After Patrick Schulte’s sophomore season playing soccer at St. Louis University, he sat down for a heart-to-heart talk with Billikens coach Kevin Kalish.
“He told me I was doing the little things right,” Schulte, from St. Charles, recalled, “but I need be able to take the next step and be the man and make the game-defining saves and be able to make big plays. After that conversation, it was a spring season because of COVID, was really when I took it to a whole another level, took my game, took my mentality to knowing where I wanted to be. I knew (I) had to do things differently. I think ever since then, it’s been a crazy four years, but for me, it comes back to the start of it, which was that conversation.”
Schulte’s career has done nothing but ascend since then.
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The St. Louis University goalkeeper Patrick Schulte saves a penalty shot during a shootout to decide the 2021 A-10 Championship-semifinal game between St. Louis University and Fordham at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021.
In his last season at SLU, the Billikens went undefeated until losing in the NCAA quarterfinals. He then was the 12th player selected in the Major League Soccer draft, by Columbus, and backstopped Columbus Crew II to the MLS Next Pro championship.
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In 2023, he took over the starting job for the Crew and the following season became the youngest goalkeeper to win the MLS Cup. He was in goal for the championship game of the CONCACAF Champions Cup earlier this year (the Crew lost that one, but Schulte was named the goalkeeper of the tournament). English club Arsenal has been rumored to be interested in him, he’s played for the full U.S. national team and on Monday, Schulte was named to the U.S. Olympic soccer team, which begins play in France on July 24.
“For sure, it’s a dream come true,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to do this, and you know you’re close, but to know you’re on the final roster, it takes a weight off your shoulders.”
“He had to go through some tough moments early in his career,” Kalish said, “and grow and mature in terms of his decision making and his preparation. Just small things, but to get to the next level, they’re big things. You saw a player that matured into not only a great goalkeeper, but a consistent goalkeeper, a great leader, a great captain and teammate, all the things you would definitely want to see out of a top goalkeeper.”
The changes Schulte went through after that meeting with Kalish were mental and physical.
“For me, I had to put more pressure on myself,” Schulte said. “There were things I would just kind of allow myself to get away with, whether that’s conceding goals, or a penalty — we’re not supposed to save them. But for me now, I feel like I should save every shot, even if I might not have a chance on it technically. Trying to hold myself to a higher standard. I want to be a world-class goalie, that’s what I dreamed of as a child when I started playing. So I need to hold myself to the standard like I am one right now, even though I know I have many more steps to get there. Just putting more pressure on self, to get better each and every day.”
He changed his diet, moving from a standard college fare of inexpensive frozen food that could be popped into a microwave. Now, he’s more likely to be eating chicken with rice, vegetables and a salad. (“I don’t live the college lifestyle anymore,” he said.) He’s hitting the weight room, doing yoga, hot yoga and Pilates.
“I’m trying to take each and every chance I can get to get better,” he said.
Kalish along with local goalkeeper coaches Tim Kelly and Skip Grossman are cited as major influences by Schulte.
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Columbus Crew goaltender Patrick Schulte makes a save in the second half of the MLS soccer championship match against the Los Angeles FC, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
“Early on in Columbus he struggled,” Kalish said. “Then a new coach came in, he got an opportunity and ran with it. For me, Patrick is a guy that once you believe in him, give him an opportunity, he grabs it with both hands. It’s amazing how much he’s grown in the past two years.”
The men’s Olympic soccer tournament is an under-23 competition (players must have been born on or after January 1, 2001) with each team allowed to field three over-age players. That means that for most soccer players, there’s only one chance at making the Olympic team. (The United States failed to qualify for the past three Olympic tournaments.) When Schulte, born on March 13, 2001, found out he was age-eligible for the Paris Games, he wanted it.
“I wanted it to happen,” he said. “As a child I wanted to be an Olympian, watching every event, swimming, gymnastics. ‘I want to do that at some point in life.’ When I found out I was eligible, it was on mind. I definitely wanted to do it.”
His favorite Olympic memory? “Watching Michael Phelps, watching him win eight gold medals in one Olympic Games,” said Schulte, who also played basketball at Francis Howell High. “That’s something I’ll never forget, screaming at the TV for it to happen. I loved sports as a kid, watching all those athletes compete is awesome.”
The buildup to Paris hasn’t been great for the Americans, who lost 2-0 to Japan in Kansas City, Kansas, in their final tuneup game.
“This team, our results weren’t what we wanted,” he said “There’s a lot of quality within this team, it will show. We need more time together, when we get in precamp I’m really excited for it. I’m excited to get over there and get to work because everyone there knows we want to bring back a medal, we want to win gold and we know that we’re going to put everything into it. It’s going to be a fun time.”
One part of the Olympic experience Schulte will miss out on is marching in the opening ceremony. The soccer tournament begins before the Olympics formally begin, and the first two games for the U.S. are in Marseille, about 500 miles from Paris. The USA opens with the host team, France, and then plays New Zealand the day after the opening ceremony.
“If we can make the final, or a medal game, I think we can do the closing ceremony,” Schulte said. “That’s something I’d love to do.”
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