American full-back nets unforgettable first career goal against the Fire
Players dream of their first professional goal. How will it go in? Will it be a header or a shot? Rebound or a strike from outside the box? What will the circumstances be? Sometimes, the moment may not be very special, except for the player himself. Luckily for defender Daniel Lovitz, it was quite the opposite.
“I didn’t know what form it would take, I just knew it would come,” said Lovitz. “When I became a defender, I told myself that chances would be harder to come by. Sometimes, you just have to be in the right place at the right time and believe in what you’re doing.”
With the game tied at one in second-half stoppage time, the Impact earned a corner. Jeisson Vargas’ delivery was cleared by the defense to Lovitz, waiting at the top of the box. The American left-back didn’t think twice, getting his weaker right foot on the ball and slotting it into the bottom corner to give his team the win.
“I discovered he had a right foot,” said head coach Rémi Garde. “I’m really happy to have discovered this under these circumstances. I told him to clean the shoe and frame it, because I don’t think it will ever score a goal like that again.”
Despite this being his first goal, Lovitz has been an offensive threat all season, and has already racked up three assists in 2018. We’re used to seeing him use his speed and dribbling abilities to make darting runs down the flanks and escape congested situations, as we can see in the highlight below from Saturday’s game. Much of it can be credited to the fact that the full-back used to play as a forward, and filled in a number of positions before settling in at left-back.
“When (Ambroise) Oyongo was injured last season, I went into that position, but until then I filled in a few spots to help the team. I knew I just need a little time to perfect and focus on it as a craft,” explained Lovitz. “I was able to step in and get the most consistent playing time in a position I’ve gotten in my career. Since then, I haven’t looked back.”
The goal is made even more special considering what it does to help the Impact in the standings. The three points earned on Saturday allow the Bleu-blanc-noir to maintain the sixth and last playoff spot in the East and increases the gap between them and the Fire by 10 points going into the final stretch.
“It’s a real pleasure and an honour to have my first goal help the team in such a critical part of the season,” added Lovitz. “All other guys are the same. We all want to win extremely badly. It’s such a gratifying experience to be able to help the team.”
