The 22-year-old Atlanta native spent the last six years preparing for last night—his professional debut. The former Southampton back-up goalkeeper helped Milton Keynes Dons to a 2-1 League Cup win.

BY Brian Sciaretta Posted

August 12, 2015

8:05 PM SHARE THIS STORY



THE ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP kicked off yesterday. Perhaps you noticed. Perhaps not.



This tournament often gets lost in the shuffle since it lacks the prestige and history of the FA Cup and it doesn't carry the same significance as league contests. That said, the League Cup often plays a key role in young players' careers, giving them a chance to show what they can do in a legit professional environment.

And that's precisely what happened with United States U-23 goalkeeper Cody Cropper. The Atlanta native made his long-awaited professional debut in the League Cup Tuesday, helping his new club, Milton Keynes Dons, earn a 2-1 win over Leyton Orient in the first round.

“It's something that I've wanted my whole life," Cropper told American Soccer Now prior to his debut. "It's going to be rewarding because I've been working for this since I was three years old and the first time I kicked a soccer ball. Since then, I've wanted to play professionally."

The only goal Cropper conceded was an own goal in the 36th minute which took a sudden deflection over him. With MK Dons trailing 1-0 late in the game, Cropper kept the game close in the 86th minute when he made a diving save on Jay Simpson’s shot to the lower right corner.

The Dons scored the equalizer in the 90th minute and then tallied again in stoppage time to advance to the next round.

Cropper, 22, has spent his entire professional career in England—first with Ipswich and later with Southampton, where he occasionally made the first-team bench. After two seasons with the Premier League side, however, he parted ways with Southampton to seek more playing time.

“That's part of the reason why I left Southampton because the reality of me playing was not high,” Cropper explained. “I wanted to go somewhere where I would challenge to play. I thought this was the right place to do that. But I took away a lot [from Southampton], not just on the field but off. I had great relationships with players and coaches. I developed a lot and I learned how to play football—I developed the knowledge of total football.”

Cropper joined MK Dons knowing he was the club’s second-string goalkeeper but he clearly saw a chance for minutes. First-choice keeper David Martin has more than 200 appearances for the Dons but has missed time due to injuries in recent seasons.

When you factor in the Championship’s grueling 46-game season along with FA Cup and League Cup matches, Cropper should get his chance to shine.

“The opportunity to play, the opportunity to grew, the opportunity to develop and further my career, not only on a club level but on an international level as well—all aspects came into the decision," he said. "I'm coming in as a No. 2 but I am going to keep my head down and work hard.”

There is also going to be a lot of pressure on the entire MK Dons squad. The club is fresh off promotion to the Championship and this season it will have one of the smallest budgets in the league.

Many pundits in England have pegged the Dons as likely candidates to wind up in a relegation battle but the club has youth on its side. Cropper believes that if all the pieces line up, the team can push toward mid-table and maybe even higher.

“There are ambitions beyond survival,” Cropper said. “I think if you go in just hoping to survive, you are hindering yourself because one you reach that target there is nowhere else to go. We have the potential to more than just survive.”

Of course, Cropper has his eye on the international game too, and in recent years he has steadily progressed within U.S. youth national teams. In 2013 he was the starting goalkeeper for the U-20 World Cup team. Over the past two years he has earned occasional call-ups to the full national team—although he has yet to earn his first cap.

The next big test for him will be with the U-23 team which has its Olympic qualifying tournament in October. Jurgen Klinsmann has stated that qualifying for the Olympics is a major priority for the federation.

Cropper last played with the U-23 team at the Toulon Tournament, where the Yanks finished third. Now there is just one more camp in September—the team’s final gathering before qualifying begins.

“I think we took a lot out of Toulon,” Cropper said. “The first two games were covered in mistakes. In the first game, we let the mistakes affect us. In the second game, we bounced back straight away. The team didn't put their heads down. I didn't put my head down. We got on with it.



"That shows maturity to me. That shows learning. On that stage, you need that at this level. We can take that into the September camp.”

Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.