Feature Story – Brad Knighton: 16-Year MLS veteran to full-time coach

BOSTON, MA – From an early age, Brad Knighton knew that he would become a professional soccer player, no matter what it took. From a 4-year collegiate career, going undrafted, succeeding in an open tryout and then embarking on a 16-year professional journey across the United States, Brad Knighton has quite the story.

Bradley Burton Knighton was born February 6th, 1985, to his parents Burton Wayne Knighton and Bonnie Davis Knighton in Hickory, North Carolina. 

On how he started playing soccer, Knighton stated, “I started playing soccer at five years old. I initially started in town leagues and instantly caught onto it. I was the leading scorer on all my teams and fell in love with it. I played baseball simultaneously and essentially went from one practice to the other and it all kind of just stuck with me.”

“I played for Richmond Strikers in the town/club-rec league from 5-years-old to about 8-years-old and then when I turned 9-year-old it changed to essentially ‘the challenge league’ (more club competitive, more travel) and played there till I was about 18-years-old.”

“I used to be a catcher in baseball and essentially, when I was 12, our goalie got hurt in a tournament and I went in goal, and we ended up winning the tournament. In the following year, I went to tryouts to tryout as an outfield player and my coach essentially told me ‘You’re going to be a goalkeeper from now on.” and I transitioned from being the leading scorer on every single team that I had previously played on to become a goalkeeper. It came natural to me as I had my dad throw balls across the house and I was always diving for them, so it was a simple transition.”

After the transition, Brad had to stop playing baseball & focused solely on soccer.

During high school, Brad had a successful career. Most notably, in his senior season, his team went 22-0-0 and won the state championship. He was named to the all-state, first team all-region, and made the state all-star game.

Following his high school career at Mills E. Godwin High School, Brad was looking to continue to play soccer in college.

“I had a lot of offers from the ACC, Big East, CAA, so, I had offers at a lot of different places, and it kind of went into what situation I wanted to be in to further my development and continue my education, so I landed at UNCW.”

Knighton accepted and attended University of North Carolina – Wilmington Seahawks from 2003-2006.

His collegiate career was special. Starting all but two games for the Seahawks, Knighton played a record total of 6,891 minutes for UNCW. He ranks second all-time in goals against average (1.08), games played (75) and games started (73).

Knighton was a two-time All-State selection and two-time All-CAA pick, including First Team honors during his senior year in 2006. He was also named to the NSCAA/Adidas All-Region team.

During his time at college, Knighton got an amazing opportunity ahead of his sophomore season. He stated, “After my freshman year, going into my sophomore year, I trained in the offseason with English Premier League side Middlesborough F.C. Overall, it was a cool experience, my college coach knew the owner of the club, so I got a great opportunity to train with them during their preseason. Steve McLaren was the coach; they were a talented group at the time, and it was just an amazing experience.”

Going into his senior year in 2006, Knighton played for the Indiana Invaders of the USL Premier Development League (now USL League Two).

Following his collegiate career, Brad looked to continue his soccer career professionally. With his sights set on Major League Soccer, Brad exited college and went undrafted during the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. He attended two open tryouts, first with D.C. United & a second with New England Revolution.

“I went to the D.C. United tryout first. I sent my highlight tape to Dave Kasper & I was invited in. I knew a lot of people in the organization because I played for their Super Y team in the summer. It went okay, and they said that they would be in touch.”

The following week, he went to the tryout at New England.

“I was invited to the New England tryout by Mike Burns. It went really well. I performed well in the tryout that night and they said they’d be in touch, and they called two days later. Initially, they told me that they were inviting to their preseason which began in two weeks, in Foxboro. They had drafted Phil Marfuggi and wanted us to compete for the third spot on the roster. We then went to Bermuda for two weeks and as the trip was coming to an end, I was offered a contract in the airport, the morning we flew out of Bermuda by Mike Burns.”

Officially, on March 7th, 2007, Knighton’s signing a professional contract with the New England Revolution was announced after his strong preseason.

