As a four-year starter for St. Joseph, goalie Gabby Foster has earned quite a bit of leeway and she takes full advantage.
Whether it’s crossing midfield for a free kick, ranging far from the goal on defense or stalling to make opposing forwards work harder, Foster shows all the traits of a seasoned netminder.
“Chances need to be taken for success,” Foster said. “They trust me and I trust myself. I have the confidence in myself to do some of those crazy things. I just try to do the best for the team.”
While Foster looks like a long-time veteran, in reality she’s only played the position the last two years out of necessity.
Foster spent her first two seasons on varsity playing in the field. But when junior year rolled around, the Chargers lacked a goalie and Foster, who also plays volleyball and basketball at St. Joe’s, had the athleticism for the job.
“She likes playing in the field and doesn’t want to be stuck in goal, but as we can all see, she’s a good goalie,” Chargers head coach Stan Niemiec said. “I kept trying to persuade her to play goalie (full time) because if you want to play in college, well, they need goalies and you can dangle that there and say, ‘Coach, I can play the field and I can play goalkeeper.’ “
Foster’s abilities were on full display Monday in a 4-2 nonconference win over Guerin at St. Joe’s. Foster (eight saves) made three incredible saves, including one where she raced back to the goal, stuck up her left hand and pulled in the ball like a wide receiver on a deep fade.
“That was a nice shot and I’m sure everyone (on the Guerin bench) thought, ‘Really? We can’t catch a break,’ ” Niemiec said. “But it was great hand-eye coordination and those are the things you look for in a goalkeeper.”
Growing up, soccer was Foster’s favorite sport but she never played much goalie. Her speed and strength made her the perfect forward.
She started at St. Joe’s as a forward and when Niemiec approached her about playing in goal before her junior year, she was willing to help the team. And she was going to make sure she was the best goalie she could be.
That’s what eventually led to her aggressiveness in net. She’s not afraid to come out and torment forwards when there’s a loose ball in her area. She won’t play the ball or pick it up until the forward gets right on top of her.
“It’s partially strategic and partially to get in the other player’s head,” Foster said. “They waste energy running up to me and they get annoyed when I pick the ball up last-second.”
While the game of chicken looks dangerous, Foster said she’s never allowed a goal because of it and her teammates trust her 100 percent.
“We have a lot of confidence in her because she’s taken the leadership role right from the very beginning,” junior Alexandra Miceli said. “We know she knows what she’s doing and she’s built that trust from previous seasons.”
NOTES
* St. Joe’s (2-0) scored the first three goals, including both in the first half. Guerin (2-3) then switched to a man mark and got back into the game.
* The Gators pulled within 3-2 after goals by Alondra Rodriguez and Melanie Martinez, before St. Joe’s Viviana Jimenez added an insurance goal to help seal the win.
* Maddy Torres scored twice for the Chargers, while Jazmin Mendoza also found the back of the net for St. Joe’s.
