Most soccer coaches will say the rock of a successful team is having a skilled goalkeeper in net. The Curry College women’s soccer team, with Lynnfield native Kristen Buzzotta flourishing at the goalkeeper position this season, is no different.
Buzzotta, a sophomore, came into the 2017 season after seeing a good amount of playing time as a freshman. The former Lynnfield High goalie, who played two years of varsity of soccer for the Pioneers, saw action in eight games last fall and recorded a win in her lone start. Buzzotta finished her freshman season with a save percentage of .857 in 243 minutes of playing time.
Although she wasn’t the Colonels’ starting goalie last fall, Buzzotta learned from starter Morgan Scott, who’s currently an assistant coach on Curry’s staff. Watching from the sidelines and closely observing Scott’s play, Buzzotta took plenty of takeaways that help her on the field now that she’s the starting goalie.
“I learned a lot from watching Morgan Scott,” Buzzotta said. “How aggressive and how much passion she has for the game. She has great work ethic and she’s now my goalie coach. She pushes me to my best and she has so much confidence. That made me want to be better and give 110 percent each game and each practice.”
This season, Buzzotta has started 10 of Curry’s 11 games. The Lynnfield native has tallied 40 saves while allowing 14 goals in a total of 784 minutes of playing time.
“Overall my goal coming into the season was to become a stronger goalie,” Buzzotta said. “I really want to be a strong leader on the field for our team.”
After a solid 2016 campaign that saw the Colonels finish the year at 11-9-2, while reaching the Commonwealth Coast Conference semifinals, Buzzotta and her teammates are picking up where they left off. Curry’s potent defensive backline has powered the team to a 7-2-2 start.
“We have a very strong defense and backline,” Buzzotta said. “My defensive line saves everything. Abby Ford is one of our top defenders and she’s unbelievable. She’s phenomenal, super aggressive and confident in herself. Without our strong defense, I don’t think our record would be as strong as it is now.”
The goal over the offseason for the Colonels was to take in its talented freshman class with open arms, in hopes that the incoming players will find their comfort zone on the team and contribute to wins. Curry has 14 freshmen on its roster, including Lynn native and former English girls soccer captain Emma Trahant.
“As a team, we got really close over the summer,” Buzzotta said. “We stayed in touch during the offseason. We have a large freshman class coming in and we were hoping to take them in and become close with them. We all get along really well.”
In order to keep up with the team’s hot start, the key will be maintaining a focused mindset as the Colonels approach each game. Curry has played two conference games, both resulting in ties with Salve Regina (0-0) and Nichols (1-1), but the bulk of the CCC schedule remains ahead.
“I think if we stay focused and keep the right mindset, we’ll be ok,” Buzzotta said. “It honestly depends on how well we come into games and how our mindset is. We’re not the type of team that gets down on ourselves if we get scored on. We always manage to get back in and fight really hard.
“Right now, we’re competing really well with teams in our conference,” Buzzotta added. “I think we can go really far this year.”
On the academic side of things, Buzzotta’s pursuing a degree in elementary education. Although challenges in balancing soccer and academics arose in her freshman year, Buzzotta learned what it takes to be a successful student-athlete.
“I’m an education major so I have a lot of papers that I have to write all the time and that can get tough,” Buzzotta said. “I have a pretty busy schedule with soccer, so balancing both becomes difficult at times. I raised my GPA in my spring semester from my fall semester freshman year and I worked hard at that.”
Throughout the rest of the season, opponents can expect a tough battle every time Buzzotta and the Colonels step on the field. Curry has eight games left in the regular season and the Colonels are fighting to make a statement in each of them.
“I think opponents can expect a really good fight from us,” Buzzotta said. “We’re very strong and we don’t give up. We played Wheaton earlier this year and they’re one of the best teams in Division 3. We lost, but we competed great. Everyone grinds each game and we’re not a team anybody can pushover. We always work.”
