process

We also speculate that for goalkeepers the organization’s roster-building principles may apply differently. Under Director of Goalkeeping Phil Wheddon, the organization has always had four keepers available for practice even though only three have been carried on the first team’s roster.

Judging by its five most recent goalkeeper professional signings, the organization may want a greater quantity of accumulated game experience than Academy play provides.

In chronological order since February of 2023, the five keeper signings have been Holden Trent, Andrew Rick, Oliver Semmle, Mike Sheridan, and Pierce Holbrook.

• Trent had 52 appearances in four years for High Point University in North Carolina.
• Rick was signed from the Union’s Academy.
• Semmle had 34 appearances with Division II USL Championship powerhouse Louisville City after 54 in three seasons with Marshall University that included a division one NCAA national championship. He also had  24 with Karlsruher II in Germany, in addition to two seasons of community college starts in the U.S..
• Sheridan had 22 appearances at St. Joseph’s College of Maine and 19 at Villanova University.
• Holbrook appeared 54 times for the U. S. Naval Academy where he was a three-year starter.

We cannot confirm that those extra years of game experience are what the organization sought from Trent, Semmle, Sheridan, and now Holbrook. But game experience is crucial for keepers, and some games provide them little or no action unlike field players.

Player by player

This year we divide the 25 players we will discuss by positional groups: Strikers, Midfielders, Defenders, and Goalkeepers. Strikers were reviewed Tuesday, July 2^nd. Goalkeepers follow immediately below.

Goalkeepers – 4

 Andrew Rick: all data as of 7/1/25. Age = 19.4. Union matches: 9 appearances. 9 starts. 810 minutes played. 4 clean sheets. 11 saves. Union II matches: 4 appearances, 4 starts, 360 minutes played. 2 clean sheets. 10 saves. 2  PK shootout wins. First team contract, active roster.

Rick is the varsity number two, Andre Blake’s backup. He starts for Union II when he needs a game to stay sharp, or to prepare for a known Blake absence from the first team. For Union II at the beginning of the season, he was more successful in penalty kick shootouts than colleague Semmle, but Semmle has improved recently.

Rick is part of the US U19s goalkeeping picture preparing for the U20 World Cup this September in Chile. He seems a serious candidate to go.

In a few years his youth and upside might make him attractive to other teams when he has more first division experience.

Oliver Semmle: all data as of 7/1/25. Age = 27.3. Union II matches: 5 appearances. 5 starts. 450 minutes played. 1 clean sheet. 1 PK shootout win. First team contract, active roster.

Semmle is the third keeper for the first team.  His contract for 2026 is a club option. We expect he will not want to stay, and if the Union have an adequate, less expensive younger option we guess they  may accommodate his departure.

Mike Sheridan: all data as of 7/2/25. Age = 23.9.  Union friendly: dressed, did not play.  Union II matches: 1 appearance, 1 start, 90 minutes played. Union II friendlies: 1 appearance, 1 start, 90 minutes played. The club option year of his Union II contract was exercised for 2025.

Sheridan is coach Wheddon’s fourth keeper as mentioned above. He went with the first team to Marbella, Spain during preseason in that role. He had his evaluation run of matches last year, so the scarcity of games this year makes sense. We judge MLS NEXT Pro to be his developmental ceiling.

We cannot guess whether Sheridan wants to return next season or whether he wants to find a chance to play games. Likewise, we cannot guess whether the organization would offer him a new Union II contract for 2026.

Pierce Holbrook: all data as of 7/2/25. Age = 22.2. Union II matches: 3 appearances, 3 starts, 270 minutes played. 1 PK Shootout win. Union II contract.

Holbrook in night action at Subaru Park.

Holbrook graduated from the Naval Academy and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on May 23^rd. Unlike earlier military academy athletes who had to wait to become professional players (e. g., Roger Staubach, David Robinson), he is eligible to pursue pro soccer immediately because of a new policy recently put in place by Congress. The policy allows three players per year per service academy to become professional athletes immediately.

He signed with Union II on June 2^nd. He is simultaneously in the Marine Corps Selected Reserves.

With only three games played, Holbrook is still being evaluated. His assertiveness improved mightily after game one. It continued in game three along with the decisive 7th round shootout save.

As the organization’s fifth professional goalkeeper when often they have carried only four, we assume he is auditioning to cover an expected future departure. Whether that transition involves Semmle, or Sheridan, or possibly both we have no idea.