Five games into the season, Eric Widrick has piled up three Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors.

For three seasons, Eric Widrick ’26 waited for his opportunity. 

The men’s soccer goalkeeper from Arlington, Mass., watched from the sidelines as the Raiders relied on their veterans to protect the net. Widrick finally saw his first action as a junior, playing in three games.

But now, in his fourth and final season with the Raiders, Widrick has earned the starting job and has helped the Raiders get off to a good start. 

Five games into the season, Colgate 3-1-1, with Widrick recording three shutouts plus a 2-1 win over Fordham that required the Raiders to be at their best defensively while playing a man down.

In addition, Widrick has collected three Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors. 

Widrick said his success was made possible by the hard work of his teammates, who have played exceptional defense, making his job easier.

“I’m very grateful to be recognized,” he said. “Goalkeeper of the Week is an individual award, but it’s won by a team. Our game against Fordham was a team performance, being down a man for 50 minutes. My teammates had to do a lot of work to absorb the pressure we got from Fordham.”

Widrick is the veteran goalkeeper on a roster that includes two other goalies in Adam Ethridge ’28 and Mason Christiansen ’29. After securing the starting role in training camp, Widrick said he’s eager to show that his coaches made the right choice.

“I feel ready to go, ready to take on this season,” he said. “I’ve waited a long time for this moment. I have nothing to lose. I have to put my best foot forward this season. I’m a senior. It’s my last shot but it’s also my first go at being the starting goalkeeper.”

Widrick said he wants to help the Raiders build on the success of the 2024 season, when Colgate entered the postseason as underdogs and came within one game of winning the conference.

“This year, we have a really good team,” he said. “I think it’s probably the best team I have been a part of so far. We have gotten off to the best start we’ve had in a while. The big thing now is to carry that on, and carry it into the Patriot League.”

Despite seeing little action in his first three seasons, Widrick spent his time learning from coaches and teammates. He credits assistant head coach Ricky Brown ’17, who also acts as the team’s goalkeeper coach, with helping him address weaknesses in his game.

Others who also helped with his development are former teammates Andrew Cooke ’24 and Oliver Townend ’25, who each started in goal for Colgate. Cooke and Townend pushed Widrick to train harder. They also showed him the importance of having the right mindset as a goalkeeper, Widrick said.

“I learned how valuable your mentality as a goalkeeper is,” Widrick said. “Coming into college, I was always good physically, and had good technique. But in my first two years, I learned that what separates me from other starting goalkeepers is the mentality, being confident, loud, commanding. You have to have a certain presence to be the starting goalkeeper.”

Head coach Erik Ronning praised Widrick for his commitment to developing every aspect of his game.

“Eric's growth and success is a testament to his work ethic and self belief, while staying true to the process,” Ronning said. “He has slowly and steadily improved his craft, displayed patience and resiliency, and is now thriving as our starting goalkeeper. 

“His personal character and growth mindset has paved the way for his performances. I expect him to continue to grow and improve throughout the year, and am very proud of the person and athlete he has grown to become,” Ronning said.

Growing up outside Boston, Widrick was recruited by Colgate coaches. The soccer program, plus the opportunity to study at a top liberal arts school, drew Widrick to Colgate. 

In addition to playing soccer, Widrick has kept himself busy by pursuing a degree in geology.

As a freshman in 2022, Widrick was interested in geography as a major. But after taking a geography course in his first semester, he saw that the topic wasn’t what he had expected.

At the same time, he also enrolled in a freshman seminar course called Geology Outdoors, where each week the class visited a different location to study rocks in various environments. Widrick said he found geology intriguing, and the next semester he declared it as his major.

Now, as a senior, Widrick has developed a passion for geochemistry. He’s putting his knowledge of the topic to use by working on a study of chemical weathering in Adirondack mines with his advisor, Professor of Earth and Environmental Geosciences William Peck.

The work is for an independent study course, where Widrick and Peck are looking into the chemical changes that occur in wollastonite samples extracted from mines in the Adirondacks. 

“It has been great for my advisor to include me in this project, and I think I’m going to end up writing my thesis about it,” he said.

While soccer and academics have kept Widrick busy, he has found time for yet another venture by joining a comedy club.

Widrick is part of Charred Goosespeak, a student-operated comedy club that puts on a few performances per semester. 

The club specializes in impromptu comedy by involving the audience. Playing a part in the comedic performance has provided a nice change in his busy schedule, he said.

Widrick has started planning his future. After he graduates from Colgate, he wants to enter a graduate program and study geochemistry or geographic information systems. With one year of eligibility remaining, he also wants to play soccer while earning a master’s degree.

His experience at Colgate has been everything he wanted in a college, from great memories with the soccer team to receiving a top education. 

“I’ve had a great Colgate experience,” he said. “The way you’re able to pick and choose what classes you want to take, and experiment with what you want to study has been beneficial for me.”

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