You might think a soccer goalie's best attribute should be making saves.
It would be a valid argument: The guy in net should, above all, keep the ball out of that net. It's an essential quality of the keeper position.
But what if there was a goalie who, before shots even came his way, was able to prevent them?
Not as if Superman was flying around the box, wiping out all potential scoring chances. Rather, an aggressive keeper who makes plays on neutral balls and in pursuing balls in the air.
Then the shots would never exist.
"I can't tell you how many opportunities never really materialize because he had nipped it in the bud way before it ever became anything," Conestoga soccer coach Dave Zimmerman said.
"If you ask me personally, I prefer a keeper who is better at doing that than better at stopping shots."
It's the type of play that defined Clarke Fox's senior season in a year when his team went all the way.
For Conestoga, it was one for the ages. The Pioneers went undefeated, winning 24 games and tying one, on their way to a PIAA Class AAA state championship, the school's first since 1988.
They were offensively efficient, wasting few opportunities on their way to 64 goals. But it's difficult to dispute that the defense anchored the team. In goal, Fox - The Inquirer's Southeastern Pennsylvania Player of the Year - was its most significant piece.
It was Fox's ability to prevent scoring chances - "Most balls in the area, he gobbles up," Pioneers goalie coach Jaime O'Neill said - that allowed Conestoga to go as far as it did.
Overall, Fox allowed eight goals this season, making for a 0.32 goals-against average. Based on statistics kept through March by the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association, it's the state's fourth-best single-season average. Ever.
To boot, Fox, unsure of where he'll play in college, recorded 17 shutouts, tied with various others for fifth most in a season.
Conestoga's back line deserves much credit for the team's defensive success. Still, it ends with Fox, who at 6-foot-4 sees the field well and can direct play in front of him.
"That was big, making my presence felt through the field," Fox said. "[The defense] bought into our system on the back and trusted me."
Perhaps most telling of Conestoga's title run was the number of close games it won. Thirteen of the 24 wins came by just one goal. The Pioneers didn't surrender a lead all season. Two postseason games were won in penalty kicks.
That is where Fox was truly uncanny.
