What RSL teenage goalkeeper Gavin Beavers can learn from a 4-0 loss in MLS debut
What RSL teenage goalkeeper Gavin Beavers can learn from a 4-0 loss in MLS debut
The 17-year-old goalkeeper faced a 4-0 defeat at Columbus in his first-ever Major League Soccer start, leading RSL to back-to-back 4-0 defeats. So what can the teenager take away from the big moment?
To say Gavin Beavers’ MLS debut didn’t go the way he had hoped would be an understatement.
But for the 17-year-old goalkeeper whose first start with Real Salt Lake came in a 4-0 loss at Columbus, the biggest lesson is that it was a first and not a last.
Beavers let in four goals from the RSL’s fourth-straight loss, a difficult finish on the road that included some mismanaged save attempts and a few goals about which there was nothing he could do.
How often does a teenage shot stopper face a penalty kick in his first MLS match?
So in learning from the moment, what was the No. 1 thing Beavers took away from Lower.com Field in downtown Columbus?
“These players are smart,” he said after returning to Utah ahead of Saturday’s home tilt with Charlotte FC (7:30 p.m. MDT, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). “They’re all looking for that one thing to beat you here or there. You just have to make sure you are switched on and ready for everything.”
A mainstay for United States U-19 head coach Marko Mitrovic for a half-dozen camps by the underage goalkeeper, Beavers was the 31st homegrown signing in Real Salt Lake history when he inked a first-team deal just over a year ago at 16.
Since then, the Henderson, Nevada, native has been a mainstay with RSL, Real Monarchs and the U.S. youth national system.
Beavers became the youngest starting goalkeeper in USL Championship history when he debuted with the Monarchs last June. Less than a year later, he was making history as the third-youngest starting goalkeeper in MLS history.
The most important thing is the result. But result aside …
“It was a ton of fun, but we really need to bounce back this weekend and get some points,” Beaver said. “It’s intense. Every single minute, every ball, everything matters. You just need to make sure you stay focused the entire 90 minutes.”
Beavers has had plenty of career highlights, even at just 17 years old. The RSL Academy product has played for the U.S. youth national team nearly every level, including featuring in recent U-19 training camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina against La Seleccion and Racing Club de Avellaneda.
Within a few days of returning, Beavers sat down with RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni, who told him to be ready to go in Columbus. But he didn’t flinch, even with 31-year-old “iron man” goalkeeper Zac MacMath set to be a relatively healthy scratch in Columbus.
“This is where I want to be at,” Beavers said. “This is the environment I want to be every day. It’s help being around Zac and Tomas (Gomez) every day, and around all the other guys.”
Mastroeni added: “It’s a process that’s been going on with us since last year. He played some preseason games with us, and he’s been playing well. It’s not just this moment, but a big part of it was taking the game before to open a little window to make a change and see where we could make incremental gains.
“When you’re playing with the national team, you always have a bit of confidence when you come back.”
Beavers wasn’t the only RSL player making a debut; rookie forward Illijah Paul earned the first start of his MLS career Saturday night, and Pablo Ruiz was slowly inching back into the midfield alongside a lineup that included Rubio Rubin, Braian Ojeda, Emeka Eneli and Brayan Vera all being relatively new to the squad.
Beavers’ debut just happened to stand out. And if the 4-0 scoreline may be a bit disingenuous to his overall play, what do you tell a young goalkeeper to keep his confidence from spiraling after the performance?
There were a lot of moments to build on, Mastroeni said. That includes moments from Beavers.
“The way you gain experience is by making mistakes,” Mastroeni said. “The game is obviously fast, and we played on a wet field after not training outside all year. There were a lot of variables that went into it.
“It isn’t the number of goals you get scored on; it’s making the saves you should make,” the manager added. “If you look at that, there’s probably one of those goals where he could’ve done better. The other ones, it’s going to be hard to make those saves. So I think he’s a bit bummed out he couldn’t do more, but at the end of the day, it’s a collective: we score goals as a team, and we concede goals as a team.”
Facing a veteran MLS striker or a rising attacking midfielder like Aidan Morris in your league debut can be tough. Even more tough, though, was Beavers as he stared down the barrel a penalty kick by 30-year-old Argentine midfielder Lucas Zelarayán.
MacMath had faced penalties before. He was ready. Or at least, he thought he was as he moved back to his, took a deep breathe, and prepared for “a free shot for them, while I just tried to make the save.”
“I watched a repeat of his previous PK, and I knew he had that slow runner-up,” Beavers recalled. “He just sent me the other way.
“You want to make the save; I just had to get in that mindset, and try to be that guy. Unfortunately, that was the case in this one. Hopefully the next one.”
After the match, which some might call “brutal” after letting in four goals — deserved or not, MacMath approached the teenager and embraced him. The two stuck together for several moments, MacMath whispering in Beavers’ ear, in a moment the rising keeper won’t soon forget.
“He’s been a great support system,” Beavers said. “Just keep my head up; it’s one game. You’ve just got to keep moving forward, and we’ll get some points.”