Marquette University Athletics
Hallwood Embraces the Big Moments for MU
5/5/2021 7:30:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Transfer from DII on way to MU single-season records
CARY, N.C. - It was the biggest moment of the Marquette men's soccer season. With the hot sun beating down after 110 minutes of play, the West Coast Conference's Player of the Year placed the ball on the penalty spot and began his run-up.Â
The shot headed towards the bottom left corner of the goal, a beautifully-placed ball.
But the long, outstretched arms of Marquette's goalkeeper Chandler Hallwood knocked the ball aside and gave his team a lead in the penalty kicks, one the Golden Eagles would not give up.
"I felt like the only place it could go was going to my right," Hallwood said. "It was a good penalty, but I beat him on that one."
A few shots later, Loyola Marymount's Ronaldo Brown sent his shot wide right, and MU took a 3-1 PK victory over a top-10 team in its first game of the NCAA Tournament.
"When I turned to my left and saw it went wide, I was just overjoyed seeing everyone run over to me, Alan (Salmeron) and the rest of the lads," Hallwood said. "I haven't done many in my career, but when it comes to it, I love doing penalties. I was hoping it went to penalties if I'm honest so that I can shine."
Check out some 🎥 highlights from today's NCAA tournament victory over LMU to end your weekend.#WeAreMarquette | #MarquetteSoccer pic.twitter.com/0Umj3vzMo7
— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) May 3, 2021
This is just the second time in program history that Marquette men's soccer has advanced to the Sweet 16 and the team's first win in NCAAs since 2013. The first PK was a perfect moment to encapsulate the stellar season Hallwood has put forth as MU's netminder, on his way to smashing the Marquette season records for goals against average (0.53) and save percentage (.889).
"I thought (Chandler) played fantastic," head coach Louis Bennett said. "We've let in six goals the whole season when he's been in the net. We're very rarely the biggest team on the field in terms of height. For set pieces of other teams, there may be a vulnerability, but he actually equals it out."
While the redshirt sophomore has finally found his role as MU's starting keeper, his path to Milwaukee was unconventional to say the least.
Born in Halifax, England, Hallwood began his soccer career across the pond, learning the fundamentals of the game.
His collegiate career started in Pennsylvania at Division II Gannon University, where he put forth a spectacular 2019 season with an 18-3 record and All-American honors. Wanting a new challenge, however, Hallwood entered the transfer portal after the 2019 season.
When Marquette came calling, Hallwood made the transition to the Division I level, where he has had immediate success as an All-BIG EAST Third Team selection in his opening year.
"The end goal eventually was to get to a DI school and go to the NCAA Tournament," Hallwood said. "I went to the NCAA Tournament with my old school, but it's always a bit different at DI, a bit more pressure, a bit more of a spotlight. It's been a very good journey for myself, I'm just glad to be in the NCAA Tournament."
Prior to the team's Sweet 16 matchup against No. 3 Indiana, Hallwood sits at 7-1-2 on the season, ranking in the top-15 nationally in saves (48), save percentage and GAA.
"He's also a guy that thrives on and wants pressure," Bennett said. "We'd prefer not to have more saves than anyone else in the BIG EAST, but it seems like he does, and he thrives on that. He's not a goalkeeper that shies away from some serious action, some serious pressure."
Against LMU, Hallwood kept a clean sheet despite facing 22 shots. The 6-foot-4 keeper made seven saves, including critical diving stops in the 21st and 108th minutes.Â
Hallwood credits his success to the other players on the roster, mainly the group of netminders led by goalkeeper coach Graham Shaw.
"Having three goalkeepers here at Marquette, we all keep each other on our toes, testing each other in practice and goalkeeper training," Hallwood said. "When we get involved with the outfield players, they're excellent and always pushing us. Their shooting ability is very good, so that's testing our range as well. That pushes us to be better every time and gets us ready for game situations where we're going to get pushed to our max."
For midfielder Alan Salmeron, Hallwood's prowess defending penalty kicks is bothersome in practice when he's the shooter, but clearly a major asset when it comes against an opposing team.
"He's a great keeper, he's obviously made amazing saves throughout the season and has kept the ball out of the net," Salmeron said. "In practice, it's a little more unrealistic because the goalkeepers know exactly where you're going because you've shot a couple PKs on them."
While Hallwood is certainly happy with his team's performance on Sunday, he still is not content with just one postseason win.
"Obviously the final goal is to get to the Final Four, then the final two and win it all, take Marquette there. That's the plan, that's what I set out to do," Hallwood said. "When I spoke to the coaches back in February of 2020, that was always the goal for me and the coaches: to get as far as we can and make history with this program."
Keep up with the Marquette University men's soccer team through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteSoccer) and Instagram (@MarquetteSoccer) and 'liking' on Facebook (/Marquettesoccer).