Knighton spent the first year & a half of his career sitting behind goalkeepers Matt Reis & Doug Warren. New England reached the MLS Cup Final in 2007, where they lost to Houston Dynamo.

Reflecting on what it was like to join his first professional team, managed by head coach Steve Nicol & assistant coach Paul Mariner, he stated, “Joining and playing under Steve & Paul was incredible. They had been in two MLS Cup Finals back-to-back. Seeing how professional it was, the quality of players they had, overall, it was an unbelievable experience. I was under the tutelage of Matt Reis for 2 years. He was an all-star, the entire player-pool, it was awesome to see what being a professional was all about.”

On July 2nd, 2008, Knighton was sent on a loan to Portland Timbers of the USL League One for remainder of the 2008 season. Knighton made 8 appearances for the club where they went 1W-4D-3L during that span. He had 1 clean sheet and allowed 10 goals.

On why he was sent on loan, Knighton stated, “I had left after a U.S. Open Cup game & essentially New England wanted me to get games & I wanted to get game film, so I was subject to go on loan until September but was then recalled due to Matt’s injury.”

Knighton was recalled from his loan in August due to Revolution starting goalkeeper Matt Reis sustaining a right adductor strain. He did not appear for New England during the 2008. New England were defeated in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs versus Chicago Fire.

On March 28th, 2009, Brad made his professional debut for the New England Revolution against the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium. Knighton allowed 1 goal during the match, an own goal by defender Jay Heaps. The team went on to draw 1-1 thanks to a goal scored by Abdoulie Mansally.

On making his professional debut, Knighton stated, “It was an unbelievable experience. I found out the day before that I was going to play. Matt was unsure of his status and travelled with the team, but the night before I was told that I was going to start.” Reflecting on the moment, Knighton stated, “To have my official debut and play in the old Giants stadium with all the history that venue held, it was pretty surreal.”

During the 2009 season, Knighton went on to make 8 league appearances (540 total minutes) where he held a 1W-3D-4L record and allowed 14 goals as well 1 US Open Cup appearance, a 2-1 loss versus Harrisburg City Islanders after extra time. New England were defeated in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs once again versus Chicago Fire.

When Knighton was not playing, he served as Assistant Coach for NCAA Division III team Wheaton College Lyons Women’s Soccer.

On taking the coaching role, Knighton stated, “There was an opening position at a college in the area and I was looking into getting my coaching badges and making extra money, so I reached out and was there for a season & a half. I started in 2008 and left in 2009 due to getting selected in the draft. It was great getting into a coaching role young into my professional career.”

On November 25th, 2009, Knighton was selected by Philadelphia Union in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft with their 3rd selection.

On learning of his selection, Knighton stated, “I was super excited. A lot of my wife’s family is from the Philadelphia area. So, it made the transition easier. It was nice to have some family around in comparison to when I was in New England and the closest family was over 500 miles away.”

Knighton would head to Philadelphia to play under head coach Peter Nowak.

Knighton made 8 league appearances (652 total minutes), & also made 3 exhibition appearances against Chivas USA, Manchester United & Celtic. During his official matches, he held a 3W-1D-4L record. He was red carded in his Philadelphia Union debut in the 22nd minute for fouling midfielder Brek Shea. In his matches, he had 3 clean sheets and allowed 8 goals. Philadelphia failed to make the MLS Cup Playoffs.

On January 25th, 2011, Knighton was waived by Philadelphia Union. Knighton was completely blindsided by the decision.

“The day before preseason started, I was told that I was being waived. I was honestly shocked. They had just signed goalkeepers Faryd Mondragón & Zach MacMath during the offseason & I was on a guaranteed contract, so it was just a shock.”

Due to the late notice & MLS teams beginning their preseason with essentially fully rosters, it was difficult for Knighton to find a new home within MLS. He received calls from two NASL clubs, Carolina RailHawks FC & Montreal Impact (who were in NASL at the time). In the end, Knighton ended up in Carolina.

In April of 2011, Knighton signed with Carolina RailHawks FC (now North Carolina FC) of the North American Soccer League.

