They wear zeroes on their chests, and before this past weekend, they had zero experience.
Drew Kotler and Jonathan Harris – numbers zero and double zero, respectively – have spent their entire collegiate careers backing up senior keeper Misha Rosenthal, whose .48 goals-against average last year was fourth-best in the nation.
But when Rosenthal sat out last weekend’s games due to a concussion he sustained earlier in the year, the spotlight shifted to the zeroes.
“For the rest of the season, we’re not sure what it’s going to look like, goalkeeper-wise,” Harris said. “But it’s exciting to play. We go into practice every day not knowing what the next game’s going to be like.”
With Rosenthal out, the pair split minutes in last weekend’s games, with Kotler starting both. The sophomore had recorded collegiate minutes in the past, when he started last year’s regular season finale against No. 23 Indiana to provide Rosenthal rest. Kotler allowed two goals against the Hoosiers.
“The coaches said that game was like a baptism by fire,” Kotler said. “Unfortunately, we lost, but I had that experience behind me and it makes you a little bit more comfortable on the field.”
Harris, on the other hand, is a redshirt freshman, whose appearance on Friday against Drake was his first college game. He ended up playing 20 minutes of shutout ball in overtime.
“College is a much faster-paced game than high school,” Harris said. “We play 16, 17 games a season, and they’re all high-paced, they’re all played like it’s a championship game.”
Each goalkeeper surrendered a goal against Drake, but the duo combined to put up a clean sheet against SIU-Edwardsville. The only person who seems to be able to tell the difference between the players is Olvidio Felcaro, Northwestern’s goalkeeper coach.
“Jonathan is very talented, tough, and strong, but Drew is the type of player who likes to study every play, and he’s had to learn all this,” Felcaro said. “I’d like to have the two of them combined.”
Felcaro, an Argentinean who works exclusively with the four goalies on the roster, has faith in the pair, but sees their job of taking over for Rosenthal as an unenviable one.
“With one guy playing for two years, the defense got confident with one goalkeeper,” Felcaro said. “Now, it’s like they have to start fresh. The defense has to learn how to communicate with them.”
Communication is a major part of the keeper’s job – in addition to saving shots, the man in the back has to order around defenders and organize walls on free kicks. But it seems as if Rosenthal’s rapport with his back line will carry over to anybody replacing him.
“The back line respects all goalkeepers, whether it’s Misha, Kotler, or myself in goal,” Harris said. “Defense is a lot of responsibility, and I think all of us share it. It’s not just us goalies, it’s also the back line and all 11 of us out there.”
It’s unclear whether Rosenthal will be ready to play this weekend when NU opens its Big Ten slate in Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State. Although his backups would love Rosenthal to be healthy, they’re enjoying their ability to play.
“Playing with Misha has been great; we’ve all fed off each other for a couple of years now,” Kotler said. “But this is what we train for every day for. It’s been rehearsed before. Once the whistle blows, it’s soccer, the game you love.”
