Houston Dynamo sign goalkeeper Chris Seitz

The Houston Dynamo have signed free agent goalkeeper Chris Seitz, the club announced today.

Seitz, 30, joins the Dynamo after 11 seasons in Major League Soccer, the last seven of which were with FC Dallas. Seitz has played in 97 career games with 96 starts in regular-season play and has registered 18 clean sheets. Seitz has appeared in four career playoff games with a record of 2-1-1.

“The addition of Chris Seitz will strengthen our team in goal right away. He is a steady and reliable presence and understands what it takes to be successful in MLS,” said Dynamo Vice President and General Manager Matt Jordan. “We look forward to him joining our team as we continue to build our roster for 2018.”

Seitz put together his best season in 2016, when he helped lead FC Dallas to the Supporters Shield and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship in 2016. He started 28 regular-season games that year and posted a career-low 1.04 Goals-Against Average, leading FC Dallas to a 14-5-9 record in regular-season play that year.

“Chris Seitz is a very talented and experienced goalkeeper in Major League Soccer. He was one of the key components for FC Dallas when they won the Supporters’ Shield in 2016,” said Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera. “Every time he is on the field, he is a very solid and dependable goalkeeper. With his experience and his leadership, he will be a good role model to all the players.”

Seitz represented the Under-23 U.S. Men’s National Team in the 2008 Summer Olympics alongside American soccer legend Brian McBride, Dynamo legend Stuart Holden and Toronto FC forward Jozy Altidore. Before the Beijing Olympics, the experienced goalkeeper played in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup helping the U.S. reach the quarterfinals.

In 2012, Seitz was named the MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year after becoming a bone marrow donor to an anonymous leukemia patient. The goalkeeper first became a registered donor when he registered with DKMS, the world’s largest bone-marrow center, in 2009 to support his then teammate, midfielder Andy Williams, whose wife, Marcia, was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.

Seitz began his professional career as the fourth overall pick of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft by Real Salt Lake. He was traded to the Philadelphia Union in 2010 and played one year there. He was selected by Seattle Sounders FC in the second stage of the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft and was traded by the Sounders to FC Dallas, where he played from 2011-2016.

Seitz helped lead the University of Maryland to the National Championship as a freshman in 2005, posting 13-1-2 record and a 0.89 Goals-Against Average and earning College Cup Defensive MVP accolades. Seitz posted a 28-5-3 record over two seasons in College Park before he turned professional following his sophomore season.

With the addition of Seitz, the Dynamo now have 18 players currently under contract.

HOUSTON DYNAMO PLAYERS CURRENTLY UNDER CONTRACT

TRANSACTIONS: Houston Dynamo sign GK Chris Seitz.