Various Occidental goalkeepers across men’s and women’s soccer and men’s water polo said they find the position of goalkeeper as rewarding because of its challenge.
Jack Schroeder (junior), a goalkeeper for men’s water polo, proved that goalies can score goals too when he scored the game-winning goal against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) Oct. 2.
According to men’s water polo head coach Lindsey Garcia, Schroeder made a crucial save right before he scored. She said Schroeder played a big part in Occidental’s win over CMS, who, at the time, were ranked No. 1 in DIII men’s water polo.
“I think having really good goalies, which we do, makes the team even better,” Garcia said. “He was so aware of the clock, so aware of the situation — he knew to catch the ball and shoot it right away.”
According to Schroeder, it is hard not to blame himself when the ball goes into the goal, even if it’s not entirely his fault.
“It’s one goalie — it’s just you,” Schroeder said. “Everything is your fault, including the wins.”
Schroeder said he wants people to know that lob shots are a lot harder to block than they look.
“I get dumped on a lot by a lot of people for letting in a lob, and a lob is really hard to block,” Schroeder said.
Calvin Anderson (first year), another men’s water polo goalie, said all the goalies on the team are very close and that they have their own little corner that they practice in. He said Schroeder and James Derrod (senior) are great mentors to him.
“They’re amazing,” Anderson said. “James is incredibly skilled, as is Jack — I learn so much from them everyday in practice.”
Melanie Rodriguez (first year), a women’s soccer goalkeeper, said she started playing the position at age eight because she loved the pressure.
“When it’s that last moment, it’s all up to you to [make the] save and to determine what happens in the game, so I kind of love that,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said that while she has always felt appreciated on teams, she believes that goalkeeping is culturally under-appreciated.
“People remember the Messis and Ronaldos, but not the Courtois,” Rodriguez said.
Riley Nyhan (senior), the men’s soccer team’s starting goalkeeper, stumbled into the position of goalkeeper during his sophomore year of high school after previously playing in the field.
“Who wants to be a goalkeeper?” Nyhan said. “Nobody’s growing up and [saying] like, ‘oh my gosh, I just really wanna be a goalie.'”
While Nyhan did not initially choose his position, he said he now loves being a goalkeeper.
“I love the feeling of a clean sheet and knowing that you’ve gone the whole game without letting others score,” Nyhan said. “[It] feels truly amazing, because it’s not just you, it’s a reflection of your entire team.”
According to Nyhan, being alone on the field can be a real mental challenge. He said there are moments during games where all he can do is walk around and think for the next couple minutes.
“Anyone who says it’s not boring is lying to you,” Nyhan said.
Nyhan said that even though he feels appreciated by his team, the nature of the goalie role lends itself to extra scrutiny.
“Thing about being a goalie is that you’re either a villain or a hero,” Nyhan said. “There’s no, ‘oh, you did a fine job today.’”
Casey Scott (sophomore), another men’s soccer goalie, said people notice when goalies mess up more than when field players do.
“If you make a mistake, it’s a lot worse than anyone else making a mistake, because there’s no one else behind you,” Scott said.
Both Scott and his teammate Nyhan said the goalkeepers on the men’s soccer team take care of each other and keep each other accountable.
“We call it the goalkeeper union,” Scott said. “We’re a very insular group of people who are sometimes a little crazy to be playing [this] position — you have to be a little insane to play [goalie].”
Contact Michelle Teh at teh@oxy.edu