While with Carolina, he made 28 appearances for the club where he assisted Carolina in finishing the regular season as the #1 seed with a 17W-8D-3L record where Knighton held 8 clean sheets and allowed just 30 goals.

Carolina was eliminated in the NASL Conference Semifinals versus Minnesota Stars 1-1 (8-7 in penalty kicks).

For his efforts in the regular season, Knighton was named to the 2011 NASL Best XI.

Upon conclusion of the 2011 season, Carolina RailHawks head coach Martin Rennie accepted the vacant MLS coaching job with Canadian side Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Rennie brought Knighton with him as Brad signed a two-year deal with a club option for a third year.

In early November of 2011, Brad & his wife Britney gave birth to their first child, Olivia Knighton.

Entering the 2012 season as the starting goalkeeper, Knighton made 21 appearances (1,727 minutes) for Vancouver throughout MLS, MLS Reserve League & the Canadian Championship. He held an 8W-6D-7L record where he had 6 clean sheets and allowed 24 goals. Vancouver was eliminated in the Qualifying Round of the MLS Cup Playoffs versus LA Galaxy & lost the Canadian Championship versus Toronto FC.

Returning for the 2013 campaign, Knighton remained the starter and made 17 appearances throughout MLS, Canadian Championship & the USL Championship. He held an 9W-5D-3L record where he had 6 clean sheets and allowed 24 goals. Vancouver failed to make the MLS Cup Playoffs and were defeated in the Canadian Championship Final versus Montréal Impact (now Club de Foot Montréal).

At the conclusion of the 2013 season, Vancouver declined Knighton’s contract option & subsequently traded him to the New England Revolution in exchange for a third-round conditional pick (which turned out to be Spencer Richey) in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.

“In the end, New England had stated that they would trade for me, so Vancouver ended up picking up my option and then traded me to New England.”

Returning to New England as the backup behind Bobby Shuttleworth for the 2014 campaign, he made just 2 appearances (180 minutes) where he held a 1W-0D-1L record where he allowed 4 goals. New England reached the MLS Cup Playoffs where they defeated the Columbus Crew in the Conference Quarterfinals & New York Red Bulls in the Conference Finals. Unfortunately, New England fell to LA Galaxy in the MLS Cup Final. This is Knighton’s second time in his career that his team fell in the MLS Cup Final.

In early June of 2014, Brad & his wife Britney gave birth to their second child, Owen Knighton.

Similar to the previous season, Knighton made 4 appearances for New England (360 minutes) across MLS & US Open Cup in 2015 where he held a 1W-1D-2L record. During the season, Knighton was also sent on a short-term loan to Richmond Kickers of the USL League Championship, where he made one appearance. They tied their match 1-1 versus Charleston Battery. He had 1 clean sheet and allowed 8 goals across the year. New England were defeated in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs versus D.C. United.

The 2016 season was an interesting one for Knighton as he started the year as the backup once again behind goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth, however, he made 17 total appearances (1,573 minutes) for the team throughout the year. He held an 8W-2D-7L record where he had 3 clean sheets, allowed just 22 goals. He received his 2nd career red card in the 73rd minute of a match with Chicago Fire. New England failed to make the MLS Cup Playoffs, however, Knighton led New England to the U.S. Open Cup Final where they were unfortunately defeated by FC Dallas in the final.

Knighton was named New England Revolution Players’ Player of the Year for the 2016 season.

During the 2017 season, made 9 appearances for New England (810 minutes) where he held a 3W-2D-1L MLS record and a 2W-1D record in US Open Cup. New England failed to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs & were eliminated in the US Open Cup Quarterfinals versus New York Red Bulls. Revolution head coach Jay Heaps was dismissed at conclusion of the year.

Reflecting on his time under Jay Heaps, Knighton stated, “Jay was great. It was his first head coaching experience. Funny enough, I did my first ever coaching badge with him in 2011 (B License), and overall, we had a very successful tenure under him. We went to MLS Cup Final in 2014, went to US Open Cup Final in 2016, I thought what he did in laying the foundation was a good thing and players really enjoyed playing for him.”

