With the boys soccer season now in full swing, and multiple games played, boys soccer still only has 10 out of the 11 starting spots filled. One of the most important positions, goalie, has yet to have a clear starter as two players are fighting over the spot. Nick Cannon, a senior who has been playing soccer for two years, and Bennett Piper, a junior who has been playing since second grade, have been splitting time and battling it out for the coveted full time goalie spot.
They both bring different skills to the table which makes it hard for the coaches to choose a front runner for the position. With Cannon, he brings more athleticism and with Piper, he brings more experience, with about 10 years of playing. Cannon is gaining much improvement through the competition, though, because it gives him “a reason to get better at practice and pushes [him] to get better at [his] position everyday.” On the other hand, Piper says that he always “enjoys the competition and that Nick and [him] are very close in skill, so we keep each other in check and make sure we both play at a high level.”
The two players are on a rotation, switching off every game and playing all 80 minutes when it’s their time to play. This switching off between games has its ups and downs. It means that the goalie that is in should feel fresh because he has had a one game break, but,also, if someone is having a bad game you have to hope that they can do well by the end of the game since coaches don’t usually sub in goalies because it messes up the rotation.
It has been a long time if not ever, since South has had a two goalie rotation, which may be important but is far from the main focus of the team as a whole. They care about winning and even with the undecided goalie starter, the Panthers are 4-2-1, looking to improve their record, nonetheless. Whether they have a clear starting goalie or not.
