IRVINE, Calif. - Former UC San Diego All-American Josh Cohen has signed his first professional contract with Orange County Blues FC of the United Soccer League (USL). The announcement was made by the club on Monday afternoon. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cohen, a Northern California product out of Sunnyvale (Bellarmine College Prep) who will be celebrating his 23rd birthday next Tuesday, Aug. 18, was a four-year standout for UCSD head coach Jon Pascale from 2010-13. He earned his degree from Sixth College in bioengineering, with a minor in computer science, this past June. OC Blues FC is based in Irvine, and plays home games at UC Irvine's Anteater Stadium.
Cohen is coming off of an exemplary season with the first-year Burlingame Dragons FC of the USL Premier Development League (PDL). He posted nine individual clean sheets in helping to guide the Dragons (11-2-3) to the PDL Southwest Division title. They won a first-round playoff contest, 1-0 in overtime at home on July 18 against division rival Ventura County Fusion, before falling by that same score in a Western Conference semifinal to Sounders FC U23 in Tucson, Ariz., six days later.
Cohen finished with a 0.65 goals-against average in 15 matches for Burlingame, and produced a shutout streak of approximately 360 minutes ahead of the Sounders' decisive goal following a defensive turnover. The Dragons are the PDL affiliate of the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer. Cohen's performance earned him the right to spend some time training with the Earthquakes during the PDL season. He is the first player from the PDL Scouting Network top-50 list to put ink to a pro deal.
"I am really excited to be joining the OC Blues," said Cohen. "I was fortunate enough to be a part of the Burlingame Dragons earlier this season, and that provided me with an amazing opportunity to play at a high level and get noticed by professional coaches. Now, I am working every day to familiarize myself with the pro level, improve my skills, and provide a positive impact to the Blues in any way possible."
As a Triton, Cohen was a two-time All-American and back-to-back California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Most Valuable Defensive Player honoree as a junior and senior. He led the entire NCAA Division II in GAA (0.397) and save percentage (.898) in that junior campaign. UCSD was ranked as high as sixth nationally in his 2013 senior season, advancing to the third round of the NCAA Championship. Cohen completed his college career with a 0.58 GAA and 22 shutouts, third-most in program history and most in the Division II era since 2000.
Cohen, who actually signed his contract last week, was in fact on the bench for the first time for Saturday's 1-0 home victory over the Austin Aztex. The Blues thus currently sit fifth in the USL's Western Conference with seven games to play. The top six teams in each conference qualify for the postseason. They are on the road in Scottsdale, Ariz., to face Arizona United SC this Saturday night, Aug. 15, at 7:30 p.m.
Cohen will be wearing the No. 1 shirt for the Blues, and playing with at least two other former All-CCAA performers in midfielder Jio Santana (Cal State Dominguez Hills/Cal State Stanislaus) and defender Josh Suggs (Humboldt State).
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