|
|
Napoleon grabs a save during practice.
(Photo By Dayna Alpine)
|
Six months ago, it looked as though goalkeeper Matt Napoleon would be spending this September in Columbus, OH. However, after undertaking a relentless schedule to prove his ability to U.S. Olympic soccer coaches, he now has other plans.
Napoleon, 22, a former student in the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science who left the university after his junior year to play professional soccer, was named last week as an alternate on the U.S. team that will compete next month at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. "It's been very, very emotional," Napoleon told The Columbus Dispatch. "It's been a roller coaster for the past few years. That's the reason I left school early, to give myself the best chance to make the team."
Napoleon, a native of Feasterville, PA., was an All-Ivy Honorable Mention in 1997 and an Ivy League Rookie of the Week during his freshman year in 1995. In three years of playing for Columbia, he registered 11 shut outs and had 152 saves with a .812 save percentage.
Playing for Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew since being traded from the Miami Fusion in January 1999, Napoleon was also a two-year starter on the U.S. Under-23 National Team and seemed well on track for an Olympic spot. However, last January he lost his starting position while recovering from thumb surgery. Thus, several other prominent goalies were moved ahead of Napoleon for Olympic consideration.
"We were as disappointed as Matty was when he was eliminated from the mix several months ago," Crew coach Tom Fitzgerald told the Dispatch. "His objective and our objective was to make sure Matt Napoleon got back into the mix."
To redeem his standing, Napoleon played all three Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches, several exhibitions and a slew of A-League games, in addition to his regular role on the Crew.
"He deserves all the credit," Crew assistant coach Greg Andrulis said in a Dispatch article. "He went to extraordinary lengths traveling around the country to play matches."
|
