Ask Robert Moewes about his achievements, and he won’t tell you much.
Take his first performance back from a foot injury barring him from two weeks of play. Against then-No. 18 Syracuse on Sept. 23, he impressed with an 11-save, one-goal-allowed outing. Of it, he said:
“I try my best. What else should I say?”
And after he recorded back-to-back shutouts over conference rivals Hartford and New Hampshire in early October, stopping eight goals through the two contests:
“I tried my best again. It was okay.”
Some pretty unassuming remarks from 2014’s America East Goalkeeper of the Year. The 6-foot-3 Dortmund, Germany native — who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules — is the first to earn the distinction for Binghamton since 2002. And he was the only Bearcat to make the All-Conference first team this year.
That may be surprising, as Binghamton endured the season without garnering even one of-the-week conference award. But when asked what sets him apart from the AE’s other keepers, Moewes had an idea.
“I think I have a pretty high presence on the field. I talk a lot; I’m pretty loud. I think that helps — probably,” Moewes said.
Moewes also introduced new offensive options for the Bearcats through his athleticism. He displayed incredible speed in turning the ball upfield as soon as he got possession of it, increasing his team’s chances to secure odd-man rushes. And of course his reaction time was on full display in some incredible stops through the season that eluded even head coach Paul Marco.
In his debut season for Binghamton, Moewes recorded 71 saves and averaged a .807 save percentage through 1433 minutes between the posts. That’s good for a tie for 38th in the nation. But he’s only just begun.
“He’s resilient, he’s tough,” Marco said. “He comes from a very high level of play in Germany. He comes from a mindset of ‘I never give up.’ And let’s not forget this is his first college season as well. I think the bar is high right now, and he’ll keep extending it. His reach is pretty high.”
So Moewes’ decision paid off. For a former player on Germany’s U-19 team, the option to come to the United States, and Binghamton specifically, hinged on a balance between athletics and scholastics.
“I tried to study but it’s hard to do both at the same time, and to play at the high level,” Moewes said. “I had to make a decision, and that’s why I came here.”
The European goalie had to adjust not only to the different culture and customs, but also to a different game. Rather than the technical, fluid, tactically-driven “football” of overseas, a more athletic and pressurized brand is apparent in the States.
“Physicality was always one of my strengths, so I didn’t have a problem with that. I like it,” Moewes said of the change.
For all his own success, Moewes spoke most emphatically of his back line. There was no lack of appreciation for freshman Christian Dam and senior Jamie Forbes — their keeper stressed how important their roles are and how crucial they’ve been to his success.
But he won’t accept much praise himself. After Saturday’s AE quarterfinals victory over Stony Brook, rather than focus on his impressive four-save outing through regulation and his tenacity in the penalty kick shootout — in which he blocked three shots to hold a 4-3 advantage — he doted on Stony Brook’s goal.
“It was a nice win in the PKs,” Moewes said. “But to be fair, before, in the game, I have to take responsibility or part of the responsibility for [the goal]. It wasn’t that great. In the PKs, anything can happen. It went well, but it could have been the other way. It was a little bit lucky as well.”
That’s another recurring theme in Moewes’ answers: There’s no time to celebrate when there’s another contest ahead; in lieu of a perfect performance, there are always improvements to be made.
If that’s the mindset that’s led him this far, then he’ll be moving forward quickly.