On Saturday, May 25, Atlanta United goalkeeper Josh Cohen made his MLS debut against Los Angeles FC. He came into the match in the 62nd minute after Brad Guzan was issued a red card.
Cohen was signed in the off season from the Israeli Premier League where he played for Maccabi Haifa. With his last club, he won three consecutive league titles, was named 2020-21 Israeli Premier League Player of the Season and he made appearances in the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League.
Prior to Maccabi Haifa in 2018 and 2019, Cohen played in his home state of California for USL Championship club, Sacramento Republic. There he made 51 appearances and recorded 12 clean sheets. He also started games for Phoenix Rising FC (2017) and Orange County SC (2016).
Though it was his MLS debut, it was not Cohen’s first apperance for the first team. He already made two starts for the club in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Against both Charlotte Independence and Charleston Battery, he earned clean sheets. Against Charleston, Cohen made two back-to-back stops on penalty kicks to help the 5-Stripes advance to the quarterfinals of the Open Cup.
