The Wall

By James Joseph
WSL Senior Features Writer

When he first began playing goalie in sixth grade, Brophy Prep senior Pierce Bassett admits he “wasn’t that great” and got scored on “a lot.”

But during his second year in the cage, things started to make sense to Bassett. And he started developing the aggressive, warrior mentality that seems to be prevalent in all great goalies.

“That second year I was playing it started to click,” Bassett said. “I kind of enjoyed stopping other people and frustrating an offense and being a guy who could go one-on-one and be able to make a stop.”

Bassett has been driving opponents crazy ever since. In three years as a starter for Brophy Prep, he’s made 382 saves and compiled a save percentage of 69.8. More importantly, he’s 34-3 as a starter and has helped lead the Broncos to back-to-back state championships. 

Last season’s Arizona co-Defensive Player of the Year, Basset has earned the No. 3 spot in WSL’s Boys Elite 25 rankings and a scholarship from arguably the game’s most storied collegiate program – Johns Hopkins University.

"He's tall, athletic and he understands the game," Brophy Prep head coach Beau Pich said. "He's a general in the cage for the defense."

Bassett believes he first was noticed by Hopkins when he went to the Blue Chip Rising Junior Recruiting Showcase in the summer of 2007.

“I think that’s where they first saw me,” Bassett said. “I clearly remember during one of my games, (Johns Hopkins) Coach (Dave) Pietramala standing adjacent to me on the sideline.”

Bassett then played impressively in Maryland that fall in a tournament with the West Coast Starz and later accepted an offer from Hopkins, which previously had signed Hunter Rodgers, a 2008 Brophy Prep grad.

“One of the things that Coach Pietramala talked about when I went up there is they put their emphasis on the fact that the team is a family and they’re all very close, on and off the field,” Bassett said.

“That’s something I felt was very important. … It’s also a great academic institution, and the coaches were fantastic. And along with the tradition that Johns Hopkins lacrosse has, it was something I really wanted to be a part of.”

Bassett has become the premier high school goalie in the West in large part due to his athleticism (he’s a former soccer goalie) and size (he’s a rangy 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds). But he also has worked hard to get where he is. A student of the game, Bassett studies film of opponents to “figure out tendencies, look at how (opposing) offenses work.” He then tailors his game to shut down those offenses.

Bassett also has become, to use his words, “the field general” for the Broncos’ defense.

“That’s an important part,” he said. “That’s just as important as stopping the ball.”

And he does that better than anyone in the West.