Atlético Ottawa gave the city something to cheer about this season. The calendar year started with a lot of optimism and excitement with the announcement of the team. The COVID-19 lockdown put the season at risk of never happening. However, from over 1000 km away, in a bubble in PEI, this team gave us something to be proud of. Although they didn’t finish in the top 4 and are not continuing this campaign in the second round, Ottleti overcame a lot of adversity and surpassed all pre-season expectations.
In the spirit of the back to school season, I will be giving out report cards to the players and team. This week I will grade each player (minimum 3 appearances) starting with the goalies.
Before we begin, I would like to thank, in advance, all those who voted/commented their own grades on Instagram, Twitter, and in the comment sections below. I love hearing what you think of my grades and what you would grade the players!
Nacho Zabal (Grade A)
- 7 Games Played, 2 Clean Sheets, 24 Saves
Zabal played all 7 games for the club this season, recording 2 clean sheets (good for second in the league). Zabal ranked top of the league with 24 saves at the end of the first round; in fact, even though Ottawa has not played in the second round, he is still leading all goalies with two second round games in the books.
You cannot ignore those numbers, as the Spanish international cemented himself as one of the premier goalies in the league. While I wouldn’t fault him on any loss or draw, I do think that Zabal had opportunities to just make one big save to secure the win. The games against Edmonton and York9 (not considering the penalty shot) come to mind. That one save could have made the difference between going home and playing in the second round.
Still, Zabal had a great season, and many of those collapses that were characteristic of this inaugural version of Atlético Ottawa were more the fault of the lack of consistency, and the mental lapses and collapses in front of him. The goalie should rarely ever be blamed for those, and I would be happy to have him as my last line of defense. Hence, Zabal gets near top marks from me.
Feel free to let me know how I am wrong (or right!) and comment below. Do you think that Ricky Gomes should have gotten a shot to play at least one game?
Be sure not to miss Tuesday’s piece on the defense!
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