MONTCLAIR, N.J. – Last month, Pierre Soumeillant was on the bench waiting for his moment. Now, he’s starting and taking on the biggest responsibility of his career.
The Montclair State University men’s soccer team earned a playoff berth with its 12-2-5 record, thanks to its explosive offense and the work of previous goalkeeper Diesel Fiore, who suffered an injury in an Oct. 4 matchup against The College of New Jersey. Now, Soumeillant has been filling those shoes for the past month and will be in the net in the playoffs.
“It’s sort of an honor,” the freshman netminder said. “Coming into a college sport, not a lot of freshmen start. Right now, we’ve got one, two, maybe three freshmen starters. So, just to be one of those means a lot to me and knowing that I can participate is awesome.”
Soumeillant, since starting, has 20 saves with a .714 save percentage. Seven of those saves came in one game against Rowan. The men’s soccer club also did not suffer a loss, going 4-0-3 in seven games to end the regular season.
Freshman keeper Pierre Soumeillant has allowed one goal or fewer in seven out of nine contests this season. Michael Amponsah | The Montclarion
“As a goalkeeper, you never know when someone’s going to get hurt,” Soumeillant said. “So just to be ready and I was ready. I was super happy when I heard I was going to get my first start.”
The coaching staff has helped their new goalkeeper adjust to this new climate. Assistant coach for the goalkeepers, Boris Del Valle, has worked closely with Soumeillant to keep him prepared.
“[Del Valle]’s very detail-oriented,” Soumeillant stated. “If you drop the ball, he knows why you dropped it. So just focusing on the little details has helped me a lot.”
That attention to detail has shaped his approach on the field: just get the fundamentals down, and everything else will come with it.
“Be confident and win everything in my box,” Soumeillant added, referring to what has helped him remain competitive in the home stretch of the regular season.
Being on the bench can be mentally exhausting for any athlete — the mental aspect of watching the team play while waiting for your chance to contribute to the team can test any athlete’s mettle. But going from the bench to starting is a big adjustment for anyone.
“There’s been times in my career where I kind of try to lock in on the game mentally,” the freshman goalkeeper said. “Maybe not talk to people as much, like stay to myself.”
“So just to be ready, and I was ready," said freshman goalkeeper Pierre Soumeillant. "I was super happy when I heard I was going to get my first start.” | Photo Courtesy of Montclair State Athletics
The pressure of being the starting goalkeeper hasn’t gotten to Soumeillant.
“What I’ve been doing is kind of just going about it like any other day,” Soumeillant said. “I feel that helps me the best.”
Pierre Soumeillant thinks they’re going to come out strong, hoping for a trip to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament.
