Senior goalkeeper Thor Arne Höfs set a new program record Wednesday after the final whistle blew in GW’s 4–0 win over St. Bonaventure.
The shutout marked the 21st in Höfs’ career between the pipes for GW – besting Jeff Brown’s previous record of 20, which the former goalkeeper set between 1976 and 1978.
“It’s more the work of the defense and they just put one name out which is the name of the goalkeeper,” Höfs said. “There’s no way I could do it without them.”
Höfs now has his name inked twice in the men’s soccer record book. He already broke the record for single-season shutouts when he tallied nine in 2016.
Head coach Craig Jones said Höfs should have broken the record earlier in the year but the team “let him down a bit.”
In the game against St. Bonaventure, Jones said the team packed in the defensive end after going up 4–0.
“I was determined, that last 20 minutes or that last 10 minutes, that we were a little bit greedy defensively,” Jones said. “We didn’t want to give anything away and we really wanted to preserve that so he could get it.”
Höfs’ 46 saves so far this season ranks him third among Atlantic 10 competition, and his .767 save percentage pins him at sixth in the conference. The three-year starter has been a solid presence for the team since he took over the starting position his sophomore year, tallying a total of 236 career saves so far.
Höfs said this season has been “tough” dealing with little injuries that forced him to sit out practices.
“It wasn’t easy but it’s good to be back finally at maybe full power now and just trying to improve everything, every time,” Höfs said. “There’s always something I can work on. Every morning we get to practice, we try to work on it.”
Jones said he is always the first to arrive to practices and goes the extra mile on the field.
Junior midfielder Colin Anderson said it’s “awesome” having Höfs’ vocal leadership and solid presence in the net behind him when he plays the center defensive position.
“He’s been very, very consistent in the last year and he deserves it,” Jones said. “He’s such a good kid on the field, off the field. It’s well-earned and well-deserved.”
