Succeeding Mount St. Mary’s all-time leader in saves in former goalkeeper T.C. DiBartolo is an unenviable task for any athlete. And Chris Klaiber was no different.
The sophomore compiled a 11.57 goals-against average and a .449 save percentage in his first year as the full-time starter. Klaiber’s numbers paled in comparison to DiBartolo’s 11.41 goals-against average and .555 save percentage in his freshman year, but Klaiber made every start in the Mountaineers’ 15-game schedule.
Coach Tom Gravante said the players and coaches had faith in Klaiber.
“I know the young man wanted to do better, but this is essentially a kid who was a freshman on the field,” Gravante said. “He didn’t really see a lot of time behind T.C. DiBartolo. We told him, ‘We don’t want you to be T.C. T.C. is a different person. We want you to be you and to play hard and work hard.’ Now he’s got a year under his belt. … He’s got some experience, and we’re excited for him. We hope that if he stays positive over the summer and gets some work done, he’ll respond and raise the bar.”
