Minding the Net
October 31, 2008 11:19 AM | General
October 31, 2008
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| Kerri Butler |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University soccer program is one of only two programs in the country that has two goalkeepers ranked in the Top 15 in goals against average.
Sophomore Kerri Butler and redshirt sophomore Zach Johnson have been stalwarts in net for their respective teams. The 2008 season for men’s and women’s soccer has shown that any opponent going up against either netminder has had to work rigorously to put points on the board.
Butler, a Fredericksburg, Va., resident, is ranked seventh in the country with a 0.417 goals against average. She has been a major catalyst in leading the women’s soccer squad to a third consecutive BIG EAST American Division title, providing a BIG EAST-leading 10 shutouts thanks to her individual skills and an active, hectic back line.
“The defense has been outstanding,” Butler said enthusiastically. “They have worked very hard this year and were put into a difficult situation having not played together at all. We really haven’t had many shots on-goal in our games, and when those shots do come that’s what I’m there for – to save their butt when they save mine.”
Butler, recently named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week for her efforts in WVU’s back-to-back shutouts against Marquette and USF, is thankful to have played a full regular season with one of the nation’s elite squads. Her true mettle will be put to the test on Sunday, Nov. 2, when WVU defends its BIG EAST crown as a No. 1 seed in the American Division against Louisville at 1 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Stadium.
Although Butler has put in the long hours for her drastic second-year improvement, part of her out-of-nowhere success might be attributed to her genes.
Her father, John, was a goalkeeper at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. More than anyone, he was her greatest inspiration for excelling in between the posts.
“My Dad was my first goalkeeper coach,” Butler said with a laugh. “He was the one who started me as a goalkeeper. Throughout high school I got a lot more advice from him, but since I’ve been here he’ll shoot a little advice at me and let me know if I did something wrong.”
Her father’s guidance has allowed Butler to enjoy a memorable 2008 season, cherishing every game and every second spent on the field with her esteemed teammates. She knows the talent that surrounds her is plentiful, and expects the Mountaineers to make another deep postseason run.
“I have a lot of confidence in this team -- I really do. In spring season, I think some of us were a little worried because we didn’t really have a team that was working well together yet,” Butler admitted. “But I think we are peaking at a very good time and we are playing real well together and scoring goals and not allowing them to have shots on goal; getting shutouts.”
Butler’s statistics have been prominent for WVU. She has allowed only eight goals in 18 games, and boasts an .800 save percentage while playing every minute of the season.
Her constant presence in front of the net is a stark contrast to last year, when she started just 11 matches yet posted a 9-1-1 record with seven shutouts.
“I think last year, just having a half season was kind of hard to adjust to,” Butler added. “Starting off the season this year with the rest of the team while we were still building has been good. You have room for a little bit of error because that’s the way the team was at the time. Last year I had to step in and be great right away.”
Now Butler has been nothing short of great for one of the BIG EAST’S Elite. And the rest of the field should be put on notice with Butler and the rest of the Mountaineers peaking at the right time.
“I’ve been very happy with my performance this year,” Butler admitted. “I’ve started to peak at a good time and over my career I’ve certainly had struggles. But I’ve been happy with my performance and our team’s performance.”
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| Zach Johnson |
Goalkeeper Zach Johnson’s star has shined the brightest for the WVU men’s soccer team.
The Lumberton, N.J., resident currently is ranked 12th in the country with a 0.583 goals against average. The athletic, 6-foot-5-inch netminder also is tops in the BIG EAST in saves (78) and saves per game (4.81).
Johnson has made his share of acrobatic stops throughout the season, many of which have kept the Mountaineers in several games. But regardless of how many game-changing saves he has made or the number of shutouts he attains, the intimidating goal-stopper has one ambition in mind: getting the W.
“You always want to have goals for yourself,” Johnson admitted firmly. “For me, I didn’t care about how many shutouts or goals against or whatever I had, I just wanted the team to win. For the team to win, all those things have to be good numbers. Those numbers can tell you how well you’ve been doing all season, but the success of the team is more important.”
The Mountaineers currently sit in a heated battle for the fourth, fifth or sixth seed in the Blue Division for the BIG EAST Tournament. They face top-seeded Notre Dame on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Stadium - a game that will have plenty of postseason implications for West Virginia.
Johnson, who has recorded eight shutouts in 2008, attributes his individual success not to just what he has done during the season, but the work he has put in during the offseason. The mandatory workouts and preseason camps have benefited Johnson in the best way possible.
“A lot of it has to do with the hard work in the offseason,” Johnson said of his stellar performance throughout the season. “I know in the spring season Marlon (LeBlanc) really worked us hard, and that helped a lot with the preparation for the season. I knew I had to work on some things coming in like my distribution and command in the back and I think I improved in that. All you can do is improve from year to year.”
Johnson has also been impressed with the rebuilding job LeBlanc has done, plugging in freshmen Raymon Gaddis and Ruben Garrido on the back line to limit the amount of shots on-goal from opponents.
As a whole, Johnson is quick to credit the entire defense for keeping several games within reach this season, and contributing mightily to WVU’s victories this season.
“The back line has done a great job this year after losing three starters from last year and having to incorporate two freshmen,” Johnson said. “They’ve come in and stepped up for us. I know that Gift (Maworere) and (Jason) Bristol have been able to keep it strong. The defense has played a big part in the success we’ve had this year.”
High expectations accompany every prominent goalkeeper, and the same goes with Johnson. He routinely provides leadership and solid play as the anchor of the defense, but chooses to focus on his mistakes instead of his accomplishments when discussing what he remembers most about each game.
And as he is on the cusp of becoming perhaps the greatest goalkeeper to ever don a WVU jersey in men’s soccer, Johnson knows he will only improve by analyzing his minimal mistakes.
“There are definitely a couple when I look back at the game, I knew I should have saved,” Johnson added. “There were a couple – the Lafayette goal and the Seton Hall goal – that were pretty decent shots but I think I could have had both of them. I’m accountable for that.
“I think the Seton Hall goal was worse because the team was playing so well and we had a man down the whole time, and to let that one go through was kind of disappointing to me. But you have to move on from that.”
Johnson surely will be moving on – right into the WVU record books. The redshirt sophomore became the third player in school history to record at least eight shutouts in more than one season in WVU’s 2-0 victory over Marquette on Wednesday.
With the confidence and assurance he passes along between him and his teammates, more milestones are sure to come down the road.
“I think the confidence has grown between everybody. I know I’m confident in my defense to make the plays, and they’re confident in me to make saves,” Johnson said. “You have to trust your teammates and think that they are going to come up big when they have to. It’s an important part of the chemistry of the team to have that trust in each other.”
