In the old “Wide World of Sports” TV show, they talked about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
Then there is Andrew Ivens, who experienced the thrill of varsity and the agony of the seat.
The thrill came from making the Steinert High varsity soccer team as just a sophomore. But as the third-string goalie, he was constantly taking a seat on the bench behind the other two keepers.
As coach Anthony Tessein phrased it, “He was the back-up to the back-up.”
Ivens was forced to do something he had never done in his life on a soccer field, and that was sit and watch.
“It was a little frustrating to not be able to play,” Ivens said. “I understand why I wasn’t able to. I just love playing the sport. Having to sit the games was a little tricky for me.”
The way he dealt with it was by assuring himself his time was coming.
“Pretty much,” the senior said. “At practices I tried my hardest to put out what I had and I put my best effort on that field every single day.”
That effort paid off big-time. Ivens enters his senior year as the incumbent starter, although he will be pushed in practice by fellow senior Jayden Moon, whom Tessein feels is “also a strong keeper.”
Last year, Ivens fashioned a 1.28 goals-against average with six shutouts and 4.94 saves per game. He did not face challenging shots on an overwhelming basis, but when one came his way, the goalie was ready.
“A trademark of our defense over the past two years is we seem to limit teams on the chances they get, so he was not tested a ton,” Tessein said. “But when he’s called to duty, he does a good job.”
Ivens started playing soccer a bit later than some of his teammates, as he did not gain interest until middle school.
“Interestingly enough all my elementary school career (at Yardville) I was a big baseball guy,” he said. “Late elementary school I played a little soccer outside at recess and I kind of fell in love with it. Ever since then the rest is history.
“I liked the constant action and how the goal moved; everything like that. I quit baseball and played soccer fulltime in sixth grade.”
Andrew started travel soccer with Mercer United and now plays for NLSA Surf in Pennington. Early in his career, a coach threw him in goal one game and Ivens found his paradise.
“I was a shortstop, catcher and centerfielder in baseball and I had a lot of skills from catching the ball and diving, and whatnot,” Ivens said. “So it was just trying to transfer it over. My parents got me a trainer and I learned a lot about my distributions and my footwork. Another big thing he told me was about the mental side of things and how your focus and attitude comes into play in goal.”
Ivens brought his burgeoning skills to Steinert and, after a freshman season on sub-varsity, he got the call to varsity. But his playing time consisted of one game and one save, plus a few starts on JV when there was an injury. He watched as his teammates made it to the Central Jersey Group III final.
“I know that was really tough on him,” Tessein said. “When you’re buried on the depth chart without a realistic chance of playing, that can become very mental.”
So, why was he there?
“Because we always projected that one day Andrew would be the starter,” Tessein said. “The coaches made a decision that it made a lot more sense for Andrew to sit the bench and be around the varsity team and understand our expectations rather than just play JV.”
The reasoning worked out well, as Ivens battled his way into that starting role.
“He bounced back his junior year,” Tessein continued. “There was some adversity through tryouts and it wasn’t necessarily clear he would be the starter. But he did win the job and played really well at the position and never gave it up.”
The keeper said there was no way he was going to sit and watch again.
“Last summer I worked my butt off and I think a lot of my success came from my dedication and how hard I tried for it,” Ivens said. “As a junior I was very happy to be starting and I think the season went pretty well overall. Some of the distribution I had to polish up as the season went along.”
He suffered more disappointment, however, as illness kept Ivens out of Steinert’s first-round state tournament game, which Lawrence won 1-0.
“Oh it was devastating,” he said. “I would have given anything to be on that field.”
But the season as a whole was a success, as Ivens continually proved to himself that he belonged on varsity.
“There were a lot of saves I made that I didn’t think I was capable of making,” he said. “That really was a big confidence thing. As the season went along my confidence grew.”
In watching Ivens’ progression, Tessein saw a goalie who was fundamentally sound. He was not spectacular, but he was there when he was needed.
“He makes the saves you’re supposed to make,” the coach said. “He’s solid with his feet. We want our goalkeepers to be able to use their feet like a field player. He can distribute the ball solidly. He does a lot of things well. He pretty much checks off every box we’re looking for in a goalkeeper.
“I think if there’s any criticism, I think he can do some of these things better, but he’s constantly improving. What’s really good about Andrew is he seems to understand he’s got room to improvement and continues to improve. There’s never been a time where I thought he was stagnating or he plateaued. There’s something to be said for a guy who knows he needs to improve and goes out and does it.
“He continues to seek opportunities with his club team. He has outside goalkeeper training and he works on becoming a little better at everything every year.”
Like any effective goalie, Ivens had to learn how to direct traffic in the back and control his box. As an underclassman playing with veterans, that took some work.
“The big thing with that is I had to earn the respect of my center backs and my defensive players,” Ivens said. “When I did, they started listening to me more and I was able to control my back line.”
Tessein felt that Ivens eased into that leadership role, saying, “He continued to grow physically. That has helped him. He’s gotten more vocal and gotten stronger in the box. I know I’m overusing the word solid but he does it solidly well.”
The Spartans will need a solid defensive effort this season, particularly in the early going as they try to get their offense to gel. Steinert’s graduates scored 33 of the team’s 49 goals last season.
Two veteran defenders returning are Luca Witzel and Ryan Kelleher, who both played significant minutes last year. Another returnee who saw time is Matt Chiarkis, and Tessein is counting on them again.
“What we hoped is that the experience they got last year puts them in the position to really be successful this year,” Tessein said. “The hope is always that they’re making the improvements when they’re seniors and that they’re not stagnating.”
Ivens is counting on his backline buddies to come through, and also expects the offense to be better than people think.
“I think we’ll be strong,” he said. “I have a lot of faith in my defense, I hope they have a lot of faith in me.
“We have a lot of good (offensive) players coming up from JV and a lot of players on varsity who didn’t get a lot of minutes and I think they’re ready. I think we can do pretty good.”
For the Spartans, it’s just nice to know that they are starting with a solid keeper, which is always key to any team’s success.
“Last year when Andrew jumps in as the guy, there’s some question marks,” Tessein said. “Can he do it? He’s the new guy. He’s got those growing pains that can happen from a first-year starter.
“Now maybe we can focus on some other areas that need training because he’s s proven he can do it. Most people will expect him to be the guy. It’s nice to be able to look at a guy who’s done it, who knows how to do it, and has been successful. He’s gone through the trials and tribulations; he’s gone through the negatives and come out on top. It’s good to see a guy like that thriving and the guys can trust him.”
