Ray Burse Jr. (born October 2, 1984) is an American former professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who played 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 ...

Career

College and amateur

Burse was born in

Prospect, Kentucky Prospect is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Jefferson County, Kentucky, Jefferson and Oldham County, Kentucky, Oldham counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The Jefferson County portion is a part of the Louisville Metro govern ...

. He attended St. Xavier High School in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, and played

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 ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. His 162 career saves and 1.11

goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

(GAA) has left him as one of OSU's best goalkeepers to date. In high school Burse was named an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

playing as a forward. In 2005 Burse also played for

Chicago Fire Premier Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

, finishing the year with an impressive 0.68 GAA.

Professional

Burse was drafted in the third round of the

2006 MLS Superdraft The 2006 MLS SuperDraft, held in Philadelphia on January 20, 2006, was the seventh incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The first selection originally belonged to Chivas USA, but they traded it to the MetroSt ...

and played on the F.C. Dallas reserve squad. During the 2006 season for FC Dallas, Burse made no first team starts, but was regular on the reserve squad. Burse made his professional debut in Dallas' 1–1 draw with C.D. Guadalajara in the opening match of the SuperLiga on July 24, 2007. He made his first MLS league appearance in a 1–0 win against

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 ...

on August 4, 2007. In 2008, he was loaned out to the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

. He returned to Dallas on June 4, 2008, after starting in ten games and recording six clean sheets. He made his first of two starts on June 1, 2008, in a 2–1 loss against the Colorado Rapids. Ray served as the backup goalie in 20 regular-season games for

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

during the 2008 MLS regular season. Burse signed a short-term contract with the Columbus Crew on February 19, 2011 due to injuries to the team's top two goalkeepers He made two starts for the Black & Gold in both legs of the Crew's 2010-2011

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

quarterfinal series against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

. In game one on February 22, 2011, in

Columbus Crew Stadium Historic Crew Stadium, previously known as Columbus Crew Stadium and Mapfre Stadium, is a soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It primarily served as the home stadium of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from 1999 u ...

, Burse went on to post a shutout in the 0–0 stalemate. He was named the player of the match via text message voting by fans. On March 15, 2011, he was released by the Crew. On March 29, 2011, it was announced that the

Puerto Rico Islanders The Puerto Rico Islanders were a professional association football team based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. They played in several different leagues from 2004 to 2012, when they suspended operations. In their last two seasons they played in the Nort ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

had signed Burse for the 2011 season. This season proved to be a tremendous comeback for Burse. He anchored the Islanders' defense to one of the best goals against average in the league and a play off berth.

Personal life

He is the oldest of the three sons of Raymond Burse.Brandon, Steve. "Academics came first for Timber goalie," ''Portland Tribune'', April 14 2008.
Retrieved December 8, 2020

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burse, Ray 1984 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers Ohio State Buckeyes men's soccer players Chicago Fire U-23 players FC Dallas players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Columbus Crew players Puerto Rico Islanders players North Carolina FC players People from Oldham County, Kentucky Sportspeople from the Louisville metropolitan area Soccer players from Louisville, Kentucky USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL First Division players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players St. Xavier High School (Louisville) alumni FC Dallas draft picks