Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Chicago Fire (MLS)
Hometown: Albany, NY
Caps: 1
Shutouts: 1
Spent five seasons in the Division II A-League, from 1997-2001, where he earned A-League Goalkeeper of the Year in 2001 and was selected the Division II circuit's first-team All-League keeper. Made the jump to MLS in 2002 and has taken hold of the Crew's starting goalkeeper spot.
National Team Highlights:
2005 - Earned first cap on March 9, shutting out Colombia 3-0 in a friendly in Fullerton, CA.
2004 - Called into first camp near the end of the year. Trained with the squad, but was not named to the roster.
Member of Under-17 and U-20's
Played in the 1993 FIFA Under-17 World Championships in Japan.
Professional Highlights:
2004 - Went 12-5-12 with a club-record 1.07 GAA in 29 starts, and was an Eastern Conference All-Star for the first time. Posted 10 shutouts, which is a new Crew single-season record (Brad Friedel had eight in 1997)... Tied Mark Dougherty for the club's single-game saves record, with 12, 8/24 at MetroStars)... Set an MLS record for catches/puches in a game, with 16, 7/10 at Dallas? Was named MLS Player of the Month for September? Entered this season with an active 17-game unbeaten streak (8-0-9).
2003 - Started 24 matches and compiled a 9-8-6 record, 1.44 GAA and four shutouts.
2002 - Appeared in 14 matches, starting 13 of them... Went 8-3-2 with a 1.09 GAA and five shutouts, to earn the team's Defender of the Year award... Finished second in the league in GAA, just two 100,000ths of a point behind L.A.'s Kevin Hartman... Earned a shutout in his first MLS start, a 1-0 win over D.C. United on 4/27
2001 - Led the Hershey Wildcats to the A-League National Championship match, where they fell, 2-0, to perennial power Rochester. Was named A-League Goalkeeper of the Year and was selected the Division II circuit's first-team All-League keeper. Played in all but one game, going 14-7-2 with a league-best 0.60 goals-against average and 13 shutouts. Made the A-League Team of the Week twice. The backbone of the league's top defense, which yielded a league-low 20 goals (Busch allowed just 15 of those). Went 3-1 in the Wildcats' playoff run, allowing just the two goals in the final after three successive shutouts.
2000 - Started to garner attention, finishing his final season with Hampton Roads with a 0.94 GAA in 14 games, coming up short of the minutes-played requirement for a third-place finish among the league leaders.
1999 - His second with Hampton Roads, he was named the Mariners' team MVP after going 13-10-0 with a 1.38 GAA. Was named to the A-League Team of the Week once.
1998 - Went 15-12-0, with eight shutouts, for the Hampton Roads Mariners... Was named to the A-League Team of the Week once.
1997 - His rookie professional season was split between the Worcester Wildfire and the Carolina Dynamo of the A-League, after being drafted by the Nashville Metros in the first round (No. 2 overall) of the 1997 A-League draft.
College: Attended the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Played three seasons for the 49ers (1994-96), leading them to the 1996 NCAA Men's College Cup, where they fell in the national semifinals. Was a NSCAA First-Team All-America selection in 1996.
Personal: The son of Madeline and Robert Busch. His father is a Lutheran Pastor. Married Nicole Blair on 12/11/04. Has an older brother, Matthew, and a younger sister, Jaime. Obtained his "B" coaching license in January of 2003. Enjoys ice hockey.
Data:
Height: 5'10"
Weight 165 lbs.
Born: August 18, 1976
College: UNC-Charlotte