Men's Soccer: Previewing the 2008 Goalkeepers
August 14, 2008 10:41 AM | General
By Ira Green for MSNsportsNET.com
August 14, 2008
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| Sophomore Zach Johnson registered a single-season school-record 13 shutouts in 2007.
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Peaking just around the corner is the 2008 season for the West Virginia University men’s soccer team. With the success from last season in the rearview mirror, Head Coach Marlon LeBlanc has spent the past few months gearing up for the present.
Today, MSNsportsNET.com previews the 2008 Mountaineers’ goalkeepers.
Goalkeepers
With Zach Johnson between the posts last year, WVU seemed to ride smoothly through the 2007 season. Not only did the then-freshman Johnson make 77 saves, but he also broke two single-season school records; he recorded 13 shutouts (previous record was 12) and boasted a 0.48 goals allowed average (previous record was 0.66 GAA).
A Lumberton, N.J., native, Johnson also piled up the accolades. He was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week, the league’s rookie of the week, twice, the ECAC Player of the Week and also was selected to the Soccer America Team of the Week and the CollegeSoccerNews.com Team of the Week.
Despite his first-year success, Johnson has to continue to dominate in practice and show his desire to remain the Mountaineers’ starting goalkeeper. With Ryan Chance, a co-captain, in his final season with WVU and talented freshman Billy Noojin waiting in the wings, there are certainly no guarantees.
“As well as he [Johnson] did in his first year playing for us, we only play one goalkeeper here at West Virginia and the best man is going to be the number one and he’s going to get the job,” LeBlanc says. “It’s up to him to keep his job every day. Zach has to understand he has to be perfect or needs to strive for perfection every day. I think his toughest challenge isn’t necessarily going to be the opposition; it’s going to be within his own team.”
This year, the Mountaineers will be without the luxury of a strong, experienced defense in front of the goal; if Johnson is playing, he will need to direct and be a more vocal leader, says LeBlanc.
“Is he going to make sure an offensive player is marked up right from the start? Is he going to make sure the midfield is pressing forward, keeping the balance between the forwards and back four? Those are some of things that he’s going to be tested on because he doesn’t have an Andy Wright and a Dan Stratford to do it for him.”
If Johnson does not meet the expectations, Chance or Noojin will be seen between the posts. Although Chance only saw a little more than eight minutes of playing time, LeBlanc adamantly says it had nothing to do with skill level or commitment.
“We had 14 shutouts last year as a team in 22 games. The team was hot and Ryan just never really got his opportunity.
“Ryan is the most respected player on the team. He comes out every single day and practices harder than everybody else. The biggest thing that I saw was, even though he wasn’t playing, he was still practicing harder than everybody else and that’s an important quality. Regardless of whether or not he’s on the field this fall, the guy is respected and I think that’s an important thing for a captain to have is respect with a young group.”
While LeBlanc has seen progress in Chance and Johnson, he admits that both keepers still have much room for improvement.
“I think they have both grown in terms of their intelligence, their understanding of the game, their understanding of scenarios and situations. Both need to be better on set pieces. Both need to be better in communication and distribution. I think a lot of those things will work themselves out in preseason.”
Not to be left out is the freshman, Noojin, who comes to Morgantown from Acworth, Ga. Noojin, who was a four-year starter in high school, played club soccer for the NASA ’08 Elite Team, coached by WVU alumnus Todd Gispert. Despite his young age and obvious inexperience, LeBlanc does not expect to see Noojin concede the starting job.
“I don’t want anyone to come in here and think that they have time,” LeBlanc says. “I want everybody to come in and understand that the time is now; the time is now to be the best that you can be. I want Billy to come in and compete for the starting job.
“Whether or not he gets it is completely up to him. I think from our standpoint, we want to have three goalkeepers, including Billy, that are going to come out every single day and work their socks off.”
Unlike last year, this season’s ride may see some new bumps and while the Mountaineers may look to travel down the same path of success, don’t be surprised if new paths are created along the way.
