Goalkeeper Matt Lampson could read the writing on the wall last season, and he figured it would be his last with his hometown Crew SC.
Yet neither Lampson nor anyone else could predict what would transpire in the past two months, during which the out-of-work third-stringer beat out an entrenched veteran with U.S. national team experience for the Chicago Fire’s starting job.
Lampson, a St. Charles and Ohio State graduate who grew up in Hilliard, is expected to start against the Crew on Saturday, his third straight start in place of Fire incumbent Sean Johnson.
“I’m just happy to be starting a new chapter in my life,” said Lampson, who started 13 games for the Crew in 2013 but could only watch as Steve Clark played every minute of every MLS match for the Crew in the next two seasons.