Club News
David Ochoa
David Ochoa Interview on Underdog Soccer Podcast
@davidochoagk
Age: 19 (born January 16, 2001)
Height: 6’2″
Club Number: 1
Height: 6’2″
Club Number: 1
National Number: TBD
Position: GK
Born: Oxnard, CA USA
Nationality: American with Mexican dual citizenship
Youth Career: AC Brea (CA), Chivas Residency Academy, Real Salt Lake Academy,
Professional Career: Real Monarchs (USL), Real Salt Lake (MLS)
US History: U14, U15, U16, U17, U18, U20, U23
MX History: U16
David Ochoa grew up in Ventura County (located north of Los Angeles) and is the oldest of six children. Both his mother and father come from Mexico. He was introduced to soccer at an early age by his father who also played as a goalkeeper. David first was noticed on the national level at the 2015 Dallas Cup tournament playing for local club, AC Brea. He helped his team win the championship for the Boys U14 division. David’s skills at 14 years old drew attention from clubs including Chivas, Monterey, LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake. In April 2015, David received his first US youth team call-up to play for the U14 boys.
David took the next steps as he chose to join Chivas in Guadalajara, Mexico. There he spent 6-8 months participating in trainings and scrimmages but was unable to play in competitive matches due to regulations requiring his parents to be present since he was a minor. At that time, David participated with the Mexican U16 youth teams.
Seeking additional opportunities, David attended a tryout for RSL in Casa Grande, AZ and was ultimately offered a spot in the academy program. He returned to the USA youth program where his decision was partly influenced by difficulties managing scheduling with the Mexican youth program. Continuing his development, David spent the next 6-8 months at the RSL academy.
RSL academy director Martín Vásquez was an impactful person for Ochoa; he describes him as a father figure. Vásquez later went on to coach the RSL reserve team, Real Monarchs in the USL where David later joins.
For David, 2018 was an eventful year. In January and February, he participated in U18 training camps. On April 22nd, David made his first professional start for Real Monarchs in the USL and became the second youngest keeper to make a debut. Later in July, he was voted DA Best 11 boys U16/17 for the Western Conference. In early August, David spent time in Europe on trial with Manchester United and received interest from some other European clubs. Under coach Tab Ramos, David led the U18’s to victory in the Vaclav Jezek Youth Tournament in the Czech Republic when the US squad, with solid goalkeeping, took down Japan 4-1 in penalties. Qualifications for the 2019 U20 world cup took place in November where David helped contribute to winning the CONCACAF title as he started 2 of 8 matches. To conclude an eventful 2018, David signed a homegrown contract with Real Salt Lake on November 28th.
David’s 2019 continued to show his professional development as he broke out as the first choice keeper for the Real Monarchs under coach Martín Vásquez. (Fun fact: Vásquez has international caps for both Mexico and the United States.) He started in 16 of 33 matches for Monarchs and missed 8 weeks by being on the MLS roster as well as missing 4 weeks for international matches. Overall, David posted a 71% save percentage with 1.37 goals allowed over 90 min with 4 clean sheets. He earned top save of the week for weeks 2 and 3. He was also voted USL team of the week for weeks 2 and 24. David was also named to the 2019 MLS Homegrown game roster that faced Chivas de Guadalajara’s Under-20 Team during the MLS all-star events.
The ultimate climax for Ochoa’s 2019 season was when the Real Monarchs won the playoffs to be crowned champions of the USL for 2019. David started all 5 playoff matches.
“January [2019] you just got to go in, be humble, be quiet, kinda work hard, and I feel like now to this day I’ve gotten closer to the group, gained more confidence,” Ochoa said on Wednesday ahead of the Monarchs’ trip to Kentucky (playing Louisville City for the USL Championship). “That’s just it, I’m back to myself like I was in the academy, feeling pretty confident, feeling pretty good.”
The U20 World Cup which was held in Poland (23 May – 15 June) also added to David’s impressive 2019. David started in 2 of the 5 matches for this very talented squad coached by Tab Ramos. Unfortunately, the US squad fell to Ecuador in the quarterfinals where David started and the team fell short 1-2.
Early in the 2019 Real Salt Lake season, Nick Rimando announced that he will be retiring at the end of the season. Most USMNT fans will know Nick as a perennial backup to Tim Howard and/or Brad Guzan for 2011 up to 2017. Nick was also the mainstay for Real Salt Lake for 2006 all the way up to his retirement at the end of 2019. Nick’s retirement creats an opportunity for David Ochoa.
“It’s not going to be an easy decision,” RSL goalkeeper coach Todd Hoffard told The Salt Lake Tribune. “Somebody like him hasn’t had that competition,” Hoffard said. “He’s never been given an opportunity, but he’s never had to look over his shoulder and say, ‘Oh man if I don’t perform today, I could be out of a job.’ He’s never really been in that situation. So for him and his growth and his development, I think it’s huge for him.”
For 2020, RSL brought in Zac MacMath, a nine-year MLS veteran. RLS also has last years backup Andrew Putna. Both players, along with David Ochoa, will all be in competition to win the starting job at Real Salt Lake for the 2020 season.
Earlier in February, USMNT fans noticed that David Ochoa was issued the #1 jersey. Foreshadowing… time will tell.
David is provisionally cap tied to USA based on participation in several youth tournament matchs. He has also represented Mexico at the youth level and is still eligible to play for El Tri. David has strong ties to other US youth Mexican dual-nationals that he played with at club and/or country such as Richie Ledezma, Sebastian Soto, Alex Méndez and Uly Llanez. David expressed that he is happy where he currently is, but down the road, he will take advantage of whatever opportunity.
On behalf of the entire USMNT fan base, we wish David a successful 2020 campaign with Real Salt Lake as he makes strides to break in to the US senior team!
Check out his interview with Underdog Soccer Podcast a USMNT Podcast.
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