- November 5, 2024
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Matt Gutierrez isn’t afraid of much. Actually, he is most scared of “the fear of just not knowing.”
But he is definitely not afraid of a 5-ounce solid rubber ball getting flung at him at about 90 mph. And that’s good news for the Matanzas boys lacrosse team.
Gutierrez, a freshman, has anchored a gritty Pirates defense this season to help his team to a 5-8 record and a No. 3 seed in the District 6 lacrosse tournament, which begins April 17.
As the Pirates get ready to embark on what they hope will be a deep postseason run, coach Jeff Goren knows he’ll need his goalie to be every bit of great as he was during the regular season.
‘I put myself out there for the ball’
Gutierrez began playing lacrosse at 5, but he didn’t step into the crease until about a year ago. While in eighth grade at Indian Trails Middle School, the team needed a goalie in order to have a season. Seeing no one else step up, Gutierrez decided to drop his defenseman’s stick and grab one with a much bigger pocket.
“I did it so we could have a team,” Gutierrez said Tuesday after practice, adding his older brother, Efrain, got him into the game. “He always pushed me to be the best I can be in both lacrosse and life.”
In the cage, Gutierrez turned out to be a natural.
Goren, who was an All-American goalie at Florida State University, said his freshman goalie has all of the natural ability. Couple that with the personality of a goalie, and he knows Gutierrez will be great.
“What makes a good goalie is you have to be outgoing,” Goren said. “You kind of have to be the center of attention on and off the field, and that’s what Matt does.”
Goalies must demand respect from their teammates, they have to lead by example, and they have to be vocal.
“The goalies that I know — the good ones — they are humble,” Goren said. “They are willing to stick their neck out for the team, and they are not afraid of criticism or ridicule.”
Failure is part of the job. Goalies face several shots a game, but they can’t save them all. The average goals-allowed ratio for the nation’s premier collegiate lacrosse goalies is around 60%, Goren said.
Gutierrez has 200 saves and 82 goals against — a 71% clip.
Saving the ball is the main goal, but perhaps Gutierrez’s best attribute wasn’t taught by any coach: He’s naturally quick, instinctual and has fantastic eye-hand coordination. All of those are necessities to thrive in the cage.
“It’s natural ability to react to the ball,” Goren said.
A few butterflies never hurt anyone
Matanzas will play Pedro Menendez in the semifinals of the district tournament at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Two wins, and Matanzas will be running around with the district championship trophy in hand.
Gutierrez, who anchors the defense behind behind defensemen Ivan Tsabak, Cory Sattar and Michael Beaulieu, also contributed on offense in one game this season.
He had one of his best performances in the cage, tallying 29 saves in Matanzas’ 9-8 overtime loss to Trinity Catholic. Early in the game, Gutierrez stuffed a Trinity Catholic player in a one-on-one in the crease and then booked it all the way to the other end of the field, scoring his first goal of his career —something his All-American coach never accomplished.
But goals or no goals in the district tourney, Gutierrez’s No. 1 priority is to stop shots.
“You always get a little butterflies,” Gutierrez said. “And when it comes down to me being a freshman, I just have to keep my head up when I get scored on and come back with a save on the next shot.”
He will never know exactly when that next shot will come, but he’ll be ready.