Prior to the star of the 2018 season, Knighton was inducted into the University of North Carolina – Wilmington Athletics Hall of Fame.

He is only the second men’s soccer player to be enshrined in the UNCW hall of fame, joining Gene Borowski.

On being inducted into the hall of fame, Knighton stated, “It was pretty incredible. I chose UNC – Wilmington because of Aidan Heaney. He was the first coach to call me when I became eligible to talk to collegiate coaches. Over the 4-years I was there, we developed a relationship. He’s like a father figure to me and I was able to go there and learn what college soccer was all about and received an education in the process. It was a great experience being able to go there and further my education and develop my soccer IQ. When I was told that I’d be inducted, I was shocked. I was at a loss for words and was extremely thankful.”

Entering the 2018 season, a coaching change occurred as new head coach Brad Friedel named young goalkeeper Matt Turner as the starter, meaning Knighton would remain as the backup. Knighton made 8 appearances (720 minutes) where he held a 2W-2D-3L record. He had 2 clean sheets and allowed 16 goals on the year.

In early April of 2018, Brad & his wife Britney gave birth to their third child, Brooks Knighton.

2019 was an interesting year as multiple goalkeeping changes were made by head coach Brad Friedel. Knighton started the first 4 matches of the season and then was benched for Cody Cropper after a 0W-1D-3L record. Knighton remained out of the squad list from late March to early May. Subsequently, in early May, Brad Friedel was relieved of his duties as head coach and was replaced by Bruce Arena.

On his time under Brad Friedel, Knighton stated, ” I personally enjoyed it. I think him coming in and being a ‘first time head coach’ and bringing a more professional environment to the club was helpful. I think that things needed to change, and he brought in a stern professional mentality from Europe. His sessions and how we set up tactically was well done but unfortunately, the results didn’t follow. I can confidently say that we were prepared and ready each time that we stepped out on the field under Friedel.”

Knighton returned to start in 3 matches for New England in late May & early June, posting a 1W-2D-0L record. Knighton would end the year with 8 matches played (662 minutes) where he posted a 1W-4D-3L record where he allowed 13 goals. New England were eliminated in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs versus Atlanta United.

During the 2020 season, Knighton made 1 appearance, a 1-1 draw versus Chicago Fire. New England reached the MLS Cup Playoffs and defeated CF Montreal in the qualification round, Philadelphia Union in the round of 16, Orlando City SC in the quarterfinals. They fell to eventual champions Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The 2021 was a historic one for both Knighton & the New England Revolution. Entering his 15th professional season, Knighton made 6 MLS appearances (540 minutes) where he posted a 5W-0D-1L record. He had 3 clean sheets and allowed just 6 goals. Knighton also made 2 appearances for the New England Revolution II in MLS NEXT Pro where he lost both games and allowed 7 goals. New England finished the season as the #1 seed and broke the MLS Single-Season points record enroute to clinching the Supporters Shield. This is Knighton’s first career trophy. New England were unfortunately eliminated in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs versus New York City FC.

Paul Mariner meant so much to so many.

A sincere thank you to his #NERevs family for helping us celebrate Paul’s legendary legacy in the most appropriate way possible. 👏🎸 pic.twitter.com/Sz0m6yEBmW

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) August 8, 2021

Unfortunately, during the 2021 season, in July, Former Revolution assistant coach Paul Mariner passed away after a battle with brain cancer.

Reflecting on his close friend, Knighton stated, “Paul & I had a really close relationship. He brought me under his wing when I arrived in 2007. I was an Arsenal fan, so we had a relationship in that aspect as well. He was an unbelievable person. A great family man and was always there for anyone that needed anything. He was always a phone call or a knock on his door away. We stayed together and chatted together throughout my entire career. When he was in New England, Toronto, Europe, over the full 15-years, we were very close. We went to concerts together, we had a lot of the same passions and had a great relationship. He was another father figure to me and helped me develop as a player but more importantly as a person altogether.”

