“I have the best job in the world.”
A Plano native, Collodi started his soccer journey at Solar SC. In 2015, he sought to play against tougher competition and FC Dallas’ Academy system was the ideal place. “I had these dreams that I wanted to pursue, and I felt like this was a place where I could do that based on the history of their signings and Homegrowns.”
Throughout his years at FCD, Collodi earned call-ups to training camps with the U.S. Youth National Teams. It’s no surprise that he faced a tough decision on what university he would attend. His options notably included Duke, Stanford, Maryland, Yale, and Kentucky. However, attending Columbia offered him the perfect combination of world-class academics and a program where he could quickly make an impact.
At Columbia, Collodi played 58 matches from 2019-2023, starting in all but one. As a freshman, he earned Ivy League Rookie of the Week. “In the earlier years, it was getting experience playing games against bigger, stronger, faster people. You go and play against 20-21-year-olds as an 18-year-old. I learned more from mistakes than successes.”
Like thousands of other athletes, Collodi’s 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, putting an abrupt pause on his college experience. He decided to take what was supposed to be his sophomore semester off to avoid losing a year of eligibility. It was unknown that the NCAA would later on be granting all athletes an extra year of eligibility regardless of their participation that season.
Collodi tallied 237 saves, placing him second on the all-time career saves list. As a senior, he earned Second-Team All-Ivy League and was a captain. As his time at Columbia concluded, Collodi searched for his next step. It wasn’t necessarily his plan to kick off his professional career back home.
“I figured it would be a pretty high possibility because I know how Dallas works with their Homegrowns. I wouldn’t say it was planned, but it was definitely something that I had in the back of my mind.”
“The plan initially was the draft,” he said. Unbeknownst to him, the unimaginable had happened. Due to his taking time off in 2020, he was mistakenly listed under the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. It wasn’t until the 2024 MLS SuperDraft list came out next year that he noticed the error. Collodi’s name wasn’t listed, which meant he would not be participating in the SuperDraft.
North Texas SC had contacted Collodi beforehand, eager to acquire him should the draft not go his way. Collodi liked this opportunity because of the familiarity. This granted him the chance to return home and start his professional career. On January 12, 2024, Collodi signed his first contract with North Texas SC. Alongside newcomer Nico Gordon, Collodi has been named Vice-Captain by head coach John Gall.
“I don’t think it changes anything that I would be doing. I think the title is just a bit of a nod from the coaching staff, which is much appreciated. I’m really honored to be up there with Nico.”
Collodi used his college years to develop the pillars of leadership he embodies. “I try to have a decent balance of leading by your actions and leading vocally. I’m one of the more vocal people. That’s my job as a goalkeeper. I also try to show the actions we want to see across everybody so that when somebody is not doing that, I can call them out for it without being hypocritical.”
With the season underway, Collodi has registered a career-high six saves against St Louis CITY2. He has also helped the team remain undefeated with ten saves in 270 minutes, in addition to denying six penalties throughout three shootouts. This past weekend, he assisted Diego Garcia’s goal in the last minute of the match to earn the draw. In the tie-breaker shootout, Collodi stepped up and saved three-consecutive shots from 12 yards to give North Texas an extra point in the standings. Understandably, the Vice-Captain has high hopes for the team and himself.
“We’re going for a championship. Nobody’s playing to do anything other than win some trophies. Then the rest is just continuing to develop as a player, keep improving my game, and see what happens from that.”
