A Record? It’s Likely
Keeping Cool
Forgiven Tardiness
18 year old keeper Patrick Schulte is a 🧱 wall and saved 3 penalties in the shootout to help 10 man @SaintLouisFC escape with a win at 9 man @MenaceSoccer94 in the 2nd round of #USOC2019
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) May 16, 2019
STL will host @ForwardMSNFC May 29 at 7PM Central pic.twitter.com/BoPthDD1UJ
No Guarantees for Schulte
Regardless what transpires this Wednesday, his heroics in Des Moines, Iowa probably won't be the last we see of Schulte, who was called into the U.S. National Team Under-18 training camp in January.
Pulis has liked what he’s seen and feels that the teen ‘keeper will be around for a while.
"When you look at him, his size is the first thing that strikes you," Pulis said. "He has a really good frame. He's a tall boy. It's important for goalkeepers. He's really good with his feet. He's got a lovely left foot. I think the left foot always looks a little bit easier on the eyes sometimes. Playing out of the back comes naturally to him. He commands his box well. He's a good shot stopper. If you listed attributes from what you want from a goalkeeper, he's got a lot of those. He needs a little bit of filling out to do, I suppose. He's big, a little bit wiry. Once he fills out and gets a little bit stronger it obviously will help him as well. It's the experience of playing in these types of games that will help him grow into a better goalkeeper.
"He still has a lot of growing to do, but I think he has a really high ceiling,” Pulis concluded. “He's a good kid. He's got his head screwed on, got a lot of really good attributes that could hopefully allow him to have a really good career."
Patrick Schulte has certainly taken the first steps, getting off to one fabulous, memorable and historic start.