By Jeremy Castro
Contributing Writer
Women’s soccer senior goalkeeper Beth Moore understands having something being taken away from you better than anybody.
“[Soccer] has been such a large part of my life,” Moore said. “I have been playing since I was 4 [years old]. To have that huge aspect of your life be over is challenging since you identify so heavily as a soccer player.”
Moore is no stranger to hardship. She has battled against injuries for a significant amount of time since she became a Bonnie. One such injury led her to miss her entire junior and senior season.
“From being a player on the field to being sidelined, my role has changed,” Moore said. “The past four years has been [about] adapting to how I can help the team from a different aspect than [just being] a physical presence on the field. As a goalkeeper, my role one the field has a lot to do with communication. When I got sidelined, it was how to keep involved and mentally stay in it while not being able to play. I did that by communicating with my teammates and helping them the most I could vocally.”
Head women’s soccer coach Steve Brdarski said he understands the impact that Moore has brought to the program.
“She has had such a big presence over these four years,” Brdarski said.
Brdarski, who just finished his fifth year in charge of the Bonnies, hails from the same hometown as Moore, Copley, Ohio.
“I can take a lot of pride in that,” Brdarski said. “Her coach in high school is a Bonaventure alum, so there is a lot of pride just in terms of hometown, the connection to the University and just her being here.”
Brdasrki went on to talk about Moore’s qualities, both as a player and a person.
“She is an organizer,” Brdarski said. “She communicates and organizes on the field, which is very important for a goalkeeper. She is athletic and a shot-stopper. She has made a lot of big saves throughout her career. Off the field, the general term everybody uses for Beth is that she is our ‘team mom.’ Beth is always looking out for everybody and always tries to help people and the program.”
Moore has not been able to play in an official game for the Bonnies since her sophomore year. For someone who loves the sport, this has been a challenge.
“The most difficult part of my recovery has been no being able to play and having to find different ways to relieve stress,” Moore said. “Soccer was my outlet. It allowed me to deal with stress and not being able to play, you have to adapt. You do not have to change who you are, but how you handle things.
Coach Brdarski reflected on what he will miss most about Moore.
“We will miss a lot of her leadership qualities,” Brdarski said. “We will miss the little things she does for other people and her thoughtfulness, but it is really about her adversity. Having to deal with everything she had to, I really do not think most people would still be here. When you are dealt cards that scream impossible, and you have a sport you love that has been taken away from you, most people go the opposite direction because it is too hard. For [Beth] to stand and face the fire, having all these different surgeries, the many, many hours she put into rehab, it says a lot.”
For Moore, her legacy all comes back to the one quality she values the most in herself: leadership.
“For a lot of the younger girls, I am their team mom,” Moore said.
“But, personally, I would like to be remembered for vocal leadership because that is the aspect I brought the most.”
Despite all of the circumstances, trials and tribulations that surrounded her four years at St. Bonaventure, Beth Moore started in goal for the final game of the 2017 season against St. Joseph’s University; her first start in two years. She recorded one save, and was subbed out right away. Being senior day no less, this added a fitting and emotional ending to her incredibly impactful career.
