By Drew Friedman ’16
Photo Courtesy of Athletic Communications
Lafayette soccer goalie Nate McDonald ‘14 was protecting a fragile 1-0 lead in the Patriot League final in Washington, D.C. when American University’s Alassane Kane ‘14 was awarded a penalty kick.
“I don’t think I’ll ever forget it,” said McDonald.
Few confrontations in sports are as dramatic as the penalty kick, which forces a goalkeeper to react in a fraction of a second to a ball booted from a mere twelve yards away. It’s such a difficult play to make that the majority of the time, the kick goes in.
In this case, the ball shot low and to the right side of the net. Using all of his 6’4-inch frame, McDonald stretched out and made the save, keeping the Leopards’ advantage intact.
It was the most dramatic save McDonald made in the game, but not the only one. In the end, the Leopards secured a 2-0 victory on the strength of goals by Kyle Scharfenberg ‘13 and Peter Adubato ‘14, and captured their seventh Patriot League crown. McDonald, who had posted his ninth shutout of the season, stopped two total shots and was named Tournament MVP. It was the fourth straight game in which McDonald had not allowed a score.
Fortunately for the Leopards, they finished the season stronger than they had started it. After six games, their record was only 1-4-1. However, they were a more-than-respectable 9-7-4 and 3-1-3 in conference play after the championship tourney.
“I’m incredibly proud of this year’s team,” said McDonald, a native of Bay Village, OH. “We did not start the year off well, but I remember everyone staying positive with each other as we worked our way back towards where we wanted to be. In the end I think going through what we did during the first half of the season made us stronger in the second half.”
McDonald began playing soccer at the age of three or four. “I remember spending half a game in the field and half a game in net,” he said. “I liked goalkeeping more.”
His role model in the game of soccer is Brad Friedel, who plays in the English Premier League for the renownedTottenham Hotspur club and is recognized as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. “I’ve always looked up to him,” McDonald said, “[I’ve] had the opportunity to interact with him multiple times. He actually grew up down the street from me and played at my high school, and I attended his camps. Brad even hopped into a training session with us once, which was sweet.”
A mechanical engineering major, McDonald is working with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers on a project called the StratoSAT.
“Basically,” he said, “We attach a rocket to a helium-filled weather balloon and try to launch the rocket once the balloon has reached its max altitude. The goal is to get the rocket as far from Earth’s surface as possible.”
The Leopards, too, will be aiming high as they enter the NCAA Tournament. As high, in fact, as McDonald and their airtight defense can take them.
