By:LARRY MAIER
Southard stars between the pipes
At first glance, Baldwin resident Matthew Southard looks like a normal, everyday teenager. He's good looking, soft-spoken, and gets good grades. He works part-time as a pizza maker at a local restaurant, likes to shoot pool and play handball with his friends.
But there's nothing normal about what Matt chooses to do after school and on weekends.
Matt plays goalie on the Baldwin High School lacrosse team. It's a challenging position that requires lightning-quick reflexes, superior coordination, and, above all else, a whole lotta guts.
"You've definitely got to be a little nuts," said Matt about playing a position where he sometimes faces shots traveling in excess of 90 miles an hour while wearing minimal protection. "But I am a little nuts and I love playing goalie."
Matt doesn't just play goalie, he plays is exceedingly well. Last year, as a junior, Matt earned honorable mention All-American status -- cementing him as one of the top high school goalies in the country. He was also voted the 2000 Nassau County "Goal Tender of the Year" by county coaches and represented Long Island at the Empire State Games last summer.
SH: Grooming a goalie
Matt grew up tossing the lacrosse ball around with his boys in the neighborhood and in the Police Activities League. He played a little midfield when he was younger but switched to goalie by the time he was in the fifth grade.
"I remember watching the college teams play and seeing the impact that the goalies had on the game," said Matt, who used to go with his buddies to watch games at Hofstra University. "If a goalie was hot he could totally control the outcome."
Matt was a natural in the net and was called up to play with Baldwin's varsity team as an eighth grader. He was the backup goalkeeper during his freshman year and, for the last three years; Matt has been the starter, and a star.
Though the position requires a great many physical skills, Matt said he was attracted to the mental toughness needed to "mind the net."
"You have to be really focused during the games and block a lot of stuff out. You have to see what's going on with the defense. You have to be patient and self disciplined," said Matt, whose face lights up as he describes the nuances of goaltending. "Lacrosse is a high scoring game. You can let up a lot of goals in a game and still win. You can't get down."
Matt compared playing goalie to preparing for a test. Playing the position well requires a great deal of study.
"Basically you need to know every guy's moves and what he's going to do when he has the ball."
Evidently, Matt has been doing his homework.
Matt credits his high school coach, Jim Kaspur, for teaching him many of the game's finer points. "He taught me how to read the 'D' inside and out," said Matt. "If something goes wrong, I know how to fix it."
Kaspur, who has coached lacrosse at Baldwin for 12 years, said Matt is the best goalie he has ever had.
"He's a tremendous athlete. He was voted the outstanding junior athlete of the whole school last year," said Kaspur. "He was even all-county in soccer last year. He's in great shape and he's got great feet, eyes and hands."
Matt will need to call on all of those skills if he is going to achieve his goals for this season.
Earning All-American status is one of those goals.
But Matt's biggest goal is to help the Bruins "make it to the turf," which means competing for the county championship on Hofstra University's astro-turf field.
It will be good practice for Matt who will take his goaltending skills to Hofstra University next year. Matt chose Hofstra because he thinks he will have the opportunity to start right away, and playing lacrosse for the Pride has been a dream.
"They're a highly-rated lacrosse team and growing up on Long Island and watching them play...I never thought I'd have a chance to play for Hofstra," Matt said.
Coach Kaspar thinks Matt will excel at Hofstra. "I think he'll do great there."
Matt's parents, Linda and John, his brother Jonathon and his sister Taylor are all looking forward to watching Matt play at Hofstra next season, though mom admits to getting a little nervous watching the opposition hurl lacrosse balls at her little boy.
"It's very stressful at times, its hard to just sit there and watch," said Linda. "But we're very proud of Matt all around. He's just a self motivated kid and he relates well to his teammates."
But on the lacrosse field, Matt is not a normal, everyday kid. He's the man.
