If you happened to be in the stands at Allianz Field on Saturday as the Loons left Miami in the dust, you probably heard a resounding chant from the Wonderwall several times throughout the 90 minutes. It went a little something like this: DSC! DSC!

And what a well-deserved chant that was for Minnesota keeper Dayne St. Clair. He conceded only a single goal against Miami this past weekend, and my personal theory is that he just felt generous and let the Lionel Messi fans in the crowd have what they wanted. Just once. (He also saved two of Messi’s shots like it was no big deal, so I think that’s a well-founded theory.)

A Strong Start

DSC has had a phenomenal start to the season, becoming only the sixth keeper in league history to tally six clean sheets in his first 10 games of the year, most recently in a 3-0 shutout in Austin. He’s recorded 30 saves in 11 games, and the only reason he hasn’t played in all 12 matchdays is that he was making big moves for the Canadian national team in March.

Among players who have started at least six matches this year, St. Clair is tied with Philadelphia’s Andre Blake and Inter Miami’s Oscar Ustari for fewest goals conceded. Keep in mind that St. Clair has started two more games than Blake and three more than Ustari. Considering Minnesota has already played some pretty high-flying attacking systems — including Vancouver, Miami, and San Jose — that’s a pretty impressive stat.

So far this season, he’s got a save percentage of 76.3. Let me put that in perspective for you. The world has five major oceans, right? Absolutely massive bodies of water. If you add the volume of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, you shake out to about 75% of total ocean water in the world. St. Clair is saving more than three oceans’ worth of goals. Okay, that’s a little dramatic. But he does also have the league’s lowest goals against per 90 minutes at 0.82, and his clean sheet percentage leads by a full 10 percent.

The Path to the Pitch

An Ontario native, St. Clair started his youth soccer career with North Scarborough SC. He played for several clubs before attending the University of Maryland, where he spent four years with the Terrapins and made his way to a national championship.

St. Clair is undoubtedly one of the best players to come out of the SuperDraft, and Minnesota United knew what they were doing when they chose him as the seventh overall pick in 2019. He started the 2020 season on loan to San Antonio FC, but was called back when some keeper injuries left the Loons floundering. That comeback served as his MLS debut, and he shut out Real Salt Lake 4-0 in a show-stopping performance that led to him starting the remainder of the season and the Loons’ playoff run.

Miller returned to the starting lineup in 2021, but St. Clair’s national-team career was just taking off. After being named to Canada’s U23 provisional roster for the 2020 Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, he debuted for the senior national team in June 2021 in a massive FIFA World Cup Qualification win. He shut out Aruba 7-0 and was a shoo-in for Canada’s 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup squads. Nations League, Gold Cup, Copa América, you name it — he just keeps showing up and shutting opposing attacks down.

St. Clair entered the 2022 MLS season as the backup to veteran keeper Tyler Miller. That lasted all of two games, however, as DSC stood in for a sick Tyler Miller against the New York Red Bulls on March 13, 2022, shutting out the opponents with a legendary eight-save performance that saw him lay claim to a starting role he hasn’t relinquished since. He now leads the club in wins across all competitions (32) and has the most shutouts on record at 22. By 2023, he surpassed Bobby Shuttleworth’s save records in both regular season and across all competitions. He’s totaled 365 saves, one for every day of the year, and tallied 33 clean sheets. How’s that for club legend? There’s even a St. Clair Avenue 2.2 miles away from Allianz Field, which feels appropriate.

Looking Forward

St. Clair will look to add another tally to the clean sheet record in Houston this Wednesday, where they’ll find a new face in the opposing net. After the club declined Steve Clark’s option for 2025, keeper Andrew Tarbell took the helm for four matches before suffering a season-ending knee injury. The Dynamo signed a new goalie about a week into April, and his name’s Bond… Jonathan Bond. Yeah, that just doesn’t have the same ring to it. He’s conceded seven goals in four games so far, though he did manage a clean sheet against Texan rival Austin FC.

Facing a revitalized Minnesota attack that has scored seven goals in its last two MLS matches, we’ll see exactly how much Bond can handle on Wednesday. He’ll have the added pressure of knowing that on the other side of the pitch, St. Clair will continue to complete one of the best defensive systems in the league, holding down the fort whenever the ball manages to slip by a very disciplined backline.

So, Houston Dynamo. Orange Crush. La Naranja. I’d be scared, because these Loons eat oranges for breakfast.¹

¹I have no idea if the Loons eat oranges for breakfast. I made that up for the sake of metaphorical impact.