COLUMBUS – The Columbus Crew have signed Crew 2 goalkeeper Stanislav “Stas” Lapkes as a Homegrown Player through the 2027 season with Club options for 2028 and 2029. The Crew Academy product becomes the 23rd Homegrown Player signing in Club history.
“Stas is a talented young player who has consistently sought to improve at every level of our development pathway, and his energy and positive attitude is a good fit with our group of goalkeepers,” said General Manager Issa Tall. “It’s also a credit to Stas and our Club to welcome another Crew Academy player to the First Team. Our entire organization is dedicated to identifying top talent and developing players, and we look forward to continuing our work with Stas as he takes this important next step in his professional journey.”
“It’s a big honor and a blessing to sign a Homegrown contract with Columbus Crew,” said Lapkes. “It has been an amazing journey with the Club, through Academy to Crew 2. I’d like to thank my family and also all the coaches and staff members that helped me along the way to achieve a first team contract. I am excited for what the future holds for me here in Columbus.”
Lapkes joined Crew 2 on an amateur agreement in May 2022 and signed an MLS NEXT Pro contract on Sept. 7, 2023. He made his debut and earned the shutout in a 3-0 victory over New England Revolution II on April 16, 2023. On Oct. 22, Lapkes became the youngest goalkeeper in MLS NEXT Pro history to earn the start in MLS NEXT Pro Cup 2023 at 17 years, seven months and 19 days old.
From 2023-24, Lapkes made 35 appearances for Crew 2 (all starts), recording 3,062 minutes and 148 saves in MLS NEXT Pro action, helping the Crew to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals appearances. Lapkes was called up multiple times to the First Team via short-term loan, including the Crew’s 2-1 victory over Mexican powerhouse Monterrey in the Concacaf Champions Cup on April 24, 2024.
The 18-year-old was selected to participate in Goalie Wars at the 2024 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T, hosted at Lower.com Field on July 23.
A member of the Crew Academy since 2019, Lapkes helped the Under-17s reach the 2022 MLS NEXT Cup final. For his efforts, Lapkes was named Best Goalkeeper of the U-17 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs and was selected to participate in the 2022 MLS NEXT All-Star Game.
Lapkes joins Taha Habroune, Cole Mrowka and Sean Zawadzki as the four Crew Academy products on the current roster.
TRANSACTION: Columbus Crew sign goalkeeper Stanislav Lapkes as a Homegrown Player through the 2027 season with Club options for 2028 and 2029, announced on Jan. XX, 2025.
Name: Stanislav “Stas” Lapkes
Pronunciation: stahs LAHP-kiss
Position: Goalkeeper
Date of Birth: April 6, 2006
Birthplace: Minsk, Belarus
Previous Club: Columbus Crew 2
