Roman Marcello Celentano (born September 14, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati.
Early life Roman Celentano was born on September 14, 2000, to Marcello and Manuela Celentano. He is from Naperville, Illinois, where he attended Neuqua Valley High School. He has two siblings, named Julian and Remi.
Club career
Youth and college Celentano enrolled at Indiana University in 2019 and joined the Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer team. He played for the Hoosiers for three seasons, the first two of which they were Big Ten Conference regular season champions and tournament champions. Celentano was twice named Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, was twice named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team, and was recognized as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Tournament in 2020.
Professional
Celentano decided to forgo his senior year of college at Indiana University to sign a Generation Adidas contract with Major League Soccer, making him eligible for the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. Projected as a Top 10 draft pick, Celentano was drafted second overall by FC Cincinnati in the draft, becoming the highest drafted goalkeeper in the SuperDraft since Andre Blake in 2014. As a Generation adidas player, he signed with FC Cincinnati the same day on January 11, 2022.
Celentano went on loan for the early part of the 2022 season with Cincinnati's reserve team, FC Cincinnati 2 in MLS Next Pro, where he made his professional debut on March 27, 2022, in a 2–0 loss to Philadelphia Union II. Celentano made his first team debut for Cincinnati on April 19, 2022, in a U.S. Open Cup match against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. A few days later, on April 24, 2022, Celentano made his MLS debut, starting and playing the full match in a 2–1 loss to Los Angeles FC.
Celentano bagged his first clean sheet in a victory against Toronto FC on May 4, 2022, and then followed that up with a second consecutive clean sheet against Minnesota United FC. That earned the rookie a spot in the MLS team of the week for Week 10 of the 2022 Major League Soccer season.
On May 20, 2023, Celentano punched away a close-range header by Steven Moreira late in a match against Columbus Crew. Cincinnati maintained their 3–2 win, and Celentano's save was later named the 2023 MLS Save of the Year.
On October 28, 2025, Celentano won the 2025 edition of the MLS Save of the Year. Celentano was awarded the honor for stopping multiple close-range attempts by Nashville SC's Alex Muyl and Sam Surridge in a 2–1 win on March 29. Celentano also became the fourth goalkeeper to win the award on multiple occasions.
International career In January 2023, Celentano received his first call-up to the United States ahead of friendlies against Serbia and Colombia.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeaguePlayoffsNational cupIncludes U.S. Open CupLeague cupIncludes Leagues CupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsFC Cincinnati2022MLS2702010——3002023MLS33040———3702024MLS30030—304Appearances in CONCACAF Champions Cup04002025MLS30040—10303802026 MLS230———30260Total143013010401001710FC Cincinnati 2 (loan)2022MLS Next Pro20————20Career total145013010401001730
Honors FC Cincinnati Supporters' Shield: 2023
Individual Big Ten Conference Goalkeeper of the Year: 2020, 2021 NCAA Men's Division I Tournament Defensive MOP Award: 2020 MLS Save of the Year: 2023, 2025
References
External links Roman Celentano at MLS Next Pro