Maddy Neundorfer began her collegiate soccer at Duquesne career under trying circumstances.

The 2020 Gateway graduate faced the adversity of a 2020 fall season postponed to the following spring because of the ongoing covid pandemic.

But she has made the most of the opportunities afforded her since then, and she now is taking center stage as the Dukes starting goalkeeper.

“Actually, I am kind of grateful that I had that extra time (in the fall of 2020) to get used to college life,” Neundorfer said.

“We didn’t have any games, but we were around our teammates practicing while taking classes online. It was a chance to grow and be ready.”

Duquesne coach Al Alvine said he has seen a transformation in Neundorfer from the first time he saw her play as a high school sophomore to now as a Dukes starter.

“She played for Century United, one of the top clubs in Western PA,” Alvine said.

“She’s always been extremely talented as a goalkeeper, a great shot stopper with very good footwork, being able to play passes over distance, and things like that.

“For the time she’s been here, her leadership has grown so much. She has a great work ethic, and she’s willing to be a student of the game. She’s also more vocal, and as a goalkeeper, especially at this level, you have to constantly be directing players in front of you. She wasn’t completely comfortable with that coming in as a young player, having the job of ordering a junior or senior defender around. Now, she is much more comfortable in that role, seeing the whole field, giving out relevant information, and being someone who really sets the tone for us.”

After exhibition games against Kent State and Cleveland State, Neundorfer made her first collegiate start against Ohio on Aug. 18 at Duquesne’s Rooney Field.

She faced 16 shots, including seven on goal, and made six saves to help the Dukes secure a 2-1 victory.

“I had confidence because I had been waiting and preparing for that moment for so long,” Neundorfer said.

“Before any game, there are a little bit of nerves. But again, it was just a lot of confidence in myself and my teammates that we would come out and play well. It was just an awesome feeling.”

Three days later, Neundorfer and Duquesne made a trip to State College to face No. 14 Penn State.

The Nittany Lions fired off 20 shots with 12 making it on goal.

Neundorfer made nine saves, but Penn State scored a 3-0 victory.

“It is a hostile environment, and they have really good support there,” Alvine said.

“The fan section was chanting her name and riding her pretty hard. But she came through it great. Going there, you have to have your goalkeeper have a really good game. You don’t always want your goalkeeper to have to be the best player, but on that day, she was. She made some unbelievable saves or the game would’ve been more than 3-0.”

Duquesne stood at 2-3 overall heading into last Thursday’s Atlantic 10 opener against Rhode Island.

Neundorfer said she gained a strong foundation for her starting role this fall by playing every minute as Duquesne’s lone goalkeeper during the most recent spring exhibition season.

“It was a big stepping stone for me,” she said. “I was just excited to be out there with all my teammates. Those games gave me things to work hard on over the summer.”

Neundorfer made her Duquesne debut in the truncated 2021 spring season. She played 13 minutes at Pitt and finished with one save and one goal allowed.

Last fall, she again made one game appearance, playing 22 minutes against Buffalo on Sept. 12.

“We had a pretty experienced goalie when we played our spring covid season, and that goalkeeper was back for last fall’s season, so Maddy really had to bide her time and wait for her opportunity. You really saw it this past spring as she made the most of her chance in net. She improved a lot, and she carried it over to this fall.”

Neundorfer came to Duquesne after a prolific high school career at Gateway where she was a three-time all-section pick and a two-time All-WPIAL honoree.

She recorded more than 650 saves in her career and posted a 0.83 goals-against average and a .093 save percentage.

She was a PA Soccer Coaches Association all-state selection and a Top Drawer Soccer All-American after her senior season with the Gators in 2019.

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