Picture by purpleeagles.com.
By Nastassja Posso
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y.- The starting goalkeeper for the Women’s Soccer team has been lighting it up in between the pipes for the Purple Eagles this season. Sabrina Locas was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 28. It’s the second time she’s earned this honor as she won the award on Sept. 9.
She has a 1.31 goals against average and a .780 save percentage this season. Recently, she notched her seventh shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over Siena on Oct. 23. She’s dominated, hasn’t looked back on choosing NU.
“I chose NU because I wanted to play NCAA soccer and I felt that this would be a place where I could have an impact on the field right away, while also having the opportunity to further my education,” Locas said.
She is currently a junior studying criminology whilst traveling almost every week for soccer. As if that isn’t time consuming enough, Locas has dealt with a language barrier since she began studying at NU. She is from Quebec, Canada where they primarily speak French.
“The language barrier has been a really good challenge for me,” she said. “It was very difficult at first, both on and off the field, as I was not fluent in English before arriving at NU.”
Having played soccer since the age of four, Locas is very passionate about her sport and focuses on her athletic career just as much as she does with academics.
“It is a privilege to be able to play at such a high level, and is an amazing experience for me as I would like to play professionally after I graduate from NU,” she said.
When asked about her feelings toward the responsibility and pressure she gets from being goalie. She makes it clear that she feels that her position is a great privilege. It is important for her to try and focus on getting better each day and not take anything for granted.
“I think it’s important to work on all aspects of your game to stay sharp, but I have really tried to focus on my ball distribution for this season to put my team in the best possible attacking position,” Locas said. “Goalkeeping is also a very mental position, so I have tried to continue to work on the mental part of the game for this season as well.”
During a tough situation on the field, Locas makes sure that she is being loud with her communication. She says that things get chaotic on the field sometimes so ultimately, the most important thing for the team to remain within themselves is to have good communication.
“The best part of playing soccer at NU is the relationships first and foremost,” Locas said. “I have been fortunate enough to play with some great people here and have built what I hope to be life-long friendships.”
Unfortunately, the Purple Eagles season came to an end with a loss to Rider in the first round of the MAAC Championships, so the next time you can see Locas in between the sticks at Niagara Field is next season
Statistics as of Oct. 31, 2019
Niagara Wire 