Avery Banzhaf rolled his ankle, twice, in a preseason scrimmage just three days before The Vanguard School’s soccer season opener. 

It was painful, but the team’s starting goalkeeper didn’t think twice about continuing to play. Injured for the first six games, Banzhaf has allowed six goals in nine games to help the Coursers to an 8-1 record after finishing 6-8-2 last year.  

Since being fully healthy, Banzhaf, a junior, has had three consecutive shutouts and four total this year. The four shutouts match what Vanguard has had the past two seasons. 

“He’s not afraid to put it on the line for the team,” junior Isai Savelkoul said. “That’s really inspiring for everyone. It shows his commitment to the team and shows that all of us are willing to put everything into the team and really go far this year.”

Banzhaf has been playing soccer since kindergarten, but didn’t start goalkeeping until his freshman year of high school.

“He has that innate anticipation for how the flow of the game is going that you can’t teach,” Coursers coach and Avery’s father Emil Banzhaf said. “Others on the team have that too, but he just has a rare quality that he almost knows what the team is going to do before they do it. He reads the way the play is going, to anticipate well.”

Coursers goalkeeper coach Shawn Skalski, who has known Banzhaf since a young age, has been amazed by his growth in the position and as a teammate. 

“Since he has gotten older, he has set the bar and stepped up and vocalized as a presence in the back and really moved forward,” Skalski said. “It’s been fun to see him grow up to be such an amazing goalkeeper.” 

This week’s Gazette Preps Peak Performer is a three-sport athlete, also playing and excelling at lacrosse and tennis. While it’s been a challenge to juggle tennis and soccer in one season, Banzhaf has enjoyed the challenge and says tennis has helped him on the pitch. 

“Tennis has helped with dives and reaction time,” Banzhaf said. “It felt overwhelming at the beginning of the season, but I’m able to balance them well now. I just try my hardest every day for every game to do my best. I really like how much our team has grown since last year. We have improved so much. I’m excited to see what our record will be.”

Besides Banzhaf, the team has dealt with several injuries throughout the season, making his performance while he’s been injured that much more impressive. 

“We’ve had some other injuries on defense during that stretch and have other players playing out of position, so he didn’t have his full defense playing in any of those games and saw more shots than he normally would,” coach Banzhaf said. 

While the shutouts go on Banzhaf’s record, both he and his father see it as a team stat. With multiple injuries throughout the season, others on varsity and junior varsity have stepped up to contribute. 

“He’s a key part, the goalkeeper always is, but it’s a team effort,” coach Banzhaf said. “He has a strong defense in front of him, a strong midfield, the starting 11 can play with anybody, but those that don’t normally start are playing really well too. That just shows that JV and varsity are all important to the team and make us stronger. They really support each other.”  

Since Vanguard’s one loss to Manitou Springs in September, the team has rallied to capitalize on their special season and hopes to finish the season with a state title. 

“Last year, they halfway believed but not fully,” coach Banzhaf said. “They are fully bought in this year. No one expects us to be good, and we have to go out and earn that. I think we are finally getting the respect we deserve.”