Drexel goalkeeper Eve Badana racked up many impressive accomplishments during her freshman year, including a stingy 0.82 goals against average, ranking her third in the Colonial Athletic Association, and back-to-back shutouts against James Madison and VCU.
The political science major from Markham, Ontario, also was a 2011 CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award winner, so we know she’s pretty bright.
Yet when asked how she assesses her by-all-accounts sterling rookie season, she seems to confuse personal goals with team ones.
“Looking back on it, it was a good start,” the sophomore says. “I’m still disappointed because I didn’t meet my personal goals. I wanted to be a part of a team for the first time in Drexel history to make it to the CAA playoffs. I decided this year I’m going to work that much harder to achieve it.”
Actually, Badana didn’t misspeak—she’s just that unselfish a player. It was the all-for-one, one-for-all aspect of the sport that first drew her in at age 8, when basketball and volleyball also consumed her time.
“It’s such a universal game,” she says of soccer. “There are so many elements to it. I love the team atmosphere. I don’t think I’d do so well in an individual sport.”
Badana played all over the field for her club team until its regular goalie got hurt. In a pure Wally Pipp moment (he’s the New York Yankees’ first baseman whose injury cleared the way for iron man Lou Gehrig), she took over on an emergency basis.
“I remember being in practice and just stopping shots,” she says. “I remember thinking, ‘how am I doing this?’ I had never done it before. I stepped up, and I kind of never left.”
Growing up in her small town about 45 minutes north of Toronto, Badana never played high school soccer. But she was a standout on an academy team that competed frequently in the U.S., and it was at an event in New York that Drexel Coach Ray Goon first saw her.
“You could tell she had a real passion for the sport,” he says. “Goalkeepers sometimes are the odd man out when they’re growing up. They’re kind of stuck in that position. She didn’t display that. She took on a real passion for her position, and you could tell she had zest in her play.”
When she arrived in Philadelphia in the summer of 2011, Badana was one of two goalkeepers on the roster. They split time during nonconference games, but when the CAA season rolled around, Badana entered the goal box and never left.
It was her command of that 18-yard box that won her the job and admirers throughout the league. Prior to this year, she was named to the CAA Preseason All-Conference Team.
“The thing that surprised me was how quickly she adapted to the college game,” Goon says. “Being a freshman with some seniors back there I’m sure it was a little bit unnerving for her, but she stepped to the challenge very well. She gained the players’ respect very quickly, and I think once you have the respect it’s easy to lead.”
As surnames go, Badana sounds about as Irish as Beckham. But Badana’s mother, Catherine Morgan (now that’s more like it) grew up in Ireland, making her daughter eligible to play for the republic’s national team. At a tryout in Boston, Badana got noticed.
She’s played in two international games, both 1-0 losses, one to Switzerland and the other to Hungary. But earning two international caps and competing against the best players in Europe has been a thrill, she says, and a learning experience that only will make her a better keeper.
“It was a huge honor being there and being able to represent a country I love,” she says. “It was interesting to play with veterans, women who have been on the team for a decade. They’ve given so many years to their sport and their country. I just thought it was amazing to be on the same pitch as them.”
The team asked her back for two more games this fall, but she declined. Getting Drexel to the CAA tournament, a dream that ended last year when Delaware played the Dragons to a 1-1 draw in the final game of the season, is her sole goal now.
“We definitely have to keep up what we’ve done last year and of course improve on that foundation,” she says. “I think it comes down to being on the same page, to staying united as a team and being able to tackle every battle together.”
Drexel goalkeeper (and Irish international) Eve Badana enjoyed a stellar freshman season. But she says she knows she, and her team, are capable of doing even better.