Portland, OR – The Portland Timbers and Montreal Impact swapped goalkeepers Tuesday as the Timbers acquired Donovan Ricketts in exchange for Troy Perkins.
In 94 Major League Soccer games, Ricketts, 35, has produced a 44-26-21 record, including 30 shutouts. He also holds the second-best goals-against average in MLS history at 1.11 (among 'keepers with 90 or more appearances).
"Donovan has been an impact player since he joined MLS and is one of the top- performing goalkeepers in the league," said Portland general manager and interim head coach Gavin Wilkinson. "Troy has been an important player for us, but we as a coaching staff saw this as an opportunity to improve the position, while optimizing our budget numbers in 2012 and 2013.
"Donovan has a great presence and will provide us with tremendous experience and leadership. He has a proven track record in MLS and has shown he can consistently play well at the highest level."
Perkins, 31, is in his seventh MLS season having originally joined Portland from D.C. United, where he earned MLS Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 2006. He appeared in 51 matches for the Timbers, making 51 consecutive starts while compiling a 14-23-13 record.
"We are happy to be able to add Troy to our group and we think he will make an immediate impact in what we are trying to achieve," said Impact head coach Jesse Marsch in a club statement. "We feel this will help us make a strong push at the end of this year, as well as solidify ourselves for the future."
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