Even before he took over as the men’s soccer coach at La Roche, Chris Karwoski knew all about Maddox Anderson. The Kiski Area grad had played for Karwoski on an Olympic Development Program team when he was a young teenager.

Fate landed Anderson back under Karwoski’s tutelage at La Roche, and the junior has helped the Redhawks go from expected also-ran to contender in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

After Saturday’s win against Hilbert, the team that defeated La Roche to keep it out of the AMCC Tournament last season, the Redhawks were 3-0-1 in the conference. La Roche was picked to finish sixth in the nine-team league in the preseason poll.

“It kind of felt like a stab in the back from everyone, saying that we weren’t going to do well again,” Anderson, one of the team captains, said. “And it was like, we just wanted to prove everyone wrong.”

Anderson spent his first season of collegiate soccer at Cal (Pa.). He appeared in only one match, and his disappointment with lack of playing time, coupled with the discontinuing of his major when the PennWest conglomerate was formed, led him to the transfer portal.

When he arrived at La Roche, he immediately became the starter. And though it wasn’t reflected in the standings — the Redhawks went 2-5-1 in the AMCC 2024 — the defense showed a marked improvement with Anderson in goal. La Roche dropped its goals-against average from more than four per game to just less than three.

This season La Roche is second in the AMCC, allowing only 1.08 goals per game.

“The first thing he is good at at a very high level is organizing his defense and communicating instruction up and down the field,” Karwoski said, “which is a function of his great maturity and leadership. His distribution is very high-level. … His positioning is always very accurate.

“He’s also very aggressive coming out on breakaway situations. … He’ll come off his line, and he’s very brave going into a hard challenge and doesn’t hold back.”

Though Karwoski touted Anderson’s technical abilities, the player said his improved performance can be traced to something more intangible: his confidence.

“Not playing at Cal, I think anyone getting benched after being a starter most of their life takes a shot at their confidence,” he said. “And after last season, I was like, I can still play. I’m still a decent player, so now I’m confident in my abilities again and I can play as freely as I want.”

Anderson credited his defenders for making his life easier. Karwoski deploys a back line of left back Luis Jimenez, center backs Niko Manos (a transfer from Pitt-Greensburg) and Jayden Fezatte and right back Anthony Valerio.

“They put their body on the line every game,” Anderson said. “They really do it all. I get to make the easiest saves I can make. They’re in their positions 10 out of 10 times to block that shot and make sure there’s not too many shots coming my way.”

Anderson and the rest of the Redhawks will have to be at their best down the stretch. Penn State Behrend and Mt. Aloysius were voted 1-2 in the AMCC preseason poll, and La Roche will play them in back-to-back games Oct. 18 and 22, with Mt. Aloysius being a home match.

La Roche already took points from one of the preseason top three when it drew 1-1 with Alfred State on Oct. 4.

Anderson said he can see the team’s confidence building and said he believes a playoff spot is well within reach. If the Redhawks continue to give their best effort, he said, the disappointment of 2024 won’t be repeated.

“You have to give 100% all the time,” he said. “You’re not going to have the best game every game … and that’s excusable. Your touch is off. Your pass is off. Your shot is off. But one thing that we won’t excuse is if you’re not giving effort.”

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