Coach Jeremy Clevenger and the Idaho Vandals went out looking for a goalkeeper for this season, and they went all the way to Germany to find freshman Kira Witte.
Witte hails from Bühren, Germany, and has started in all 15 games this season. She’s played 1,133 minutes and posted an amazing 11 shutouts, 10 of which happened in succession. She has allowed just 11 goals this season. Of those 11, seven came in the game against San Diego State. The other four have come in the last three games. Witte has an 84% save percentage and 58 saves on the season.
Before Witte came to the Vandals, she played for the club team Werder Bremen in Germany. The skills she gained in Germany have brought some good light on Idaho as she leads the NCAA in shutouts this season. She broke the single season Idaho shutout record on Sept. 30 against Montana. She has climbed to a tie in third place on the career shutout mark in just 12 career games. If that seems impressive, Witte is one shutout away from breaking the Big Sky Conference single season shutout record. Her career best in saves is 10 against Weber State in a 1-0 shutout victory on the road.
Head coach Jeremy Clevenger has complete confidence in Witte, and says that the confidence in her spreads throughout the team.
“When you have confidence in your goalkeeper, that resonates throughout the team,” Clevenger said. “She keeps blowing my mind a little bit as well with her maturity and just her game experience. She’s a really complete goalkeeper.”
As a move from Germany could not have been easy, Witte says she was nervous but really loves America.
“I was nervous as I did not know what to expect, but so far I really love it here,” Witte said.
Witte credits her individual success to the team’s overall defensive success throughout the season. “Our defense has done a good job of not letting the other team get to me that makes my job much easier,” Witte said.
Witte has had some amazing moments throughout the season. She points to the Weber State game as her favorite moment of the season.
“My favorite moment was when we played Weber. I think it was my best game of the season,” Witte said.
The Vandals have had so much success this season, and a lot of credit must go to the shot-stopper Witte. She is a great goalkeeper that has grown over the season, and she will get even better over the years she spends in Moscow.
Catch Witte, and the Vandals, on Sunday Oct. 23 against Eastern Washington as she looks to clinch the Big Sky Conference shutout record and top two in the conference.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JaydenBarfuss10