Kralik excels in the heat of the battle

Without soccer, goaltender Andrew Kralik does not know where he would be. Growing up in Miami, Kralik started playing soccer in a developmental league at age five along with his best friend. It was set up to be noncompetitive, so children could learn about the game at a young age, and hopefully come to enjoy it. It certainly had that effect on Kralik. One strong kick changed Kralik's soccer career forever. He first played on regulation-size fields when he was nine. By midseason, the team had a poor record and the coach was replaced. With the new coach came a new strategy. "Our goalie wasn't very good through the first half of the season," Kralik said. "The new coach came in and said we needed a new goalie. He lined everybody up on the halfway mark and asked them to kick the ball. The guys who punted the ball farthest tried out for goalie." Kralik kicked the ball furthest of all, and won the job. Despite the lure of a more high-profile position, he has remained a keeper since then. And he has thrived on the pressure. "I love being a goalkeeper," he said. "There is a lot of pressure in the goal because if you do make one mistake, that's it. The field players can mess up and there's always someone behind them to support their mistakes, but if I make a mistake there's no getting around it. The goal is the place where you're either the hero or the goat." His powerful dives and excellent saves draw attention on the field. He enjoys the recognition his position gives him, and even seems to revel in it at times. "Whenever you step on the field, there's always two people you ask for -- the goal scorer and the goalkeeper," Kralik said. "You're out there in a different colored jersey and you stick out. You come up with a big save, and it's the difference between winning and losing sometimes." Soccer is the game of the world. Andrew Kralik found this out the hard way, playing in a packed stadium in Caracas, Venezuela. Selected for the Miami-area all-star team, Kralik traveled to Argentina and Peru. On a February trip to Lima, the coach of Zuniga, a Peruvian youth team, was so impressed with the young goalie he requested Kralik return for the Youth World Cup during the summer. The 14-year-old was amazed and astounded by "the whole atmosphere, the way those people lived soccer." It remains his most vivid memory of the sport. "We were 14-year-old kids and there were 20,000 people that came to watch these games," Kralik said. "They were on TV and all over the newspapers. There were a lot of club teams and national teams from all over the world -- Italian teams, Venezuelan, South American teams, all sorts of teams." Even with Kralik in goal for three of the four contests, Zuniga fared poorly at the Junior World Cup, winding up 0-3-1. For him, just being there made all the difference. "When I look back on it, I really don't remember much from it. It was kind of like a daze, but I appreciate it," he said. "That was the best learning experience I've ever had, in soccer, out of soccer, in a classroom, outside of the classroom." A dedicated student as well as a soccer star, Kralik chose Penn over both Harvard and Cornell. The Crimson coach was fired during recruiting, and Ithaca, N.Y., seemed distant and cold for his Florida blood. When former Penn coach Steve Baumann came calling, both Kralik and high school teammate Pat Larco responded. Larco, now a Penn forward, played against Kralik early in their careers, then with him for eight years. The pair combined to win the state championship senior year at Gulliver Prep. While Larco likes to tell a story about Kralik being ejected from a playoff game after his emotions got the better of him, he also praises his long-time teammate. "We were enemies because I was always trying to score and he was always trying not to let me score. It's a lot more fun to play with him," Larco said. "He's a much better player now. His consistency is greatly improved. He used to make stupid mistakes sometimes, but he's solid now." The determination to succeed which has marked his career continued into another Penn campaign. During the summer, Kralik and Gulliver Prep goalkeeping coach Rob Johnstone trained together. Kralik shed 15 pounds and added agility to his repertoire. "Andrew is the perfect athlete to coach," Penn coach George O'Neill said. "He's got a great attitude and his work ethic is fantastic. He comes to train with the same attitude that professionals do. Every day he shows up with total concentration, ready to give it everything he's got." "He is very intense on the field, and has the same intensity for life," said Milan Kralik, Andrew's father. "He's a very easygoing, sensitive person. He doesn't brag about himself, and I think he gets embarrassed when others do." Away from soccer, soft-spoken Andrew Kralik would prefer to stay out of the spotlight. The junior co-captain leads the Quakers by example. His consistency has made him a cornerstone of the current Penn squad. "I hear him talking all the time, even from where I am," junior midfielder Steve Marcinkiewicz said. "You can tell how badly he wants to win by the way he goes about the game and the way he talks when he's out there. As good as he is, he's always improving and he always wants to improve." "Penn is fortunate to have Andrew," Johnstone said. "He thrives on pressure and big games. If Andrew had his way, he'd play the best 15 teams every year and have to make a big save in each one. He exudes a quiet confidence." Kralik will take nothing less than the best from himself every time he steps on the field. "It's never okay to lose," Kralik said. "I never accept it. Losing is something you have to deal with, but once you start accepting losing, I don't think you're ever going to be successful. That's the way everything should be gone about, whether it's soccer or anything in life. If you're going to do it, you should do it 110 percent." On and off the field, Kralik displays maturity beyond his years. "He has no weaknesses," Johnstone said. "He may not be outstanding in everything, but he is very solid. I have coached high school for eight years, and youth soccer for 15, and there's none better." His Penn teammates and coaches are also quick to praise their keeper. Kralik has a .735 career save percentage at Penn. So far this season, he has started every game for the Quakers, compiling a 2.22 goals against average. "Some of the saves he makes are unbelievable," Marcinkiewicz said. "Andrew's commitment has always been there, for the team and for the sport and everything, but when he came back this year, you could tell he just took it to the next level. After every game, you can make a highlight reel of the things he does." Kralik thinks little of his personal accomplishments in the game. For him, the final score is the best indicator of his performance. He wants nothing more than to help build the Penn program for the future. Kralik's dearest memories about soccer are not about the game itself. He would rather talk about the people around him, especially his family, Johnstone and his friends. "I love soccer and have a lot of memories of the game, but you make good saves every game," Kralik said. "The most important things to me are the friends that I've made with other players and coaches. Those are some of the best memories I've had, just sitting around with friends laughing, talking, crying." A history major, Kralik wants to pour that emotion back into the community. He aspires to become a teacher and a coach to give something back to youths. Kralik is a product of divorce. Johnstone recalled often seeing him "with his school books in one arm and a soccer ball in the other," traveling between homes for the weekend. "I was lucky," Kralik said. "My father was still around and a huge part of my growing up. I was blessed with good teachers and coaches, positive role models. There's so much negativity and so many bad things that pull kids in different directions. I just want to give back some of what was given to me."