{"id":15303,"date":"2025-10-01T18:52:57","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T18:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/?p=15303"},"modified":"2025-10-13T18:19:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T18:19:41","slug":"goalkeepers-importance-in-soccer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/2025\/10\/01\/goalkeepers-importance-in-soccer\/","title":{"rendered":"Goalkeeper\u2019s importance in soccer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Jordan Hildebrand ’26, staff writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the soccer field, the importance of being a goalkeeper can be overlooked; after becoming the starter for LVC\u2019s men\u2019s soccer team, Ethan Bazydola clarifies the importance and value of his role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bazydola, a senior English and secondary education major, has been a member of the men’s soccer team since joining LVC as a first-year student in 2022. The uniqueness of Bazydola\u2019s story stems from his close connection to the role of goalkeeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bazydola has been a goalkeeper since before his time at LVC and has now become the school\u2019s starter, sparking some curiosity among his peers. Students wanted to know what pulled and held his interest in being a goalkeeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really wanted to play and be a part of the culture; just being on the field was enough for me,\u201d Bazydola said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having been involved with soccer all through high school and now in college, Bazydola\u2019s inspiration was always the same: he wanted to be part of and play on a college team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His aspirations and hopes still pulled him through, even when some argued that being a goalkeeper is for players who lack skill at the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes you want to play and score goals to feel those highs, but really, I\u2019m happy with what I\u2019m doing,\u201d Bazydola said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Bazydola, the difference between being a goalkeeper and being a player is unimportant; he loves what he does and where he does it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a goalkeeper puts him in arguably one of the most important positions for the entire game: the ability to send and receive, while also providing a safety net for the rest of his team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the position is not without its challenges. It requires constant patience and attentiveness, something Bazydola once struggled with as someone who has ADHD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing in practice and playing the sport for so long, it has helped me really focus in, not only with soccer but also with school,\u201d Bazydola said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a way, Bazydola\u2019s entire team is relying on him and his work. In his game against Muhlenberg College, he saved two kicks, tying his career high for most passes saved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bazydola also explained that his skills, honed through soccer, aid him in his college academics and his prospective field as a secondary education teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing a goalie has sharpened my patience,\u201d Bazydola said. \u201cAs a teacher, working with other teachers and, especially, students requires patience and teamwork, something soccer has given me a lot of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On or off the field, patience and focus are two of Bazydola\u2019s greatest strengths, both of which he confidently attributes to his time spent as a goalkeeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some may view the position of a goalkeeper as boring or less valuable than that of other players on a team, Bazydola reminds us of the importance of being a goalkeeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn a way, I am always contributing to my team,\u201d Bazydola said. \u201cSometimes it doesn\u2019t come, other times I can be the one everyone can rely on\u2026that\u2019s the understated art of being a goalie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truly, the understated art of the goalkeeper is knowing when and how to coordinate your plays, so that when your team falls back on you for defense, you can fulfill that reliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you can finally capitalize on that save, make that mark and give your team a good kick, then you truly realize just how important a goalie is,\u201d Bazydola said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though the role may seem easy to the untrained eye, Bazydola\u2019s determination and focus on every step made by the opposition put him in a spot where he\u2019s always hitting his goals. Through hard work and unwavering patience, the work of the goalkeeper is a role suited for someone like Ethan Bazydola.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

jch008@lvc.edu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jordan Hildebrand ’26, staff writer On the soccer field, the importance of being a goalkeeper can be overlooked; after becoming the starter for LVC\u2019s men\u2019s soccer team, Ethan Bazydola clarifies the importance and value […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":15336,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7,8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15303","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-features","8":"category-front-page","9":"category-homepage","10":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15303"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15639,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15303\/revisions\/15639"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}