Photo courtesy of Austin David / Orlando Soccer Journal

Orlando City announced Friday that it has signed veteran goalkeeper Brian Rowe to a contract.

The signing was first reported by ProSoccerUSA.com’s Jordan Culver.

Rowe, 30, has been on trial with Orlando City throughout the preseason and has started in almost all of the club’s exhibition games so far. He last played for the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2018 before being released by the club at the end of last season.

Rowe started in 10 games for the Whitecaps last season, making 29 saves with 22 goals against.

Prior to signing with Vancouver, Rowe spent six seasons with the LA Galaxy, becoming the full-time starter in 2016. He posted stellar numbers with the club, recording nine shutouts with 113 saves and just 22 goals against in 31 starts for the Galaxy, which finished 3rd in the Western Conference that season.

Rowe now officially joins a crowded goalkeeper pool for Orlando City, with Adam Grinwis, Greg Ranjitsingh, and Mason Stajduhar already on the books for 2019. It’s likely we’ll see Stajduhar, who has yet to play a professional minute in his career since signing as a Homegrown Player with Orlando City back in 2015, go out on loan somewhere to find minutes this year.

While it’s also still possible that Grinwis or Ranjitsingh could win the starting job, Rowe’s MLS experience and the fact he’s logged the bulk of the minutes this preseason suggests he’s the front-runner to be in front of net when the Lions open up the new campaign against New York City FC on March 2.

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