Brian Schwake was 15 when he realized his dream of becoming a professional soccer player might be more than youthful fantasy.
Schwake's goalkeeping coach, Neil Thompson, had arranged for Schwake and a few others to travel to England and train with Blackburn Rovers. During the session, a goalie coach for the EFL Championship club told the teenager from the Chicago suburbs that he could play at that level.
This was news to Schwake, who wasn't a regular starter for his club back home, Sockers FC. His coaches at the club's under-14 and under-15 levels told him the club's other goalkeepers were better than him. Schwake took the Blackburn coach's words as not only encouragement, but advice: you decide who you listen to.
"No one ever said that to me before," Schwake told the Tennessean. "At my club teams in America, it was like, 'Oh, you're just one of the goalies, you guys go do whatever you want.' He was like, 'You can actually do this.' At that moment, it flipped a switch in my head."
Schwake's confidence in himself blossomed, and since that day, he's tried to surround himself with people who share it. That's resulted in a winding path, one that young American goalies rarely take, but one that's led him to Nashville SC, where the 24-year-old looks the part of the team's No. 1 for years to come.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Daniel Lovitz #2 of Nashville SC controls the ball while defended by Pep Biel #16 of Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Warren Madrigal #41 of Nashville SC controls the ball while defended by Ashley Westwood #8 of Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Hany Mukhtar #10 of Nashville SC controls the ball agains Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: The team photo of Nashville SC before the game against Charlotte FC in the first half at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: A view of the inside of GEODIS Park before the MLS match of Nashville SC against Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: A Nashville SC fan before the MLS match of Nashville SC against Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: A Nashville SC fan before the MLS match of Nashville SC against Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: A view of the outside of GEODIS Park before the MLS match of Nashville SC against Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: A view of the outside of GEODIS Park before the MLS match of Nashville SC against Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)1 / 9See our best photos from Nashville SC vs Charlotte FCNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Daniel Lovitz #2 of Nashville SC controls the ball while defended by Pep Biel #16 of Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)1 / 9See our best photos from Nashville SC vs Charlotte FCNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Daniel Lovitz #2 of Nashville SC controls the ball while defended by Pep Biel #16 of Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)2 / 9See our best photos from Nashville SC vs Charlotte FCNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Warren Madrigal #41 of Nashville SC controls the ball while defended by Ashley Westwood #8 of Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)3 / 9See our best photos from Nashville SC vs Charlotte FCNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Hany Mukhtar #10 of Nashville SC controls the ball agains Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)4 / 9See our best photos from Nashville SC vs Charlotte FCNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: The team photo of Nashville SC before the game against Charlotte FC in the first half at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)5 / 9See our best photos from Nashville SC vs Charlotte FCNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: A view of the inside of GEODIS Park before the MLS match of Nashville SC against Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)6 / 9See our best photos from Nashville SC vs Charlotte FCNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: A Nashville SC fan before the MLS match of Nashville SC against Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)7 / 9See our best photos from Nashville SC vs Charlotte FCNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: A Nashville SC fan before the MLS match of Nashville SC against Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)8 / 9See our best photos from Nashville SC vs Charlotte FCNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: A view of the outside of GEODIS Park before the MLS match of Nashville SC against Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)9 / 9See our best photos from Nashville SC vs Charlotte FCNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: A view of the outside of GEODIS Park before the MLS match of Nashville SC against Charlotte FC at GEODIS Park on April 25, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)Schwake has been in net for all 15 games of the season, allowing just seven goals while making 34 saves, and has recorded nine shutouts across all competitions. Nashville (7-1-1, 22 points), which leads the MLS Eastern Conference, will host Tigres UANL in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals on April 28.
Once unheralded, Schwake is just three games from being known as the starting goalkeeper on the best team in North America.
"He's definitely showing his quality to the rest of the world, because we definitely saw it here in training," said midfielder Patrick Yazbek. "He just keeps his head down, does his work, and I'm really happy for him."
Schwake has been a goalie as long as he remembers. His family had a couch in their basement, and two-year-old Brian would dive on it while his parents threw him the ball. Spain's Iker Casillas and Germany's Manuel Neuer were among his favorite players.
Thompson, who is now Schwake's agent, met him when he was 12 and soon began training him at Big Cat Goalkeeping, the organization he founded in 2011.
"He was super inquisitive," Thompson said. "You'd give him some advice, and he did not challenge the advice because he wanted to challenge it, he challenged it and asked more questions because he wanted to really understand why he was being asked to do what he was being asked to do."
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Big Cat products often played for Sockers, which meant Schwake was competing against the likes of current FC Cincinnati starter Roman Celentano. They alternated games, but Celentano, the more highly-touted prospect, ended up committing to powerhouse Indiana. Schwake only received one offer, from DePaul.
Schwake committed to the Blue Demons and coach Mark Plotkin before his senior year of high school. Plotkin planned on making him the backup as a freshman in 2019 before he'd be ready to take over. Schwake started an exhibition game and did well enough to convince Plotkin there might be a legitimate competition before breaking his wrist and having to medically redshirt.
"The kid showed up every single morning at 7:30 am to get the keys from our assistant coach to grab a bag of balls to go out on the field to work on his distribution," Plotkin said. "... It was like clockwork. Every morning I came into my office, I would look out my window and I would see him on the field."
While Schwake's future at DePaul looked bright, he knew he wanted to turn professional as soon as possible. Thompson, through his connections, arranged a trial for Schwake with Livingston FC in Scotland. After the two-week tryout, Livingston offered him a contract and Schwake signed.
"I'm sure there were a lot of doubters and questions, including myself," Plotkin said. "You could go on that path after you get your degree. But he was just like, 'No, I want to do this now.' He wanted to bet on himself."
Of the American goalkeepers currently in MLS, almost all of them came up through their team's youth academy or played college soccer. The ones who turned professional as teenagers did so with MLS teams or big-name clubs in Europe.
Schwake didn't do any of that. After signing with Livingston in 2020, he went on loan with Linlithgow Rose in the Scottish sixth division, and spent the next season loaned to fourth-division Edinburgh City. He made a bigger move in 2023, signing with CD Castellón in Spain's second division, but didn't see much playing time there.
"Off-the-radar is probably a good way to put it," he said. "... It's rare, because it's hard to do, and it's uncomfortable, It's going into not-nice fields, and you're not playing against nice teams, you're not playing in good weather.