Alex Dropkin
The Michigan Bucks of the United Soccer League’s (USL) Premier Development League (PDL) are headed back to the playoffs after a win over the Cincinnati Kings on July 9th, and are currently in the hunt for another Great Lakes Division championship. None of it would be possible, however, without the play of starting keeper Mitch Hildebrandt.
“He’s given us both the big saves and the good decisions and the steady play,” Bucks head coach Gary Parsons said. “It just makes the players in front of him play with more confidence when they know a guy is going to stop the shots and come up big for them.”
Hildebrandt certainly has come up big in 2011 allowing just 0.666 goals a game (nine in 14), currently the fourth least in the PDL. He is leading the league with ten shutouts and has yet to concede a goal at home.
Some of Hildebrandt’s best saves this season have come in the biggest moments, including a crucial stop against divisional rival Chicago Fire Premier on May 30th. Chicago looked to take a 1-0 lead on an early penalty kick, but Hildebrandt matched the kick taker perfectly and tipped the ball away.
“It’s so hard to save a penalty kick…you try your best to read the guy or read the ball and react,” Hildebrandt said, “but when it comes down to it, it’s luck with a little bit of skill added in. I just got lucky and got a good jump on it.”
The Bucks went on to win the game 2-0 in large part because of Hildebrandt’s tremendous save, and gained a huge leg up in the division standings.
“Games with Chicago are always tight and well fought, so if they would’ve gotten off to a 1-0 lead they might have sat back a little bit and we wouldn’t have been able to get our first goal. We would’ve been on the back foot, so it would’ve made the game a lot harder to catch,” Hildebrandt said.
The 22-year-old keeper, a recent graduate of Oakland University, has been with the Bucks for the last four summers and the team’s starting net minder for
the past two. This season has not only been his best statistically, but he has also shown the leadership and game management necessary to excel at the position.
“Mitch has always been a good goalkeeper, but he’s really matured this season into being a guy that everybody can rely and can depend on not only to come up with a big save, but also to keep [the game] in order,” said Parsons, who was also Hildebrandt’s collegiate coach in 2007 and 2008. “Goalkeepers are all about decision making; sometimes they make bad decisions, and when they do, they cost your team goals. There’s one goal all season long that I think he [takes fault for], but that’s been it.”
Hildebrandt chalks up his heightened level of play to an increased focus and relaxation while in the net.
“This year, I’ve pretty much tried to stay mentally in games. I tended to float in the past couple of seasons, especially last year with Oakland. I tried to do too much, so now I’m just letting my back line do their jobs, and when I get called upon I’ll make the save,” Hildebrandt said. “I don’t want to do anything to try and win games; I just want to do my best to save games and keep us in games.”
And the Bucks haven’t just benefited from his abilities on the field; Hildebrandt brings that same focus and determination to practice.
“He’s great to work with and he always comes with a great work ethic every day,” reserve goalkeeper Dan Withrow said. “He just wants to get better every day, and that’s obviously a positive influence towards me and towards everybody else on the team.”
