KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In the waning weeks of the regular season, Sporting Kansas City's goalkeeping pendulum has swung Andy Gruenebaum's way again. He's determined to keep it there, into the postseason.
“Everyone here wants to be that guy,” Gruenebaum told MLSsoccer.com on Monday. “That's what pushes us each day, to compete to be that guy. That's what you have to have in every environment, every position. It's got to be everywhere, and that's what makes a great team. We have that at the goalkeeper position, and you can't take a day off. And so everyone wants to be that guy.”
Gruenebaum made nine starts in league play while Eric Kronberg was recovering from a broken bone in his left hand but yielded the spot back to Kronberg when he returned from injury in late September. Kronberg recorded a 3-0 shutout against Nicaraguan side Real Esteli in CONCACAF Champions League play on Sept. 23 but then struggled three days later in a 3-2 home loss to New England.
Vermes went back to Gruenebaum for last week's away match against D.C. United, and he responded with seven saves and his second MLS clean sheet in a scoreless draw with the Eastern Conference leaders.
“I just wanted to make sure that we had someone who was more steady in regards to their confidence because right now he's healthy and he's played quite a few games to this point,” Vermes told reporters in a conference call afterward. “I just thought it was the right decision.”
Kronberg, a longtime understudy who took over the No. 1 spot when Jimmy Nielsen retired after last year's MLS Cup-winning campaign, was the league co-leader with seven shutouts before his injury. But against the Revolution, his timing seemed off after the layoff.
“You want to be playing well when push comes to shove and the playoffs are around the corner,” Kronberg said. “Obviously, my last performance wasn't good enough by my standards or the team's standards. It was tough for me to get that, but I've got to keep working and help the team any way I can. That's kind of my focus right now.”
And while Vermes and his teammates praised Kronberg's work ethic in staying in shape after the injury, he said the downtime took its toll in other ways.
“I think it was definitely something that affected my performance, in the fact that I hadn't seen a lot of game opportunities in a lot of time,” he said on Monday. “Obviously, that's something you can't really train for. It felt good in training, in controlled environments, small-sided games, stuff like that. But the game's a different animal, and this isn't really the time of year to be able to straighten that kind of thing out. So, obviously, it's unfortunate for me, but you've got to do what's best for the team.”
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That, Gruenebaum said, is an attitude shared by all of Sporting's ‘keepers – including 21-year-old Homegrown Jon Kempin, who made three league starts while Gruenebaum was sidelined by a shoulder strain. And no matter who's starting, he said, that keeper will have the full support of the other two.
“We all have that internal competition within ourselves and with each other, but the environment's great,” he said. “That's all you can ask for – when you come in to work and the guys you work with are fun to be around as well. You can push each other, but it's not like any of us are tying the other guy's shoelaces together in hopes that one trips.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
