Alvarado Finishes Among Nation's Goalkeeper Leaders
12/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Spartanburg, S.C. – With the 2012 soccer season completed after Indiana's victory in the national championship match last weekend, Dani Alvarado cemented his position among the nation's leading goalkeepers in the final NCAA statistics report.
Alvarado, a sophomore from Leander, Texas, began the season as the starter in net after not seeing any regular season game action as a freshman in 2011. The inexperience rarely showed throughout this year's campaign. He began the season by tying the school's single-game school record with 12 saves in an amazing effort at Clemson in the season opener. He reached double digits in saves in two other games throughout the season.
"Dani had a great season for us, particularly in his first year as a regular starter," said Upstate head coach Greg Hooks. "He consistently played well and made a lot of big saves to allow us to stay in games. His play allowed us to stay close in games even when we were outshot. In some cases, his play helped us win games. Our team took a lot of confidence in the fact that Dani was in goal and, in turn, focused on pushing forward to score and win some games."
Alvarado finished the year ranked 18th in the country with a 0.830 save percentage, 21st with 5.18 saves per game and 27th in total saves. Playing every minute in goal for Upstate, he helped the team record the 16th-best save percentage overall at .835.
Alvarado was one of the A-Sun's top keepers as well. He ranked second in the league in save percentage, third in saves and saves per game, fourth with five shutouts and fifth with a 1.01 goals against average. Behind his leadership on defense, Upstate was able to tie for the most wins during the school's Division I era (5) and claim the most A-Sun wins (3) in school history. He helped lead the Spartans to their first appearance in the A-Sun Tournament since joining the conference and Division I in 2007 and earning eligibility to play in the event in 2009.
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