Toba Bolaji is having a hard time adjusting to the fact that he will not be guarding the net for the Colonials next season.
“I can’t believe it’s my last year,” he said.
Although Bolaji, RMU’s goalkeeper, has had a stellar career for the Colonials, he was a successful net minder before stepping foot on campus. At Maple High School in Vaughn, Ontario, the 6’1’’ senior excelled in soccer, winning the Most Valuable Player award twice and being named a three-time athlete of the year.
During his freshman year at Robert Morris, Bolaji started eleven games and had a 91 goals against average as well as a .851 save percentage.
Throughout Bolaji’s career, his numbers have remained consistent. In 2010, he recorded 17 saves in one game, the second most in team history and was named to the Northeast Conference Men’s Soccer Second Team All-Conference.
Head coach Bill Denniston has not seen an athlete quite like Bolaji during his 16 years as coach for the Colonials and that is part of the reason he named Bolaji team captain before the start of the 2012 season.
“He’s absolutely the best athlete we’ve had,” said Denniston. “I think I would pick him out of anyone if I had to say ‘who would you want your goalie to be’ out of the great one’s that I’ve had.”
“Being a team captain is an honor,” Bolaji added. “The goal for me is just to be perfect and it should be for the rest of our team.”
Despite the fact that Robert Morris has gotten off to a rough start this year, Bolaji would like to turn the season around and has high hopes for next year’s team, even though he will not be a part of it.
“I think we’ll do well. It’s all about finding the right leader and we just need a little more inspiration,” added Bolaji. “We still have a lot of talent.”
While Bolaji’s days at RMU are nearing an end, his coach has high expectations that he will be able to continue his athletic career beyond college.
“He certainly has the ability to play at the next level,” added Denniston. “However I could also see him saving lives, not just soccer balls.”
