After two seasons that helped establish Devala Gorrick as one of the top goalkeepers in the USL with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, the 29-year-old decided he wanted to take on a new challenge.

When the announcement came this month the free agent had signed with Saint Louis FC, it not only made a statement of intent for the club as it began to rebuild its roster for the 2017 USL season, but also for Gorrick as he looks to take the next step in his career within new STLFC Head Coach Preki’s revamped squad.

“It kind of was a gut feeling that I had for something outside my comfort zone,” Gorrick said recently. “I had a couple of offers that were fantastic offers, and were great teams and coaches as well, but I’d known about Preki for years, I’d known about Saint Louis’ organization and their coaching staff, and I had a feeling it was a challenge that would be a complete 180 for me in terms of intensity.

“There’s obviously a lot of buzz and pressure for Saint Louis to win, so I think it was something about the pressure and being outside my comfort zone that I was looking for, and it seemed to fit all of the criteria in that way.”

Going out of his comfort zone has been part of Gorrick’s path through professional soccer. When a teenager, he spent a year as part of the academy at the Bundesliga’s Bayer Leverkusen, and another with FK Austria Wien in Austria. Those experiences, particularly in Germany, opened a window of possibility for Gorrick that might not have been there otherwise.

“I was a young 13-year-old punk that got sent over,” Gorrick said with a laugh. “It gave me an eye-opening account of what I want and kind of a taste of the next level that really stuck with me. It left a burning taste in my mouth that I just have to fulfill, it’s a hunger I need to fulfill and until I feel like I’ve fulfilled it I’m just going to keep having that desire. If I didn’t have that, I don’t know if I’d ever be where I am now.”

Having that in the back of his mind, and achieving the level that those he trained with at Leverkusen, were two different things. After competing collegiately at junior college powerhouse Tyler Junior College – which also produced players such as Sporting Kansas City’s Dom Dwyer – and Division II Barry University in Florida, Gorrick’s early professional career saw him playing in Thailand before he made the move to Swedish club IK Frej.

“When I was really, really young, I set two goals,” Gorrick said. “I wanted to play in Europe and I accomplished that, and realistically I never should have attained that. I went from a Thai league, which was very unknown, to go play third division in Sweden, going to play against Malmo FF and some top teams there, so I had faith in myself and I had a lot of people who believed in me.”

Gorrick returned to North America with Ottawa Fury FC in 2014 and split time with Romuld Peiser in the club’s first professional season. He again faced competition when he joined Colorado Springs the following year, but gradually made the No. 1 spot his own as the Switchbacks achieved remarkable success in their first two seasons in the USL.

Gorrick finished with more than 50 appearances for the Switchbacks in all competitions in his two seasons with the club, and this year claimed USL All-League Second Team honors as he finished the season in the top five in all four major statistical categories. While he is taking his leave from Colorado Springs, Gorrick was proud of what the club’s front office and coaching staff put together, and what the team was able to achieve as an expansion side.

“I think it speaks to the owners as well as the coaching staff that they were really from nothing built a very successful franchise that I believe will continue that way,” Gorrick said. “I think it came from the culture they established, which was a winning culture. It was a team that we always called a team of men. We were there to win, we were there to compete as a team and there were no attitudes, there were no egos, it was just a bunch of guys who were hungry to prove something, and they jelled the team perfectly.”

Gorrick could be coming into a similar situation in Saint Louis. After missing out on a berth in the USL Cup Playoffs in the club’s first two seasons, STLFC is building a squad that includes a number of players who have had success in the USL for its third year. Joining Gorrick at the World Wide Technology Soccer Park this season are the likes of former USL Cup champions Octavio Guzman and Ivan Mirkovic, both of whom found success under Preki’s leadership in Sacramento.

“I think that’s kind of why Saint Louis was the fit for me. They really want to push me,” said Gorrick. “They respect what I have done, and I know what I have done, and I feel some contentment in it, but they believe I have more to offer, and I feel the same way, that I have so much more to give and so much more to attain. I think it’s [going to be] a successful partnership because they’re going to light the fire under me until I reach my peak, and even then they’re going to keep pushing me, so I think that’s why it’s really exciting for me.”

After receiving a rapturous reception from Saint Louis’ fans upon the announcement of his signing,  Gorrick is looking forward to getting into preseason with his new side, and showing both he and the club made the right decision this offseason.

“I just want to get back on the field and start training, and then the most exciting thing is that first game, the first home game in front of the fans,” Gorrick said. “The team is really investing in me and putting their faith in me, so I really look forward to proving the organization right, showing the fans that they were right as well to support me, and go out there and start off on the right foot.”