SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: Erica Goodenough
11/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
A smile comes to the face of MSU women's soccer announcer Zach Fisher as he reads off "and in for the Spartans comes senior forward Erica Goodenough," as the short, spunky blonde runs onto the field.
The senior's last name, often a favorite of announcers or reporters, is something she has dealt with her whole life.
"Growing up, I have heard multiple jokes for my last name," she said laughing. "The most popular one I've heard is, `Are you good enough to be a Goodenough?' That or people ask me the question, "Goodenough? Is that really your last name?'"
Goodenough's love affair with the game started as a 4-year-old.
"My family has always joked that soccer was a way to release the energy I had inside of me starting as a little kid," she said. "Now looking back, it was the beginning of a dream that I have worked toward my entire life."
In order to achieve her dreams, Goodenough would overcome injury while making sacrifices in order to make them a reality.
"Growing up knowing I wanted to play soccer in college, it was important to continually practice the game," she said. "This meant not always being able to go to events with friends or having to go to bed early because there was a tournament the next day a few hours away."
During her collegiate career, the forward would continue to make sacrifices in order to continue advancing her game.
"Not being able to go out when all your friends did, but just wanting to sleep because the day before you just went through what felt like the hardest lift of your life in the weight room, or not being on campus during big sporting events or holidays can be really hard," Goodenough said.
"However, with all of these sacrifices came great outcomes. Making memories with the girls that stood by my side for four years, like traveling on long bus rides and enjoying the ice cream visits on every away trip, or playing charades in the airport lobby. All of these sacrifices that we have made are replaced with great memories that are unique to being on a sports team."
Goodenough is undeniably an impact player for the Spartans. Playing in all 18 games this season, she had two goals (one under the team high) in the 2015 season alone. She sent her team into overtime against San Francisco on Sept. 11 and was responsible for sealing Michigan's fate at DeMartin Stadium in a 3-0 win on Sept. 25.
"Making it to the collegiate level was always the goal, and the opportunity to play at MSU made it so much better," Goodenough said fondly. "Growing up in the area, I have always been a MSU fan. So putting the two together couldn't have made for a better experience."
In her career at Michigan State, the senior played in 44 games, starting nine. She tallied 10 points (four goals, two assists) while firing off 19 shots and nine on goal.
Working her way up to playing considerable minutes has not been an easy road for the forward who battled ankle injuries consistently throughout her career.
"I have overcome my injuries by being patient and determined to get back on the field," Goodenough said. "While sitting out of workouts and training during the spring of my junior year, I was determined to not let this effect my last season."
"I pushed myself to make sure I had no regrets after my senior year ended, and my teammates were there every step of the way encouraging [me]."
Determined to have a valuable impact for her team, Goodenough led by example through her work ethic. Goodenough's playing time continued to build as the season progressed. She earned the honor of starting the final game of her career against Ohio State.
"To have come off the bench and play valuable minutes shows that hard work will pay off," she said confidently. "From being redshirted freshman year to slowly working up the minutes to play as much as I did senior year shows me that perseverance and determination are key factors to succeeding at something you want to do. With the help and encouragement of the team, I loved being able to spend my final minutes on the field with these girls."
Goodenough is a leader both on and off the field, leading outreach events in the East Lansing community for her team as well as being named to the All-Big Ten Academic Team for two consecutive years.
"E," as the forward is fondly known, will turn in her Spartan jersey for an internship next semester to launch her career in the "real world." A packaging major, she will begin a six-month co-op working with Kraft Heinz and hopes to start a full-time career in packaging following that.
