On September 14, soccer team Manager Sam Forst suited up to play goalkeeper against Lake Forest Academy on Parker’s home turf. By the seventy-fifth minute, Parker was already winning four to one, and Forst managed to keep it that way for the remaining five minutes of the game.
As team Manager, Forst’s responsibilities include setting up drills, getting water and equipment for the team, making sure the team is prepared for away games, and executing whatever else Head Coach Neil Curran asks him to do.
Prior to the game, the starting varsity goalie, Paul Callahan was getting an MRI scan on his injured shoulder while Heath Albert, the other goalie was on the sophomore retreat, leaving the team without someone to play in goal. For the first seventy-five minutes of the game, Zach Kinnison played goalkeeper for the first time since seventh grade. Kinnison saved all but one shot on goal.
Forst did not know he was going to play goalkeeper until right before the second half of the game started when the team had to frantically find a uniform for him to wear.
“Sam has been the manager of our team since the beginning of the season,” Curran said. “He works extremely hard as the manager, and, recently, we tried him as a goalkeeper because of his athletic ability.” Prior to his debut in goal, Forst had never practiced with the team, played goalkeeper, or played organized soccer before.
“The plan, regardless, was to sub Sam into the game [for] the last five minutes,” said team captain Massimo Franco. The Colonels were up four to one, and that solidified his chances.
When it was finally Forst’s chance, the crowd, the players on the field, and his teammates on the bench were excited according to the players. “I can remember vividly my reaction when I saw Sam on the sideline waiting to be subbed in – I couldn’t believe Curran actually did it,” Franco said. “We were all so excited. Sam has done so much for the team off the field, and him getting some minutes was hilarious.”
When asked about how he thought Forst played, Franco called it a “perfect performance, couldn’t have been better.”
Curran was also impressed with Forst’s performance, calling it “just short of genius.”
