Northwestern has had an embarrassment of riches in goal the past few seasons. The crown jewel was the inimitable Misha Rosenthal, who shattered the school record for shutouts during his career.
Now, in the first season after Rosenthal’s graduation, the net is up for grabs.
“For the past few seasons all of the goalkeepers, whether they will admit it or not, have sort of deferred to Misha and his status on the team,” coach Tim Lenahan said. “With Misha gone and the possibility of playing out there, you are seeing all of these really talented guys fighting for it.”
With three keepers on the roster, including junior Drew Kotler, sophomore Jonathan Harris and redshirt freshman Tommy Tombridge, Lenahan had a tough choice to make in the preseason. Kotler was primed to play after spending the past two seasons watching Rosenthal command the net.
“Obviously it was tough to come to college and not play right away,” Kotler said. “But I am so lucky to have been able to watch Misha play. I think it helped with my development to kind of sit back and learn from him.”
Though Lenahan said nothing is certain about who will start in goal on a long-term basis, Kotler has made a case for himself early on.
After starting just three games in his first two years, the junior has started the past four matches and played in the past five. Kotler let in just two goals on his watch, one of which was a ricocheted own goal in last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Holy Cross.
His .44 goals-against average is the best in the Big Ten.
After being standouts in high school, most of the goalkeepers at NU face the reality of sitting the bench for the first time. It’s a position that Rosenthal said he was familiar with after not starting during his redshirt freshman year.
Despite the competitive nature of vying for one spot, the keepers almost inevitably become a close-knit group because of all the time they spend practicing together. Rosenthal said Kotler practically became a brother to him, never resenting his play time or slacking at practice.
“It’s always a hard thing to be the other guy,” Rosenthal said. “But I can honestly say, and I don’t say this about just anybody, that Drew is one of the most talented goalkeepers I have ever worked with. And he’s just going to get better with experience - that’s the exciting part.”
As much as Kotler learned from Rosenthal, the best keepers possess an intuition when it comes to positioning and split-second decision making. In the first half against Holy Cross, Kotler exhibited both, stretching his 6-foot frame horizontally across the mouth of the goal to thwart a Crusaders shot that looked like a perfect top-shelf goal.
“Ever since I was little I just liked diving around and jumping,” Kotler said. “In any game, I approach it like once I get that first touch, I am going to be ready to go and make big plays.”
Lenahan said it is precisely that sort of quickness and assertiveness that has helped Kotler to lock down the starting spot – for the moment.
“So far Drew and all the keepers have really battled it out,” Lenahan said. “The keepers are going to keep pushing each other because there is not an obvious gap between them talent-wise. But right now, Drew has been the right guy at the right time in the right games.”
