Meet Jose Yarzeloski

Name: Jose Yarzeloski

School:

Position: goalkeeper

Lives: Shrewsbury

Years playing at St. John’s: Four

At what age did you start playing: 4 years old

Hobbies off the soccer field: Hanging out with friends and watching soccer

Favorite Team: Manchester United

Future Plans: Attend college in the Boston area to study dentistry

St. John’s senior goalkeeper Jose Yarzeloski has paid his dues.

As a junior, Yarzeloski was the Pioneers' backup goalkeeper and saw the field for a handful of minutes of playing time during the 2010 campaign. However, this year he has stepped into the role very nicely and is the backbone of the Pioneers’ soccer team defense.

“Last year, I think Jose played 15 minutes all season and he’s one of those players you love because he’s coachable. Whatever you say to him he just takes it in,” said Pioneers Head Coach Ryan Gates after his squad’s 2-1 win over Burncoat last Wednesday. “Everything we told to our starting goalie last year Jose stepped up and said that he could do that and he’s improved so much.”

The win marked the first Pioneers victory of 2011 and improved to team’s overall record to 1-0-1.

“I told my teammates yesterday we needed a win because it would only help us in the long run,” said Yarzeloski after the win. “I told them that we needed heart, that’s the biggest part of the game and in the first half we showed plenty of it.”

For the Pioneers senior, who is a Shrewsbury native, he is excited about his role this year and is looking to take full advantage of his opportunity to anchor the defense and be a vocal leader.

“He’s worked so hard over the course of the offseason and he’s such a huge team leader,” Gates said. “He’s come into the role of starting goalie and team leader pretty smoothly.”

It’s very difficult to miss Yarzeloski on the field. He’s very vocal from his position in the net. The Pioneers keeper is constantly barking out directions and communicating with his teammates, the sign of a great player. Having Yarzeloski on the field is like having a coach standing on the pitch during the course of a game.

“I tell the guys that if I save their butts on a save then I expect to save my butt out there too on a bad play,” said Yarzeloski with a laugh. “We have a great relationship on this team with great chemistry. We really watch each other’s back. If one of us falls we pick each other up.”

According to the St. John’s senior, he picked up the game at a very young age. He started playing soccer in the Shrewsbury Youth Soccer system at the age of 4, and the game just stuck with him. He’s been a member of the Pioneers soccer program for all four years and has loved every minute of it.