By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

AURORA, Ore.–  It’s interesting how the weirdest of things work out for the better.

Not too long ago, eighth grade actually, North Marion’s Mallory Patzer was just figuring out about the sport of soccer.  Starting with indoor soccer that year, the seed was laid for what led to Thursday afternoon’s signing event for the Huskie senior.

It was the new experience that brought her back for that outdoor season.  Despite the learning curve of learning goalkeeping in the area of the area in which soccer rules the sporting scene with Woodburn and North Marion, Patzer just loved the new experience coming over from Volleyball.

“I love the new experiences, so it was definitely a new experience for me.  I love (North Marion Head Coach Ben) Bonser as a coach in eighth grade and once I got to Coach D (Dadamo), I just loved how they pushed their players and I’m just someone who loves to work hard,” Patzer said. “I just really dove into it and I loved Coach D and Bonser both.”

If you’ve ever seen Patzer play, her grit, passion and aggression was always front-and-center.  It’s her personality on the field of play basically.  She’s the person you got to keep an eye out for in basketball and in soccer as well as on the golf course.

This past season alone Patzer put up 11 shutouts in net while helping North Marion to a 12-4-1 record and reaching the 4A State Semi-Final round.  That came on the heels of their 9-1-2 season in 2021 that had the Huskies winning the 4A Showcase Final against Marist Catholic. 

All while helping to set a new standard for the North Marion Girls soccer program that has been slowly building through the years.

“For sure with goalkeeper, I was just fearless.  I didn’t have the technical part of it, I didn’t have the footwork, but I wasn’t afraid of going out there and slide tackling a girl and that’s what I love about it,” Patzer said with a smile.  “I totally fell in love with the sport, so I dove right into it.  This year, my senior year, I was put on a club team (Portland Thorns) and that’s where I figured  out ‘yeah I want to play college soccer’.”

Patzer signed to play collegiate soccer at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.  A NCAA Division-II school in the Greater Northwest Athletic Conference, Patzer will be playing for new Head Coach Lindsey Lee.

Lee was a goalkeeper for Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California.  Something that Patzer is excited for as she continues her goalkeeping career at the next level.

“Coach Lindsey, she’s a goalkeeper, so I’m super excited to dive into that and go in there, be coachable and get as much as I can from her because she’s a good goalkeeper,” Patzer said.

Photos By Jeremy McDonald