LEWISTON — Goalkeepers are a commodity for Niagara University’s men’s soccer team.

There are two players, John Fiutowski and Jason Whitehead, coach Dermot McGrane said will compete for the starting position all season. And with Brendan Murphy joining his staff, McGrane now has the luxury of a dedicated goalkeeper’s coach for the first time in his six-year tenure on Monteagle Ridge.

Fiutowski, a junior who made the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s all-rookie team two years ago, is back in the No. 1 spot — for now. He made eight saves in the Purple Eagles’ shutout victory over Longwood on Sunday, and will start tonight when Niagara faces Oakland as part of the Niagara Falls Classic.

Whitehead, a graduate student who earned the starting job coming out of training, struggled in the season opener, giving up four goals on seven shots, but could easily return to the starting lineup.

“Right now, both of those boys know they are only as good as the last game,” McGrane said Thursday. “Every time they step on the field they need to perform or the other guy is going to get their job.

“It’s the same with every position on the field. I like the competition. I think if you’ve got a guy who thinks he’s No. 1, he gets comfortable, he relaxes, because he knows he’s going to play regardless.”

Fiutowski started 13 of 19 games under similar conditions last season, posting a 1.74 goals against average and stopping 81 percent of the shots he faced. But a bout with mononucleosis over the summer prevented him from playing with Professional Development League team on Ottawa, and affected his performance during Niagara’s preseason.

The illness stripped 15 pounds off Fiutowski’s 6-foot-4 frame, but he’s gained most of that back, slamming down “at least four glasses” of milk every day, and taking advantage of the all-you-can-eat offerings at the dining hall.

“People say that Clet Hall isn’t the best,” Fiutowski said. “But I think the food is pretty good.”

Fiutowski also appreciates the competition from Whitehead, saying “you need someone to push you, in order to go farther.

“We’re best friends off the field,” Whitehead said. “But on the field, it’s just like any other players battling for a position. We go at it.”

McGrane called Whitehead the hardest working player he’s coached at Niagara.

“I’ll be honest,” McGrane said. “I never thought he’d be as good as he is now.”

Whitehead admits he “wasn’t up to par” as a freshman, and by his sophomore year, he was basically fourth-string, McGrane said. But after playing for the PDL team in Cleveland prior to last season, Whitehead earned six starts in 2007, posting a 1.3 goals against average and stopping 81 percent of the shots he faced.

When he was invited back to Cleveland this summer, Whitehead decided to pursue his MBA at Niagara and use up his last year of eligibility. “If I wasn’t playing soccer at the level I was last year, I probably wouldn’t have come back,” he said.

McGrane is counting on rapid improvement for both players, thanks to the presence of Murphy, a Williamsville North graduate who won a Division III national championship in 1999 at St. Lawrence.

“I’ve known Brendan for years, from him working at Buff State. I tried to get him last year, but it didn’t work out because of some other commitments,” McGrane said. “He’s a very good goalkeepers coach. He understands the position, he notices things I don’t notice, and now I can leave it where Brendan completely takes control of the goalkeepers, and I can spend my time with the field players.”

Contact reporter Jonah Bronstein at 282-2311, ext. 2258.



NIAGARA FALLS CLASSIC

• WHAT: The NU men’s soccer team makes its local debut

• WHEN: The Purple Eagles host Oakland at 7:30 p.m. tonight and St. Francis at 1:30 p.m. Sunday

• WHERE: The new Niagara Field is located behind the university’s Kiernan Recreation Center

• NOTES: Niagara is ranked No. 2 in the North Atlantic region by the NSCAA, after winning two games at the Coastal Carolina Invitational to open the season. ... Oakland returned all but two players from last year’s NCAA tournament Sweet 16 team. They haven’t allowed a goal in winning their first two games. ... Sabres forward Pat Kaleta will sign autographs beginning at 5 p.m., while St. Francis meets Coastal Carolina. Proceeds from Kaleta’s appearance will benefit the Niagara cheerleading squad, coached by Lockport’s Erin Bailey.