Can Dayne St. Clair earn back Inter Miami's starting keeper job?
With 14 matches left in the regular season, Inter Miami remains without a bona fide starting goalkeeper.
It was Dayne St. Clair’s turn to make his case Wednesday against the Philadelphia Union, and he made a couple of spectacular saves to help the Herons cling to a 2-2 draw and prevent them from losing their fourth straight match. That might not guarantee he’ll start Saturday against Toronto FC.
St. Clair, the 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year for Minnesota, started 2026 as the Herons’ presumptive GK1, but he struggled to adapt to Miami’s more high-risk, high reward playing style. The lack of confidence showed; once considered the favorite to start in goal for Canada at this summer’s World Cup, he lost the job to Maxine Crépeau and never saw the pitch for Les Rouges.
Rocco Ríos Novo replaced Oscar Ustari between the pipes down the stretch last year and helped Las Garzas win their first MLS Cup title but was relegated to the bench with St. Clair’s arrival.
When the Canadian faltered, Ríos Novo started Miami’s first seven matches after the World Cup break. “Rocco Blocco” hasn’t been the disaster some claim, but he’s been inconsistent and committed egregious errors against Chicago and Nashville.
Interim coach Guillermo Hoyos hasn't committed to either keeper, suggesting instead that he makes the starting decision based on each keeper's strengths. The taller St. Clair is considered to be a better shot blocker and better in the air, while Ríos Novo is supposed to be a better "sweeper keeper," comfortable roaming out of the goal box, better with his feet and a better distributor of the ball.
“A lot of time, because of how we play, we leave lots of space in behind. Rocco has characteristics that can help us resolve that," Hoyos said July 31 when asked why Ríos Novo would start against Chicago. The fan favorite made his most embarrassing blunder in the match, whiffing on an Ian Fray back-pass that rolled into the Herons' net for an own goal. Saturday against Nashville, Ríos Novo had his second stunner; he was caught positioned too high and slipped as Hany Mukhtar dribbled around him and walked the ball into the goal.
On Wednesday, Hoyos wouldn't say that Rocco had lost the job.
""The change was not due to Rocco's low-performance levels. We just thought there'd be lots of crosses today, and that St Clair is more effective in the air," he told reporters, according to independent soccer reporter Franco Panizo, who covers Inter Miami and is the founder of Miami Total Futbol.
Inter Miami is among Major League Soccer's worst defenses, allowing 38 goals in 20 matches, or 1.9 goals per 90 minutes played; league leader Nashville has allowed just 15 goals in the same number of games, or 0.75 per 90. Orlando City SC (2.75 goals conceded per 90 minutes played) and Sporting Kansas City (2.45 allowed per 90) are having historically bad defensive seasons.
Between St. Clair and Ríos Novo have combined to save 61.6 percent (61 of 99) shots on target against the Herons, 23rd in the league; nine teams are over 70 percent, led by Nashville at 77.6 percent (52 of 67).
St. Clair has a save percentage of just 60 percent (45 of 75), 29th among MLS keepers; Ríos Novo, in a much smaller sample size, has saved 66.7 percent (16 of 24) of the shots on target he's faced against league opponents. It won't make faithful fans feel better about the situation to learn two former Herons' keepers are 12th and 13th in MLS save percentage: Minnesota's Drake Callender (69.9 percent, 65 of 93) and San Diego's CJ Dos Santos (69.7, 23 of 33).
So, the Herons have two mediocre keepers (and third keeper Luis Barraza, a 29-year-old journeyman with limited experience and no appearances in 2026). Can one of them claim the job? Or will Las Garzas try to bring in another netminder before the MLS secondary transfer period ends Sept. 2?
My money's on St. Clair; even if the two were equal in every other metric, St. Clair's height (6-foot-3 to Ríos Novo's 5-foot-10) gives him a clear advantage. Rocco, 24, is younger, but St. Clair, 29, has more experience and has shown that he is capable of much more than he's shown wearing Pink & Black.
If Inter Miami wants to salvage St. Clair, they need to build his confidence and trust. Name him the starter and support him as he regains the swagger he showed at Minnesota and with the Canada national team. Emphasize to Rocco that he is valued and needed to push St. Clair, but the job is Dayne's, at least for the rest of this season.
How Hoyos handles this situation will go a long way to deciding whether the Herons win trophies this year or write off this year to growing pains.
