You might be asking how it is possible to know with absolute certainty that Tarbell will be the man in between the sticks for Houston in 2025. To that, I would say that all evidence points to this assumption being the reality. Andrew Tarbell is currently the only goalkeeper on this Dynamo roster. Steve Clark, the former Houston Dynamo starting goalkeeper from 2022-2024, had his option declined following the end of the season. Xavier Valdez, the 21 year old goalkeeper homegrown product, shared the same fate as Clark. An interesting thing to note is that all 3 goalkeepers rostered by the Dynamo were out of contract following the end of the 2024 season and only Andrew Tarbell signed a new deal. However, that is not where the reasons for speculation end...
On December 10th, 2024, Houston Dynamo released their protected player list for the 2024 MLS Expansion Draft. This draft is an avenue for newly added teams to have a chance to sign players that are already rostered in MLS. Every team in the league is required to submit a list of players that are "protected", or in other words are immune from the draft and cannot be selected. There is a caveat to this, though. With the protected player's list having a limited number of only 12 spots, there are of course players that must be left off. If a player is not protected, they are fair game to be selected by the expansion team (San Diego FC). This is important to understand due to the fact that Andrew Tarbell was protected by the Dynamo over players such as Ethan Bartlow (CB) and Sebastian Kowalczyk (MF/FW). Both of these unprotected players could be candidates for having huge roles in the 2025 MLS season. For instance, Micael, the current starting center back, is rumored to have multiple suitors abroad. Pat Onstad mentioned just last month that it is very possible that Micael is gone this offseason. Ethan Bartlow is just one of the three center backs currently rostered. If Micael does get sold during the break, Bartlow would be the replacement. This makes his exclusion on the Protected Player list very confusing. This further leads me to believe that Tarbell is going to be the starter in 2025.
Andrew Tarbell has been an MLS journey-man for most of his career. The 31 year old domestic keeper began his career in 2016 at San Jose Earthquakes. From there, he bounced around to Columbus, Austin, and eventually found a home down here in the Bayou City.
Since joining the league as a 23 year old 8th overall MLS Superdraft pick, Tarbell has only had one season as a starter. In that season (2018), Tarbell led the San Jose Earthquakes to 21 points and a last place finish. While this is not reassuring, Tarbell has usually been solid for Houston when called upon. Tarbell has only played 58 regular season games since 2016. When compared a starting goalkeeper such as Stefan Frei, the long-time Sounders man has has made 260 appearances in that same timeframe. Lack of experience and game time despite his age (31) is definitely something to keep in mind when considering Tarbell's role for the team in 2025.
While it is easy to focus on the negatives in a goalkeeper like Tarbell who has had such a limited responsibility throughout his career, it is not all bad. Tarbell's most notable contribution in his Dynamo tenure (2023-2024) is his performances in Dynamo's historic USOC run in 2023, which ended in a trophy. Tarbell played every single minute of the tournament. Most impressive was the fact that Tarbell only allowed 3(!) goals throughout the entire cup. An interesting fact is that Houston never trailed a single second in the entire tournament; not one time were Houston losing. Tarbell was called into action many times and made incredible saves. Tarbell capped off a wonderful Cup performance with 3 saves in the final against Inter Miami. Tarbell and the Dynamo put together an incredible 6 wins to take the trophy 2023 USOC trophy home. For his efforts, Tarbell was voted "Player of the Tournament", an award given to the most valuable player of the tournament.
Following his signing in 2023, GM Pat Onstad gave his thoughts on Tarbell, "Andrew is an experienced MLS goalkeeper who brings a winning mentality to our locker room and adds competition to our goalkeeping position. We talked about adding more quality and depth to our roster this offseason and Andrew’s signing aligns with that intention. Plus, his experience on three different MLS Playoff clubs will be invaluable as we restore a winning mentality at our club." Given this quote, it seems as though Onstad and company have always rated Tarbell. Perhaps giving Tarbell the reins was always the plan. Regardless, with no imminent plans to sign a GK, Andrew Tarbell remains the prime contender to start in goal for Houston in 2025.
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