During the 2022 season, Knighton made 4 appearances (360 minutes) where he held a 1W-0D-3L record where he allowed 8 goals. New England failed to make the MLS Cup Playoffs.

He was named New England Revolution Humanitarian of the Year for his charitable initiatives during the 2022 campaign.

.@bbknighton big ups. 👏👏
Brad is our 2022 Humanitarian of the Year for his steadfast support of countless charitable initiatives. pic.twitter.com/G0TQXsB8Ku

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) October 1, 2022

Upon conclusion of the 2022 season, Knighton was officially out of contract & a free agent.

On January 4th, 2023, Brad Knighton announced his retirement from professional soccer. He retires ranking 4th all-time in Revolution history in goals against average (1.70), save percentage (66.9%) and winning percentage (.509%) across 52 matches (51 starts). He also holds the club’s records in games played in goal (13), games started in goal (13) and total minutes played (1,260) in U.S. Open Cup.

On playing under Bruce Arena, Knighton stated, “It was a good experience. Bruce changed the culture from what it was. Him and Curt, he has had a great track record of winning multiple titles and changing the course of a club. Bruce & Curt came in and laid what would be a great foundation for the next couple years ahead for the team that they were building and looking to take New England back to the top in the hopes of winning an MLS Cup.”

Reflecting on his decision to retire, Knighton stated, “I think I could’ve played another year or two. I didn’t want to move. It didn’t look like I could stay here in New England and play. I had my coaching badges and had other opportunities to extend my playing career or become a player-coach elsewhere, but I thought that it was best for my family to retire and start my next career in coaching.”

Knighton retired with a 33W-20D-29L record in MLS action. His career stats include 153 total games played (13,584 minutes played) with 6 yellow cards & 2 red cards. He allowed 209 goals in his career and had 34 clean sheets.

He finished his career as a Supporters Shield winner (2021). In regard to individual awards, Knighton was named 2016 Players’ Player of the Year & 2022 Humanitarian of the Year.

Upon retirement, Knighton had signed a contract to remain with the New England Revolution as he begins his coaching career with the New England Revolution Academy as the Under-17s Head Coach.

"The pathway is bright…Our goal is to get as many Academy kids through the pathway as possible."

Brad Knighton spoke about joining the Academy as our U-17 Head Coach and how he hopes to help players develop through the pro pathway 💪 pic.twitter.com/lvxSvsqb0P

— New England Revolution Academy (@NERevsAcademy) January 5, 2023

Knighton got right to work with the Revolution Academy where he primarily worked with the U17s & then took over the U19 Academy team in April.

During their season, Knighton helped aide the U17 & U19 Academy teams to a combined record of 11W-2L-4D record that clinched both teams a spot in the MLS NEXT Cup.

The U19 team went on a magical run during the MLS NEXT Cup where they went undefeated & reached the MLS NEXT Cup Final.

In comeback fashion, the New England defeated FC Delco 2-1 in the U19 MLS NEXT Cup final. Delco had the 1-0 lead entering halftime thanks to a finish by forward Kaio Reis. New England equalized in the 51st minute thanks to a strike by substitute Peyton Miller. Despite being a man down due to a red card by midfielder Jack Burkhardt, forward Alex St. John completed the comeback with less than 10-minutes to go after flicking home a cross by defender Alexandru Parvu. Goalkeeper Max Weinstein made clutch saves during extra time to hold on for the victory.

New England became the first club in MLS NEXT history to win consecutive MLS NEXT Cup finals in the same age group after taking home the title in 2022.

On winning the MLS Next Cup title, Knighton stated, “It was completely surreal. Stepping in and being a first-time head coach and making a national final, you don’t know what to expect. I’m thankful to the staff, the players, and everyone in the academy in assisting in this team winning a national championship. It’s something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

After a fantastic start of the 2023 year for Brad Knighton, things however quickly changed for him and his family after tragedy struck and turned his year upside down.

Brad’s oldest daughter, Olivia Knighton, aged 11, was killed on July 19th, 2023, in a boating accident on the Intracoastal Waterway in Little River, South Carolina.

