Sept. 10, 2004
By Alan Wasielewski
A defender falls down and the opposing team gets a fortuitous bounce. Suddenly, Notre Dame goalkeeper Chris Sawyer is left one-on-one with 23 feet of goal behind him. What is going through the All-America keeper’s mind?
“He is not scoring,” Sawyer says with a steel look in his eye. “Whatever I have to do, he is not scoring.”
Confident and aggressive, Chris Sawyer is an All-American goalkeeper behind a defense full of All-American players. The idea of an opposing player closing in on Sawyer’s position alone is a bit alien to the Highlands Ranch, Colo., native. Notre Dame shutout 13 of its 23 opponents last season and allowed just one goal in seven other contests. So, while Sawyer is confident in what would happen in a one-on-one scenario – he really has not seen one in person.
Sawyer is poised to attack in any scenario, however.
“You can ask my coach (Notre Dame goalkeeper coach Brian Wiese) and he will say I am probably too aggressive,” Sawyer says.
“I want to close the angle down as quickly as possible and make the (opposing) forward make a decision. Sometimes, it is better to hold things up and make yourself as big as possible. I am more of a goalkeeper who will press the issue – go down and get the ball at all costs.”
Sawyer landed on two All-America teams after the 2003 season (College Soccer News first team and Soccer Times third team All-American) in which the Irish compiled a 16-3-4 record, advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 and climbed as high as third in the national polls. He matched the school record for shutouts with 12 (set by Mark Steranka in 1983), posted a goals-against average of 0.67 and was named the 2003 BIG EAST Conference Goalkeeper of the Year.
In the postseason, Sawyer stepped it up even further. He dominated the BIG EAST Championship by shutting out 25th-ranked Connecticut (2-0), Providence (1-0) and fourth-tanked St. John’s (2-0) en route to being named the championship most outstanding defensive player and helping Notre Dame claim the conference crown for just the second time (and first since 1996).
A leader both on and off the pitch, Sawyer is quick to point out that those shutouts and accolades are not an individual accomplishment.
“I have been fortunate enough to play behind an incredible defense,” Sawyer says.
“I am forced to make just two or three saves in a game. The defense deserves much of the credit.”
Notre Dame’s defensive line is made up of All-American Jack Stewart, all-BIG EAST performer Kevin Goldthwaite along with a combination of three talented players: junior Dale Rellas, sophomore Ryan Miller and senior Christopher High.
Should a defender or struck ball make it through that line, Sawyer is one of the best in the country at keeping the scoreboard unchanged.
“Chris has a good group in front of him that defends well,” Notre Dame goalkeeper coach Brian Wiese says.
“When he is doing his job well and organizes them, he should only have to make one or two saves a game. Chris is a unique goalie in that he is a big guy who is very strong, but also very fast. He has all the tools to be the best goalie in the country and we think he is.”
Sawyer is also a part of a two-year group of players that has helped develop the Notre Dame men’s soccer program into one of the best in the nation. Led by head coach Bobby Clark, the Irish have put themselves into position to consistently be in the argument for any Final Four predictions.
“I have a friend back home who went to college two years before I did,” Sawyer says.
“He took a visit to Notre Dame, I asked him how it was and he said `I really wasn’t interested, but I got to see a football game.’ I doubt anyone would say that now. Notre Dame has become a school that the top soccer players want to come to. There is an enormous amount of satisfaction. I am more focused on the season at hand, however and I am concentrated on what we can achieve this season.”
Sawyer, a team captain (along with classmates Stewart and Goldthwaite) this season, is one of the leaders on the team, but he knows that the entire squad must come together for the Irish to reach their ultimate goal – a National Championship.
“Everyone has a say in everything we do,” Sawyer says.
“We want to erase the class barriers and give everyone a voice. When we go down to Los Angeles (the Final Four is set for the Home Depot Center) and win the National Championship, whether you are the player who didn’t see a minute of action this season or you are the number one guy – everyone feels a part of it.”