Seniors
1. Emily Alvarado (TCU, Mexico)
2. Sydney Schneider (UNC Wilmington, Jamaica) #
3. Hillary Beall (Michigan)
4. Emma Roccaforte (McNeese State)
5. Kelsee Winston (Eastern Washington)
6. Brooke Littman (Kentucky)
7. Lauren Gallagher (Georgetown)
8. Lysianne Proulx (Syracuse, Canada)
9. Laurel Ivory (Virginia)
10. Claire Howard (Montana)
# - Sydney Schneider was drafted by the Washington Spirit in the 2021 NWSL Draft.
One to Watch: Laurel Ivory. Ivory is winding down her collegiate career on a polarizing note. On one hand, she clearly has the prestige, bravery, and confidence one needs to excel at the next level. Ivory started all four years for the University of Virginia, compiling a 48-10-15 (W-T-L) record in her time with the Cavaliers. Additionally, Ivory isn’t short of USYNT experience, starting for the U20s and U17s in the 2018 and 2016 World Cups, respectively. However, Ivory’s resume contains some blank spots as she’s yet to move beyond the Sweet Sixteen in postseason action and an unfortunate soft goal against Spain ultimately cost the U20s’ their chance of exiting the group stage in 2018.
Ivory’s game is built of quick footwork and willingness to put her body on the line. While this can lead to some exciting moments, this can also complicate situations as she’s been caught running after shots instead of pairing efficient footwork with an explosive dive. Tack on questions about her crossing and handling skills, Ivory nears the professional game with question marks about transitioning smoothly. Ivory has yet to reach the Final Four so we could see her return next fall to get one more chance at it, but NWSL teams will undoubtedly be interested in this senior goalkeeper with so much USYNT experience. If she can clean up some of the fundamentals and make that elusive, deep tournament run, look for Ivory to rewrite the narrative in the upcoming weeks.
Juniors
1. Bridgette Skiba (Oregon State)
2. Ashley Orkus (Mississippi)
3. Brecht Haakma (VCU, Netherlands)
4. Claudia Dickey (North Carolina)
5. Meagan McClelland (Rutgers)
6. Hensley Hancuff (Clemson)
7. Bella Killgore (Rice)
8. Mackenzie Wood (Northwestern)
9. Sydney Smith (Boise State)
10. Hayle Poltorak (Binghamton)
One to Watch: Brecht Haakma. The Dutch international possesses an interesting mix of height and mobility. Standing at 5’10”, Haakma doesn’t have the slow feet that typically plague taller goalkeepers. She can not only cover the crossbar but can close down space quickly and isn’t afraid to do so. Haakma has only loosely been tied to the Dutch national team prior to coming to America (originally attending Texas Tech University before transferring) and although she’s gained some positive momentum, her hands are far from confident and close-range situations haven’t been solved with convincing consistency yet.
The Netherlands are currently sporting 2019 World Cup Golden Glove winner Sari van Veenendaal yet the heralded goalkeeper is 31 and the depth chart below her is shaky at best. If Haakma can clean up some of the rough edges, she could easily work her way into the national team picture. And with the Netherlands currently ranked third in the world, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to have a future World Cup champion playing for VCU right now, assuming Haakma continues to elevate her game.
Sophomores
1. Ruthie Jones (Duke)
2. Angelina Anderson (California)
3. Lindsey Romig (Tennessee)
4. Katherine Asman (Penn State)
5. Heather Hinz (South Carolina)
6. Kayza Massey (West Virginia, Canada)
7. Katie Meyer (Stanford)
8. Emerson Burke (Stony Brook)
9. Jordan Silkowitz (Iowa State)
10. Mollee Swift (LSU)
One to Watch: Angelina Anderson. Out of all the classes, it’s the sophomores who stand out with the deepest talent. All ten have shown positive strides and with the cancellation of the 2021 U20 World Cup, it’s easy to forget that Angelina Anderson announced herself on the collegiate scene with a bang, earning Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year as a freshman. Unfortunately for Anderson, the Cal defense took a nosedive this season, almost doubling their goals against average from 2019.
Extension saves are Anderson’s bread and butter (watch a worldy of a save here) and she’s comfortable playing out of the box, although her distribution and 1v1 strategy can feel a little clunky at times. However, if the young Cal goalkeeper is truly looking to make a run at the national team, her communication and game management might be the biggest priority. Upper ninety saves can only do so much when defenders get lackadaisical, as she witnessed in the 5-0 loss to USC a few weeks ago. It’s been a rough year for Cal but if Anderson can find effective solutions as the field general in the back, look for Cal to rebound next fall and prepare fans for a potentially exciting national team goalkeeper battle down the line.
Freshmen
1. Maria Echezarreta (NC State, Spain)
2. Macy Enneking (Iowa)
3. Emily Puricelli (Saint Louis)
4. Taylor Burgess (Massachusetts-Lowell)
5. Emma Wakeman (Charlotte)
6. Maddie Prohaska (Auburn)
7. Marlee Nicolos (Santa Clara)
8. Saskia Wagner (Little Rock, Germany)
9. Lauren Kellett (TCU)
10. Addison Corn (Furman)
One to Watch: Macy Enneking. Enneking’s goalkeeping style might be best described as “bounce house fun”. She has zero problems with reaching the top corners and even finds ways to get herself on the ball when there are twenty field players in the box, seemingly thriving off chaos when the occasion arises. Her readiness to dive headfirst into a dogpile, while admirable, can’t solve every situation though. Her bouncy set position can turn into distracting footwork when she’s needing to salvage every tenth of a second on shots with pace. Add on much-needed improvement to her distribution, as the ball seems to fly with different spin and trajectory just about every time she hits it, and she has her work cut out for her moving forward.
Still, it was an exciting year for Enneking, helping turn around Iowa’s season, who opened 0-1-6 in their first seven games yet finished 7-0-2 on the season when she won over the starting position. Enneking has a chance at something special moving forward, possessing an obvious “goalkeeping DNA” that coaches can’t teach. Hopefully, the freshman goalkeeper won’t let the lack of USYNT experience dictate her chances of playing professionally.
Past Collegiate Goalkeeper Rankings
2020: Preseason
2019: Preseason and Final
2018: Preseason and Final
2017: Preseason and Final
2016: Preseason and Final
2015: Preseason and Final