Defense – Arne Niermann (Vancouver Victory FC) braced for the shot, hoping for the best but also knowing that penalty kick saves are rare. No time to think about that — only time to react— and hope.
The league-leading Victory were being given quite a test from the visiting Stars of Seattle. In the 39th minute Seattle was awarded a penalty kick. Victory owner Barrett Goddard describes the moment. “In the 39th minute of the first half Arne made two back to back critical saves when he dove to his right and saved a penalty kick then got up and stuffed the put-back shot from a streaking Seattle forward, laying out on his back to his left, before the ball was cleared up by the defense.”
The big moment meant the match remained scoreless. Eventually both sides got a goal and shared the points.
“Arne started and played the whole match for us. He had nine saves but the critical three saves were in the 10th minute he dove to his left and made a one-handed save on a hard shot from 13 yards out in front of the goal by Seattle. Then the penalty kick sequence of two saves. The back to back saves ignited the crowd and energize the team to take us into halftime even with Seattle.”
Niermann has been sharing time in goal with the Victory. “Arne has been an outstanding goalie for us all season and he is a great teammate,” Goddard says. “He is well-liked by the guys and the coaches. He works incredibly hard and is willing to do what’s best for the team. He splits time with our other goalie Jordan Farr and that’s not ideal for any competitor but he and Jordan have a great working relationship and push and support each other in training and in games.”
Arne Niermann is a German goalkeeper who came to the States to play for Concordia Portland.
