Ethan Finlay played his collegiate soccer career at Creighton University, cementing himself in the school's history as one of their best players ever. In the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, the Columbus Crew selected the winger with the No. 10 overall pick. In his first two seasons in Columbus, Finlay did not score or assist any goals in very limited opportunities. In 2014, he began contributing in a big way, right when this series begins. On May 17th, 2014, during a 10 minute cameo in Portland, Ethan Finlay scored his first MLS goal late in a 3-3 draw. Finlay was awarded with a start in the following match against Chicago, scoring less than 10 minutes in. Ethan Finlay had arrived in MLS.
In a run of form between September and October, Finlay notched four goals in four matches. Finlay finished his first real season of minutes with 11 goals and 7 assists. His team though, led by Gregg Berhalter, went out to New England in the playoffs. In 2015, he upped his numbers even more. On April 25th, 2015, Finlay scored his first MLS brace against the Philadelphia Union. Waylon Francis set him up with a peach of a cross for goal number one of the afternoon. His second of the day came on a Kei Kamara through ball, in which Finlay ran onto in signature style before placing it into the bottom left corner. He scored his next brace on Independence Day against the New York Red Bulls. Finlay cut in on his left foot and cleanly curled it into the top left corner in minute 33. In the 74th minute, Kamara nodded a header into the box for an easy Finlay tap in to take the lead. On Decision Day, he scored his third brace of the season, including an absolute dribbling display of a solo goal. In the playoffs, Finlay scored once, a very important goal to tie up the Eastern Conference Semis on aggregate. Columbus danced all the way to MLS Cup, but fell to Portland in the final match. Ethan Finlay was named to the 2015 Best XI for his performances.
In 2016, it was just more consistent production from Ethan Finlay. On August 13th, Finlay scored another brace against NYCFC. He took a hard foul in the box, earning his own penalty, then stepping up to smash it home. In the 95th minute, Finlay smashed a volley into the top right corner to equalize the match at three. Finlay scored 6 goals and assisted 9 on the season. Columbus, in classic MLS fashion, missed the playoffs after qualifying for MLS Cup the previous season.
Ethan Finlay departed the team that drafted him in 2017. On August 9th, Finlay was traded to Minnesota United in exchange for $425K in allocation money. Just over 20 minutes into Finlay's Minnesota career, he struck his first goal for the club in Seattle. Two matches later, he smashed another one in after a scrum in front of goal. The change of scenery was working out well for him. The Loons did not make the playoffs in their inaugural season. In season two, Finlay scored a brace in the second match, setting up what looked to be a promising campaign. The latter half of his brace secured three points for Minnesota in an away trip to Orlando. Tragically, Finlay suffered a torn ACL in April, causing him to miss the entire rest of the 2018 MLS season.
Finlay returned for MNUFC in 2019, providing his highest goal output since 2015. It did take him a while to get back going, as he didn't score until May. Perhaps he was saving it for a revenge goal against Columbus, which gave the Loons a 1-0 victory late. Finlay celebrated quite modestly. In an August loss to FC Dallas, by a 5-3 scoreline, he scored the double, the second with a chip of Jesse Gonzalez. Minnesota made the playoffs for the first time ever, but the first round got the best of them, as they lost 2-1 to the Galaxy. In 2020, Finlay scored another brace, this time versus Colorado in the MLS Is Back Tournament. He tipped one in front of goal, quite reminiscent of a hockey goal, then added a second in the box later in the match. At this point, scoring braces had sort of become Ethan Finlay's thing. His goals have always come in bunches. He did it again in October against the Houston Dynamo, with one of the goals being placed as perfectly into the top corner as humanly possible. Minnesota finished fourth for the second consecutive year. They made it all the way to the WCF, but Seattle won that one 3-2.
In 2021, Finlay had his least productive full season with Minnesota United, signifying that it was time to move on once again. On December 20th, he signed two-year deal with Austin FC. In just his second match with the verde and black, Finlay scored his first and second goals for the team, in a 36 minute sub appearance no less. He headed home an Alex Ring cross, then smacked a powerful strike into the upper 90 to make the score 5-1. Finlay contributed 5 goals and 6 assists in a depth role. Austin entered the playoffs as the number two seed, then tightroped towards their eventual Western Conference Final loss to LAFC.
Here in the current year of 2023, Ethan Finlay remains with Austin FC at 33 years old. On May 18th, Ethan Finlay joined the history books. He scored a left-footed shot against Stefan Frei and Seattle, adding an assist. These goal contributions added Finlay to a very select list of six active Major League Soccer players with 50 regular season goals and 50 assists each. Finlay caught a bit of form during the warmer months, currently bringing his total up to 4 goals and 4 assists. His most recent goal was scored in the closing days of July, against FC Juarez in Leagues Cup. As of late, Finlay has returned to a depth role, coming on as a substitute in most cases. Ethan Finlay has easily been one of the most consistent MLS player across the last ten years, no matter the assignment he's given, placing him at #79 on the list.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2023 | ATX | 1,332* | 4* | 4* |
2022 | ATX | 1,830 | 5 | 6 |
2021 | MIN | 1,722 | 3 | 3 |
2020 | MIN | 961 | 4 | 2 |
2019 | MIN | 1,912 | 7 | 3 |
2018 | MIN | 570 | 2 | 1 |
2017 | CLB/MIN | 2,262 | 4 | 4 |
2016 | CLB | 2,462 | 6 | 9 |
2015 | CLB | 2,790 | 12 | 13 |
2014 | CLB | 1,898 | 11 | 7 |
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