By: Bowen Wang

Soccer is a very hard sport to play, especially for arguably the most important player of the team, the goalie. The rest of the team depends on the goalie. If the goalie is very good, a team will not lose as badly. If the goalie is bad, the balls might as well go right through his or her legs. Some of the highest-pressure moments in a goalie’s career are penalty shots. Penalty shots can often determine the outcome of a game, and it is rare that the goalie saves the shot. Shooters score PKs about 80% of the time.

Although penalty shots are great for the shooting team, they breed terror in the defending team. A penalty shot is granted when a team is fouled in the other team’s goalie’s box. A player on the shooting team will place the ball 12 yards away from the 24 ft by 8 ft net. Players usually kick the ball at an average speed of 70 mph, giving the goalie almost no time to react.

Because the balls come in so fast, Goalies typically guess where the ball will be shot. Otherwise, they will be too late. Some goalies have methods to help predict where the balls will go. They will look at where the player is standing, will analyze their body posture, and will see how they angle their legs. Using these methods, goalies typically correctly guess where the shot is going 80% of the time.

Soccer is a very intense game that requires players to have extremely fast reactions. Soccer goalies need to be able to have the reflexes and be able to know where the ball is going so they can dive in a way that helps their team win the game!