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Noah LeMaster 2025

General

Commitment to team, on-field performance solidifying LeMaster's Blinn legacy

The sophomore goalkeeper owns several of the Buccaneers' single-season and career records

General

Commitment to team, on-field performance solidifying LeMaster's Blinn legacy

The sophomore goalkeeper owns several of the Buccaneers' single-season and career records

If Noah LeMaster had played his sophomore season in 2024, he wouldn't be a Blinn Buccaneer right now. 

According to the sophomore goalkeeper, some things are just meant to be. 

One year after missing an entire season due to injury, LeMaster has picked up where he left off in 2023, setting program records and stepping up in big moments while leading the eighth-ranked Buccaneers to one of the most successful campaigns in team history. 

"I'm here for a reason," LeMaster said. "That's the best way to look at things when you experience hardships in life. I think at the end of the day, keeping for this team is where I'm supposed to be." 

A two-time state champion at Boerne High School, LeMaster arrived at Blinn in 2023 and quickly delivered on his potential. He became the first keeper in program history to start every game of his freshman season, and his 14 victories set a new single-season program mark as the Bucs reached the Gulf South District Tournament. He also made an impressive 94 saves for a 79% save rate and posted seven shutouts. 

By the end of his debut season, LeMaster was positioned for an even bigger 2024. 

"We were extremely high on Noah and got more out of him in that first year than we could have hoped for," Bucs head coach Michael McBride said. "We knew he was good, but we really saw him grow exponentially in that first year. Naturally, we were excited for his sophomore season." 

Before he could step onto the field for year two, however, LeMaster sustained an injury during a scrimmage that put him on the shelf.  

It was a first for LeMaster, who had sustained minor bumps and bruises throughout his soccer career, but had never missed significant time. 

"It was devastating," LeMaster said. "You don't realize how quickly the game can be taken from you until it happens. I found myself just sitting in my dorm room for weeks, unsure about what the future would hold." 

Noah LeMaster 2025
Blinn's Noah LeMaster returns the ball to play during a match against Tyler Junior College on Aug. 28, 2025

LeMaster worked to get back on the field, and as he recovered, he found new ways to contribute to the team's 2024 campaign. 

LeMaster worked with freshman Connor Vela – who took over keeping duties in his stead – and the other netminders on the Blinn roster, assuming the role of de facto goalkeepers coach. 

"I wanted to do something for the team," LeMaster explained. "If I wasn't going to be on the field, I at least wanted to play some sort of role that could help the guys. If I could just share a little bit of knowledge that would help our keepers improve, I wanted to do it." 

LeMaster recovered from his injury near the end of the 2024 season but opted to forego a return in favor of a full season of action in 2025. 

In the meantime, LeMaster went to work perfecting different parts of his game. He spent training sessions wearing non-grip keeper gloves, used to perfect a keeper's hand placement and on-ball fundamentals. He also fine-tuned his sidewinder kick, a modern era line-drive side volley that is vastly more difficult for opposing teams to defend than the more traditional punt. 

To that point, LeMaster earned a pair of rare offensive assists – the second and third of his collegiate career – in a 2-0 shutout of Texas Southmost on Oct. 24. Both were initiated by LeMaster's sidewinder. 

"He refuses to become stagnant," McBride said. "He is a student of the game, and his attention to detail is very professional. The way he carries himself and approaches the game is far beyond his years. You watch him in training and how he continues to hone his skills and add to his repertoire; that is a young man who is putting himself in position to succeed." 

LeMaster has again been a stalwart in the middle of the Bucs' success. Blinn has rolled to a 13-2-1 record and heads into the upcoming Gulf South District Tournament as champions of the Region 14 South division for the first time in team history. 

While LeMaster has been forced to battle through some minor late-season injuries, he has remained a steady presence for Blinn. With an 8-2-1 record, he is now the Bucs' career leader in victories (22), and his four shutouts this fall give him 11 in his two seasons, another Bucs record. LeMaster is also second all-time in saves with 142 and owns the program's best save percentage at 79%. 

"The records are fun. Obviously, being able to leave a mark on a team and being remembered for something is great," LeMaster said, "but at the end of the day, I want my legacy to go deeper. I want to know that I helped the younger guys grow, and I want those same guys to carry that over to the next class of keepers who come through Blinn." 

LeMaster and the Bucs next play a district playoff quarterfinal tilt against Northeast Texas Community College at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Rankin Field in Brenham, Texas. LeMaster will be in goal for Blinn as it looks to extend its eight-match winning streak and build its case for the program's first berth in the NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship tournament.  

Wherever the ride may end for LeMaster and the Bucs, LeMaster believes he'll have been right where he was meant to be. 

"Blinn has been life-changing for me, both as a person and as a soccer player," he said. "It's an honor to be able to lead this team back to the playoffs, and I'm just eager to see where the journey takes me and this team from here." 

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 53 national championships since 1987.
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Players Mentioned

Connor Vela

#40 Connor Vela

GK
5' 10"
Freshman
Noah LeMaster

#1 Noah LeMaster

GK
6' 2"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Connor Vela

#40 Connor Vela

5' 10"
Freshman
GK
Noah LeMaster

#1 Noah LeMaster

6' 2"
Sophomore
GK