Oliver Semmle (born 28 March 1998) is a German professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Career

Youth and college

Semmle played as part of the

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...

academy from 2012, appearing for the club's second team in the

Oberliga Baden-Württemberg The Oberliga Baden-Württemberg is the highest association football league in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg and the Baden-Württemberg football league system. It is one of fourteen Oberliga (football), Oberligas in German footb ...

and making a single senior appearance in the Baden Cup in 2018. In 2018, Semmle moved to the United States to play

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

Barton Community College Barton Community College, previously Barton County Community College, is a public community college in Great Bend, Kansas. Its service area includes Barton, Ellsworth, Pawnee, Rush and Russell Counties, Stafford County north of US Highway 5 ...

where he made seven appearances for the Cougars. In 2019, he transferred to

Monroe College Monroe University is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university in New York City. It was founded in 1933 and has campuses in the Bronx, New Rochelle and Saint Lucia, with degree programs al ...

, making 12 appearances and only conceding two goals during the entire season with the Mustangs, helping lead Monroe to its first ever NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. Semmle again transferred colleges in 2020, joining

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

. In his junior season, Semmle played all but 45-minutes of the Thundering Herd's national title campaign, leading the NCAA with eleven shutouts while holding a 0.380 goals against average. In his three seasons at Marshall, Semmle was named Conference USA Goalkeeper of the Year, the Conference USA Golden Glove Award, First-Team All-Conference USA, 2021 United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Third Team and 2021 Second Team All-Conference USA.

Professional

On 21 December 2022, Semmle was selected 41st overall in the

2023 MLS SuperDraft The 2023 MLS SuperDraft was the 24th edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. It was held on December 21, 2022, becoming the first SuperDraft to be held in December, but retained the 2023 branding. The draft was conducted via ...

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

. However, he went unsigned by the club. On 15 February 2023, Semmle signed with

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

side Louisville City ahead of their upcoming season. He made his debut for Louisville on 18 March 2023, starting in a 1–0 against

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles (120 km), accessible via California S ...

. Semmle tied for the most shutouts (13) in the 2023 season (12 shutouts in regular season and 1 shutout in playoffs). On 31 January 2024, Semmle was acquired by the

via a transfer with Louisville City after the Union acquired Semmle's college protection rights from

References

External links

Oliver Semmle
LouCity bio {{DEFAULTSORT:Semmle, Oliver 1998 births Living people Barton Cougars men's soccer players Colorado Rapids draft picks Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States German expatriate men's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in the United States German men's footballers Karlsruher SC players Louisville City FC players Marshall Thundering Herd men's soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers Monroe Mustangs men's soccer players People from Rastatt (district) Philadelphia Union players USL Championship players Major League Soccer players 21st-century German sportsmen