Women's soccer head coach Karen Hoppa and staff brought in a hefty crop of 11 freshman to add to the roster this year, totaling 12. The freshman class holds two goalkeepers, one of them who spent 2014 redshirting and successfully took over the starting keeper position in 2015. Her name is Sarah Le Beau.
The Crystal Lake, Illinois native was recruited for the soccer program and decided to make Auburn her home after falling in love with campus and the home-away-from-home feel of the Plains. "Everything here is beautiful and it just feels like home," said Le Beau. "When I first met the team, they had chemistry. They were all getting along, having fun with each other, obviously when you come to schools you want to see that."
Her first year at Auburn was strictly focused on practicing to prepare for the 2015 season and reaching full potential. Assistant coach Ben Madsen worked with Le Beau throughout 2014 on reaching a solid point of consistency.
"Last year in practice we were always like 'you need to be consistent and things will start to go your way' and she's found that consistency this fall," said Madsen. "She's still scraping the surface potential wise, there's a lot of room for her to improve and this just being the first year."
Le Beau has already earned an SEC Defensive Player of the Week award this season. She's recorded 24 saves in 715 minutes of play time and a 7-1 record.
"A lot of last year helped to get me to where I am. I redshirted last year, and just having that one year of practice and getting used to how the team does things really helped to get me where I am now."
When revisiting others that he coached during his career, Madsen noted that Le Beau's "got it all." In terms of tenacity and skill, "she checks the box in each of them. The good part about this being her first yyear too is that we've made it easy for her too. The fact that we've (the defense) limited what she's had to do has made it easy for all of us. It's been an easier transition for her in that sense."
Hoppa is confident in her goalkeeper and the potential that she holds. It may only be the first year in action for the young redshirt freshman, but with her "quick hands and fearless aggression" the keeper is "the perfect addition to continue our storied tradition of great goalkeepers."
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