Clifton’s all-state goalkeeper wants All-American game title before heading to Monmouth
CLIFTON, N.J. (BVM) — Clifton High School senior Eryk Dymora, an all-state goalkeeper, is staying home after signing to play Division I soccer with the Hawks at Monmouth University. Even with three upperclassman goalies on the roster for next season, Dymora stands a chance at starting on the team as a freshman.
“I’ve got to show that I can keep up my game,” Dymora said.
He may get closer to earning that spot after he plays against the best high school soccer players in the country on May 29 in St. Louis. Dymora is set to compete in the High School All-American Game as a goalkeeper; he and 21 other players from the East will play against 22 players from the West for the title.
“It’s a big honor to be selected for the game and I’m looking forward to getting there and winning,” Dymora said. “I’m happy to make my parents proud and performing in the All-American game will look better on me and make my Monmouth coaches happier.”
Dymora was selected for the honor following his senior season which resulted in him finishing with the best goals against average (0.26) in North Jersey. During his shortened season, he led the team to a 12-1-1 record with about 45 saves. He conceded only three goals and posted 11 shutouts in 14 games.
“Although my stats were good senior year, I was not focused on myself, I focused more on winning as a team,” Dymora said. “You can’t get accolades if you don’t win and you need the mentality from everyone to win.”
Here was the save from @CliftonAthlDept goalie Eryk Dymora in the final round of the shootout.
He stopped two PKs and scored two himself in the state final. pic.twitter.com/eAIq61rDeR
— Varsity Aces (@VarsityAces) November 18, 2019
Having that mindset to win is exactly how it played for the team during his junior season. Dymora led his undefeated team in 22 games to win the 2019 NJSIAA Group 4 state championship — after making nine saves and scoring two penalty kicks which gave the team its title. However, going into his senior year with the No. 1-ranked team in New Jersey, they were unable to defend their crown due to a loss in the semifinals to Paterson Kennedy.
“We were 33 games unbeaten at one point during my senior year,” Dymora said. “Being the No. 1 team got to the heads of a lot of people and so we didn’t perform our best because some of us took them lightly. We could have been state champions again but I’ve got to move on.”
As he looks at his goals for the future, Dymora said he is excited about joining Monmouth next season because of the team’s track record with their goalkeepers. Considering that he wants to play for a professional team, he said he admires how the last three goalies went pro and mentioned that he would love to play for a favorite team of his such as Arsenal FC.
But the journey to get here was a surprise to some people who have seen him play at Clifton over the past four seasons. Dymora said he wants to give credit to those who doubted his abilities and talked down on him all these years. He used it as motivation to push him to perform his best so he could prove them wrong.
“I do my own thing, there’s always people that will be jealous of you because they want to be in your position,” Dymora said. “But they don’t have it because I work for it. Don’t make excuses, do what you’ve got to do to get it.”
With Dymora’s senior season at being Clifton over, he is preparing for the All-American game with the Players Development Academy (PDA) boys soccer team. He will be their goalkeeper for 12 league matches starting on March 6.
“I just want to win again,” Dymora said. “I’ll never forget my junior year as 7,000 people looked on during the state final and my moves gave us the title. I can’t wait to have those experiences again with PDA and at Monmouth next year.”
