Like a lot of soccer goal keepers, Naomi Glassberg’s career between the posts started because she was one of a few youth players willing to give it a try.

“In rec soccer, I was the only one that wanted to volunteer,” she said. “I gave it a try and from the beginning I was a natural at it so I just kept going and I really enjoy it.”

When she got to high school, Glassberg earned the varsity starting spot a freshman for Northwestern Lehigh. After four seasons guarding the goal for the Tigers, she recently announced her intentions to continue her career at Division 1 Cornell University.

“A couple summers ago my parents and I went and visited the campus just to look at it,” said Glassberg. “My parents really love it up there in Ithaca. I fell in love with the campus immediately.”

Glassberg considered some other Ivy League and Patriot League schools before making her final decision. But Cornell was always the school that stood out above the others.

“The coaching staff there is really amazing,” she said. “They’ve been so welcoming. Through my entire recruiting process I knew it was a front runner.”

Glassberg has been part of four straight district championship teams. She recorded 14 shutouts and allowed just 17 goals last season, allowing an average of 0.68 goals per game while making 87 saves.

As a junior she stopped 76 shots and posted 18 shut outs while allowing just six goals all season for a 0.26 goals per game average.

“Naomi was a fierce competitor and she brought a lot of tenacity to the team,” said Tiger head coach Jordan Smith. “She was a leader from day 1 and not only helped to secure the goal, but also helped to control the defense.

“She was never shy to say she wouldn’t be able to do what she does without the defense in front of her, making her a tremendous team player.”

Glassberg started every game for the Tigers and plans to do her best to earn some playing time or even a starting spot with the Big Red next fall.

“As a goalie, there’s one starting position,” she said. “I want to go in and do my best to fight for the starting spot and see if I can make an impact on the program. It will be hard but I’m ready to compete.”

She leaves Northwestern after helping the program win three league titles to go along with its four district crowns.

“The program is losing the backbone of the team for the past four years, so it’s going to be tough to try and replace her,” said Smith. “Cornell is getting a player who doesn’t know what the word quit means and works hard each and every day. Not only will she excel on the field for them, but she’ll excel in the classroom having one of Northwestern’s top GPAs in the graduating class.”