She was among nine people thrown overboard when their 23-foot boat holding 12 people was hit by a large wake from another boat. She was struck by the propeller. No one else was injured.

In a statement released by Brad, his wife Britney, and two sons Owen & Brooks, it read, “There are no words to express the depth of our profound grief and sorrow in this moment. Our family is still in shock at the sudden and tragic loss of our beautiful and brilliant daughter, Olivia, to an unfortunate boating accident yesterday. We are all still in disbelief that her bright and pure light was taken away from us so suddenly. Somehow, we will get through this together as a family.”

Four months later, on what would have been Olivia Knighton’s 12th birthday, November 3rd, 2023, Brad, along with his wife Britney announced the Olivia Knighton Foundation.

“After the passing of Olivia, there has been some very difficult times, and so for us, we are trying to process how can we celebrate her life that she’s not going to be a part of. For us, being able to set up this foundation [The Olivia Knighton Foundation] in her name was something that was near and dear to our hearts. So, for us, setting up this foundation was us to be able to continue her life, her legacy, her love, her brightness that shined through every single day and be able to give back. So, for us, we thought that setting up scholarships, grants, small acts of kindness, all of these little things that Olivia loved and enjoyed, to be able to give back and help kids that are aspiring to be young adults and have dreams and aspirations of doing things that Olvia would’ve loved to do. We felt that in our hearts that this is how we celebrate her life and celebrate her legacy and carry on her name and her gift and her spirit in the short time she was here with us.

In its first year, the Olivia Knighton Foundation donated over $55,000 to scholarships, soccer programs, animal protection and research, summer camps, and more. Also, they founded a scholarship fund in Olivia’s honor at Attleboro High School, awarding five local seniors with $5,000 each to pursue their goals of higher education.

Additionally, Brad’s alma mater UNCW and the Olivia Knighton Foundation have created an annual “Olivia’s Game” to honor her life as well as established the Olivia Knighton Endowed Scholarship.

Brad Knighton interviewed postgame after #NERevsII 2-1 victory over #RBNY #NERevs pic.twitter.com/SOlu6Gjb7A

— Caleb Pongratz (@CalebPongratz10) October 7, 2023

As time passed on, Knighton continued to work on the Olivia Knighton Foundation as well as continued his coaching duties with the New England Revolution Academy and occasionally assisted with the New England Revolution II of MLS NEXT Pro.

Entering the 2024 season with the Revolution Academy, Knighton began his season as the new coach of the U-15 squad. He held a 9W-4D-1L spring season record.

In a massive move, on November 6th, 2024, the New England Revolution had announced that Brad Knighton had been appointed as Assistant coach & Goalkeeper coach for the New England Revolution II of MLS NEXT Pro.

Revs II have appointed Brad Knighton as goalkeeper coach ahead of the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season.

Knighton will conclude the 2024-25 Academy fall season with the Under-15s before transitioning into his new role on Jan. 1, 2025.

Welcome to the team, Brad! 👏 pic.twitter.com/pZuuw1iIMb

— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) November 6, 2024

Speaking on making the jump from the New England Revolution Academy to the Revolution II, Knighton stated, “I’m super thrilled for the opportunity and excited to be able to work with the Revolution II and help these young professionals develop so that they can continue on their professional careers & eventually make the jump to our first team.”

As 2024 came to a close, Knighton began to shift his focus from the New England Revolution Academy to the New England Revolution II.

Brad, along with his wife Britney & two sons Owen (age 10) & Brooks (age 6) will continue their work with the Olivia Knighton Foundation and look to spread Olivia’s brightness that shined through every single day and continue to give back to the community.

Be sure to follow Brad & his family as you can keep up with all of his projects on social media below:

Olivia Knighton Foundation – oliviaknightonfoundation.org

LinkedIn – (2) Brad Knighton | LinkedIn

Twitter – (2) Brad Knighton (@bbknighton) / X

Instagram – Brad Knighton (@bbknighton) / Instagram