Paul Walters (soccer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul Girard-Walters | ||
| Date of birth | April 11, 2004 | ||
| Place of birth | West Chester, Ohio, United States | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Bohemians (on loan from FC Cincinnati) | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2019 | Lakota West Firebirds | ||
| 2019–2022 | FC Cincinnati | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022 | Northwestern Wildcats | 4 | (0) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2025 | FC Cincinnati 2 | 45 | (0) |
| 2023– | FC Cincinnati | 0 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Hartford Athletic (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2025 | → Bohemians (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:52, 12 August 2026 (UTC) | |||
Paul Girard-Walters (born 11 April 2004) is an American professional association footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for League of Ireland Premier Division club Bohemians, on loan from FC Cincinnati.
Club career
Early career
Walters is a native of West Chester, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati and attended Lakota West High School, playing with the school team the Firebirds until he joined FC Cincinnati's academy in 2019.[2] In 2022, he committed to Northwestern University, where he would play college soccer in the Big 10 Conference for the Northwestern Wildcats, but departed after making four appearances in his one year there to return to the FC Cincinnati academy.[2]
FC Cincinnati
On 20 January 2023, Walters signed for FC Cincinnati as a homegrown player on a contract until the end of 2026, with the option of a further year, making him the sixth ever player in club history to sign a first-team contract after coming through the academy.[3][4] Having continued to get game time with FC Cincinnati 2 in the MLS Next Pro, Walters had to wait until 6 August 2024 to make his first-team debut for FC Cincinnati, in a 4–2 win at home to New York City FC in the Leagues Cup.[5]
Hartford Athletic loan
On 4 March 2024, Walters joined USL Championship team Hartford Athletic on loan.[6] He made 7 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell.[7]
Bohemians loan
On 15 January 2026, Walters joined League of Ireland Premier Division club Bohemians on a season-long loan deal.[8][9][10] Having remained backup to Polish goalkeeper Kacper Chorążka in the first 20 league games of the season, Walters broke into the team on 12 June 2026, saving a penalty in a 4–1 loss away to Derry City.[11] That performance saw him keep his place in the starting team, including for their UEFA Conference League campaign that summer.[12]
Career statistics
- As of match played 13 August 2026[7]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| FC Cincinnati 2 | 2022[7] | MLS Next Pro | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2023[7] | 18 | 0 | – | – | – | 18 | 0 | |||||
| 2024[7] | 13 | 0 | – | – | 1[b] | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||||
| 2025[7] | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1[c] | 0 | 15 | 0 | |||
| Total | 45 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 48 | 0 | |||
| FC Cincinnati | 2023[7] | Major League Soccer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024[7] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0[e] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2025[7] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0[e] | 0 | 0[d] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Hartford Athletic (loan) | 2024[7] | USL Championship | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Bohemians (loan) | 2026[7] | LOI Premier Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[f] | 0 | 0[g] | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Total | 58 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 69 | 0 | ||
- ↑ Includes U.S. Open Cup & FAI Cup
- ↑ Appearance in the 2024 MLS Next Pro Playoffs
- ↑ Appearance in the 2025 MLS Next Pro Playoffs
- 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in the Leagues Cup
- 1 2 Appearance(s) in the CONCACAF Champions Cup
- ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Conference League
- ↑ Appearance(s) in the Leinster Senior Cup
References
- ↑ "Paul Walters: Career, Stats & Clubs". worldfootball.net.
- 1 2 Kleimeyer, Lucas (June 9, 2024). "Player Profile - Paul Walters: West Chester's Own".
- ↑ Cincinnati, F. C. "FC Cincinnati sign Paul Walters as a Homegrown Player". FC Cincinnati.
- ↑ "FC Cincinnati sign goalkeeper Paul Walters to homegrown contract | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
- ↑ "CINvsNYC 08-05-2024 Lineups | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer.
- ↑ "Hartford Athletic Acquire Goalkeeper Paul Walters on Loan From FC Cincinnati".
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "USA - P. Walters - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com.
- ↑ Cincinnati, F. C. "FC Cincinnati loan goalkeeper Paul Walters to Irish side Bohemian FC". FC Cincinnati.
- ↑ "Bohs sign MLS keeper Walters in loan deal". January 15, 2026 – via www.rte.ie.
- ↑ Casey, Gavan (January 15, 2026). "Bohemians confirm loan signing of goalkeeper Walters from MLS side FC Cincinnati". The 42.
- ↑ "LOI takeaways – Rovers regroup, Bohs have keeper issues and high-flying Pat's ponder the points that got away". Irish Independent. June 13, 2026.
- ↑ "Paul Girard-Walters | UEFA Conference League 2026/27". UEFA.com.
External links
- Paul Walters at Soccerway
- 2004 births
- Living people
- American men's soccer players
- FC Cincinnati 2 players
- FC Cincinnati players
- Hartford Athletic players
- Bohemian F.C. players
- MLS Next Pro players
- USL Championship players
- League of Ireland players
- Men's association football goalkeepers
- Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland
- Soccer players from Cincinnati
- Northwestern Wildcats men's soccer players