Tumwater’s two goalkeepers have something in common: limiting opposing offenses

Good teams have depth.

Better teams have functional depth, substituting not just to bring in a fresh player but one who creates different problems for opponents to solve.

Take, for instance, Tumwater High School’s two junior goalkeepers. Starter A.J. Heichelbech is compact and aggressive, Lukas Stuart is taller and stays closer to his line.

The results?

Entering Friday night’s game at Rochester, the Thunderbirds have allowed only six goals in 2A Evergreen Conference play and lead the league with an 8-1 record. Tumwater has recorded five shutouts. The most an opponent has scored came in a 3-1 non-league loss at 3A Evergreen of Vancouver a month ago.

The T-Birds, 8-5 overall after four defeats to strong 4A and 3A teams, lost for the first time in league on Tuesday, 1-0 at W.F. West.

“A.J. and Lukas are very knowledgeable goalkeepers. They’ve played together a long time,” said Tumwater coach Brett Bartlett. “A.J. is a little bit shorter. Very, very quick and very vocal. Lukas is very long and powerful. They’re both very strong but do things a little bit differently.”

Said Heichelbech, “I play more aggressive and come off the line a lot. Lukas saves shots from a distance. They have to expect different things each half.”

“I play more of a sweeper,” said Stuart. “A.J.’s good on lower balls, I’m good on higher.”

Stuart says he’s noticed opposing players scouting as he prepares to enter the game after halftime.

“The other team will be eyeing our warmup trying to see how I’ll play differently than A.J. I can tell that it really does make a difference,” he said.

Bartlett understands those opponents’ dilemma.

“For some teams it’s hard to figure out,” he said. “You come out with one and then, in the next half, it’s a totally different look and you can’t do the things you did against the other one. It’s a great situation for us.”

There’s no jealousy between Heichelbech and Stuart, who shared second team All-2A EvCo goalkeeper honors last season, over playing time. The pair shared the position on Black Hills FC teams, even before enrolling in high school.

“They really build each other up and work to improve each other,” Bartlett said. “They really believe in the concept of being a goalkeepers’ union of the whole.”

Each admires the other’s style of play.

“He’s very fast, agile and athletic,” Stuart says of Heichelbech. “He’s good at shot-stopping and attacking the ball.”

Heichelbech returned the compliments.

“Lukas is good at covering the whole goal from anywhere. He gets far post, near post, wherever he wants,” he said.

Heichelbech and Stuart say they work well with the backs arrayed on defense in front of them.

“When we’re off the ball, we stay compact. It’s hard to split us,” Stuart said. “On plays over the top our defense is always ready. We’ve got a great back four.”

“We’ve got great leaders on our team that keep the defense together,” added Heichelbech.

Bartlett points to the improvement of the T-Birds’ defense overall since Tumwater gave up multiple goals in games with Camas, Timberline, Aberdeen and Evergreen during its first seven contests.

“We experimented a little bit with our defense. We have athletic kids, but their understanding of how to play that type of defense wasn’t as developed as we’d hoped,” he said. “We learned that having great players is one thing, but you’ve got to have leadership and cohesion in the group.”

Aside from the two goalkeepers, Bartlett points to midfielder Zack Schmidt, voted the team’s best player by his teammates after the T-Birds’ undefeated district championship season last spring, and “Swiss army knife” Sam Southworth, both seniors.

“Zack’s a quality player and Sam does everything a team needs and does it in any part of the park,” said Bartlett. “He’s a super valuable player who doesn’t always show up in the stats. He sets up goals, he defends, he keeps us connected.”

Despite its consistent high finishes in the 2A EvCo, Tumwater hasn’t appeared in the state tournament since it wound up fourth in 2012. Last season’s 11-0-1 squad might have made some noise at that level, but because of the coronavirus pandemic the season ended with districts.

Bartlett believes, with increased “situational awareness.” the T-Birds can be a factor during the post-season.

“We’re always trying to learn how to play faster and more efficiently,” he said. “You have to think differently at different times depending on the scenario within the game. We’re working our way up to that.

“We’re going to come up against teams in the later rounds of districts and in state who are going to be more game aware and tactical. We have to continue to grow in that way.”

The players think they will.

“We have high hopes for the post-season,” said Heichelbech.

Stuart said breaking the path down to each step is key.

“We focus on our next opponent. If we mess up in a game, we put that behind us,” he said.

This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 5:00 AM.