Drake Callender is flourishing as the last line of defense for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Drake Callender is the answer to a pretty strong trivia question.

Years from now, it’s likely that some folks — when guessing who scored the goal that gave Inter Miami its first-ever trophy in the summer of 2023 — will choose Lionel Messi, for obvious reasons. The greatest player of his generation, probably the greatest player ever, would be the logical pick.

Spoiler alert: It wasn’t Messi.

“I did what had to be done,” Callender said.

Indeed, it was Inter Miami’s goalie — in the 11th round of a penalty-shot shootout — who scored what became the winner of that Leagues Cup final last year against Nashville SC. He scored, then saved Nashville goalie Elliot Panicco's attempt to tie the game and extend the shootout to finish off the win. It’s a moment that forever will live in Inter Miami lore.

It's also a reminder that in big moments, Callender is already proven. Major League Soccer's playoffs start in about a month-and-a-half, and Callender — the go-to goalie for the best team in the league right now — can’t help but think about what it’s going to be like to challenge for the next trophy. The MLS Cup is very much on his mind, and with the way Inter Miami is playing and with Messi now back after a two-month absence because of an ankle injury, everything is looking good in his world.

“I think anytime you have opportunity to win a trophy and you do win that trophy, it makes you believe," Callender said. “Now we know we can. We all believe and know we can win games, but part of playing the game is finding out if you can win trophies. And the group knows we can do this.”

It has been, to this point, the best season of Callender's career. The goalie who turns 27 next month not only is the backstop for the best team in MLS but also has set a career-high for wins (19, against three losses and five ties), has tied a career best with five shutouts in MLS play this year and has the best goals-per-90-minutes average of his career at 1.37.

Put another way, the highest-scoring team in MLS — with Messi and Luis Suarez leading the way there — has one of the best goalies in MLS. It's obviously a winning combination, as proven by how Inter Miami had a 10-point lead over Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference standings entering Sunday and a seven-point lead in the league's overall standings over the LA Galaxy with a match in hand.

Inter Miami defender Julian Gressel had a simple way to describe Callender's secret. “Resiliency,” Gressel said.

And that was on display Saturday.

Inter Miami surrendered a goal to the Philadelphia Union less than two minutes into the contest. Maybe Callender was sleep-deprived; he and his wife became parents for the first time a few days earlier. But with the match on the line, Callender was locked in — with Inter Miami protecting a 2-1 lead in the 85th minute, Sergio Busquets inexplicably lost control of the ball near the goal mouth. Callender made a point-blank stop to preserve the lead and Inter Miami would add a late goal to win 3-1.

“He’s bouncing back and gone through a lot the last few days, obviously,” Gressel said. "It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind for him but awesome to see him kind of step in like that and come up big when we need him. And that’s what he’s done for the whole season. I’m really happy for him.”

It's hard not to be happy for Callender, who always seems to be one of the team's happiest players.

When Messi arrived and joined Inter Miami in the summer of 2023, everything for everyone involved with the club immediately changed — Callender included. It's a huge deal when Inter Miami plays now, which means more fans, more attention and more pressure.

“I’m good at blocking out the world," Callender said. “All the noise and all the haters and the doubters and the media, sometimes it fuels me and sometimes I need a break from it. But it takes time to adjust to all the changes. I mean, I was watching this guy in Champions League a few years ago, and now I’m playing on the same team with him.”

Inter Miami didn't get to the playoffs last year. Injuries took a toll and even Messi's arrival wasn't enough to pull the team from the bottom tier of the MLS standings. This season, not only will Inter Miami make the playoffs, it will be favored to win it all.

And that means another trophy moment may await the team's goalie.

“Getting to the playoffs was one goal of ours,” Callender said. “But it's just one step toward the big goal.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press