4 of the Best Goalkeeping Programs in the NCAA
There would be no glory and no gold without goalkeepers. Keepers are the backbone of the team, reading the entire field from far away. But to become a genuinely brilliant keeper, you need the right program. And if you’re a keeper lucky and talented enough to be looking at collegiate ball, these are some of the best goalkeeping programs in the nation.
UCLA
The Bruins are always a buzzy team. There’s just something about them that always draws attention. While they have a great front and midline that put points on the board, they also have a keeper team that shuts it down.
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Over the last three seasons, only a handful of games saw an opponent scoring two goals against UCLA. Most of the time, they give up one and then shut out the rest. Molly Poletto is a big credit to this program.
Poletto comes from Missouri and Boston, where both teams saw not just improvement but huge wins in some cases. 2022 was her first season with the Bruins, and all signs point to things only getting better.
North Carolina
The Tarheels are known as one of the most dominant collegiate teams in the nation. Their program has produced some of the top pro and international players in the game for decades now. So, of course, their goalkeeper program is no different.
Over the last ten years, North Carolina has had some remarkable keepers, particularly Samantha Leshnak and Claudia Dickey from over the last few years. These two have shown up on the pitch since their freshman years and delivered every time.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the goalkeeper coach, Nathan Thackeray is the current Director of Goalkeeping for North Carolina FC (USL) and the keeper coach for NC Courage.
Virginia
The Virginia Cavaliers have been top of the pack in their division for years now. They have the most national titles for any program since the 90s, and you can’t do that without a solid defense. Keepers at Virginia are built to last.
Take fifth-year Michaela Moran, for example. She has been with the program since 2018 when she debuted with a .500 rate.
Their keeper coach, Sam Raper, has served as Director of Goalkeeping for Wingate International Soccer Academy since 2017 and had a keeper career of his own before coming to Virginia. This program builds off of itself every year by keeping up a nice rotation.
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Stanford
Stanford is another soccer program that everyone knows is solid. But we’d like to show a little love to their stellar keeper program, particularly their keeper coach. Paul Hart was a magnificent keeper during his collegiate career.
During all four of his seasons for West Texas A&M, he was awarded the Lone Star Conference Goalkeeper of the Year. Like so many others, injury led him to coach, and he has been sharing his expert knowledge with collegiate teams ever since. Before joining The Farm, Hart was at UW, revamping their program and leading them to one of the best keeper seasons they’ve ever had.
Every Soccerista knows how important a good coach is, and that’s even more important for goalkeepers. Having someone who knows the game and the position and is capable of teaching things that are mostly instinctive is a powerful thing. These are some of the best goalkeeping programs, and have shown how highly they value goalkeeping over the years, and we love them for it.
Featured image via @uclawsoccer
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