Fleetwood soph William Maurek gets credit for a big save

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

William Maurek still gets butterflies whenever the ball comes bouncing into the box. That’s understandable. He never expected to be in this position.

One night in Shillington changed his role and the direction of his season. Fleetwood’s sophomore went from trying to score goals to trying to prevent them.

“I’ve played goalie my whole life,” Maurek said. “I went back and forth each half. When our main keeper got hurt, I was the one to step up. For this team, we’re family. I needed to do it. Practice, practice, practice and everything worked out.”

Maurek made six stops and denied some great chances to help top-seeded Fleetwood defeat No. 7 Exeter 2-1 in the BCIAA boys soccer championship game at Tulpehocken Thursday night.

Twenty-three days after he made his varsity goaltending debut, Maurek was making saves that preserved a title.

“Every single game I was nervous,” he said. “I never had this experience. In the end my team helped me do it.”

As he stood in line, chatting with Nate Herb and waiting for his gold medal, Maurek looked overwhelmed by the moment. His mind was racing. It had been an emotional few weeks.

Maurek, whose brother Jonathan is a senior on the team, dedicated the win to his grandfather who passed away a week before William became the starting goalie. Frank Maurek attended games and hoped his grandsons could capture this championship.

Jared Green sent a hard, skidding shot toward the right corner of the net with four minutes left in the first half. Maurek made a diving stop, scooping the attempt wide. That was the keeper’s biggest moment.

Harrison Davis sent a long, floating shot on frame with 25 minutes left in regulation. Maurek jumped and tipped the ball off the top of the crossbar.

Without those two denials, a different team could have been celebrating.

“Since Mitch (Barr) unfortunately had the injury, the boys have been working with William extra on the side,” Fleetwood coach Keith Schlegel said. “They’re into it. He’s getting there. He made some good saves tonight. It’s still nerve-racking for everybody.”

Maurek scored two goals as one of the first forwards off the bench earlier in the season. That’s his preferred position. He’s a good athlete with a strong leg.

Fleetwood’s game against Mifflin was a potential inflection point. The Tigers endured their first loss in league play and they had to cope with Barr’s injury. None of it slowed them down. They won their next seven games against Berks opponents.

“I think everybody was nervous because Will hasn’t played keeper in a while,” senior Malachi Herndon said. “But he stepped up and he’s the real deal. He’s the man. So is Mitch. Mitch is going to come back and Will is going to be on that field scoring goals.”

That’s the plan for next year.

This year Fleetwood had to improvise and Maurek made it work.