Less than 40 minutes away from shutting out the No. 7 ranked team in the country, Fairfield goalkeeper Andrew Frankel ’06 braced himself for a shot. It would be the only one on goal in the second half, but in a one-goal game it would be critical. The shot came sailing through the air. Frankel dove and deflected the ball over the crossbar, preserving the shutout and igniting a small-scale celebration in the stands, where more than 1,000 fans watched.
With the shutout, Frankel, a Warren, R.I. native, lowered his season goals against average to 0.81 and was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time. He may well be the front-runner to win the Defensive Player of the Year. But what stands out the most on Frankel’s resumee has nothing to do with soccer.
Off the field, he is a perennial Dean’s List student and a member of the Students for Social Justice club.
“I feel that this club is possibly the most important on campus,” said Frankel. “[It] provides an invaluable service in that it is concerned with the promulgation of truths and realities that kids from Fairfield and many other schools are just not being exposed to.”
Frankel is a strong presence in the locker room, as well.
“He brings maturity to the team, and is likely to have an offbeat perspective on stuff,” says Head Coach Carl Rees. “He is a very colorful character and a mini -philosopher in the locker room.”
Not many philosophers give up less than a goal per game. But when he arrived at Fairfield in the fall of 2002, Frankel brought with him a wealth of experience that includes playing alongside some of the country’s elite players.
Before Fairfield, Frankel spent seven years as a member of the Rhode Island Region I team, a regional all-star team, and was named the tournament’s best goalkeeper at the Romeo di Rieti tournament in Italy.
Frankel says that he has tried out for the U.S. national team several times and has played with people who are now on Major League Soccer teams.
Frankel is not your typical “poster boy.” He often tends “not to provide whitewashed answers” in interviews and speaks his mind “bluntly.”
That view is echoed by Kevin Donohue ’07, who plays a leading role in Students for Social Justice.
“He never misses a chance to make a wisecrack or get in the face of authority,” said Donohue. “This can be almost exhuasting, except that it’s coupled with Andrew’s kinetic personality and sincere commitment to justice.”
One would think that such a well-rounded individual would have an ego to match his feats, but this is the farthest thing from the truth for Frankel.
“All of this doesn’t amount to a hill of beans unless the grades translate into being a better person,” he said.
Frankel also enjoys reading, music and traveling, and he spent his spring semester of junior year abroad in Belgium, a time he describes as “the best period of my life.” Frankel stayed in Belgium after his studies ended and traveled for two months to Tunisia and Croatia, among other destinations.
“I can’t even begin to impart how much I learned there,” said Frankel. “The friends I made there won’t soon be forgotten either. I feel I became more ‘myself’ in those months than ever before, and so much of who I am comes from Brussels, Belgium.”
Frankel’s unpretentious attitude was revealed again when he was asked about his role as an athlete.
“We still have to worry about getting written up and buying parking passes,” Frankel said.
Rees feels that Frankel is a critical component to his team’s successes.
“The mark of a good player is does he come up with key plays in critical moments? And Andrew has certainly done that this season,” said Rees.
His teammates couldn’t agree more.
Long-time teammate Joseph Dos Santos ’06, who played alongside Frankel on an Olympic Developement Program team in high school, said that Frankel “has been one of the best goalies I have ever seen or played with. With him in the net, I am never concerned.”
After four years without a MAAC championship under his belt, this is Frankel’s last chance for glory.
“I wanted to make the all-conference and all-region teams, like anyone, but winning the MAAC and going to the NCAA tournament was my top priority in the soccer realm,” Frankel said.
“And after three years of close calls,” he said, “this is the last shot for me.”
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