Northeastern’s men’s soccer starting goalie, sixth-year mechanical engineering major Colby Hegarty earned his spot as one of the most decorated players on Parsons Field, and his final season is a perfect culmination of the six years he’s spent refining his skills. 

Hegarty has been playing soccer his entire life, taking part in the game since he was four years old — totalling to nearly 20 years between the posts. He fell into goalkeep after being put in the net in elementary school. His natural attraction and skill in the goal made him stick with it. 

Talent runs through the family: Hegarty’s father, a former goalkeeper at Syracuse University, inspired the Husky over the years. 

“He definitely got me into it when I was young and then I just fell in love and kept on,” Hegarty said. 

In high school, Hegarty found a connection to the Northeastern soccer program through a teammate’s father, who knew the coach at the time. With a lack of other prospects, Hegarty was thankful and eager to enter the pitch as a Husky. 

“I got pretty fortunate because I didn’t have a ton of other options, definitely no other Division I options at the time,” he said. 

The investment paid off. After being redshirted his first year, and Covid-19 hitting his second, Hegarty moved up to starting goalie by his third year. Over the following two seasons, he was elected to the 2021 All-CAA Second Team and named a 2022 Defensive Player of the Week.

Hegarty is now on his sixth and final season with Northeastern, and with a persevering attitude, he’s making the last one count. The Husky has turned the season into a victory lap, with five consecutive shutouts, 32 saves over nine games and an 80% save percentage, his highest yet. He holds the 19th-lowest goals against average in the NCAA. 

On Sept. 30, Hegarty was recognized for the second time in his career as the CAA Defensive Player of the Week, after making a combined 10 saves against University of Massachusetts Lowell Sept. 24 and Stony Brook University Sept. 27. Both games ended in 0-0 ties. 

The award came as a pleasant confidence boost in what Hegarty describes as a mental game.

“As a goalkeeper, I think there’s a little bit more pressure, because obviously one mistake can lead to a goal or a loss for the entire team,” he said.

Hegarty views the recognition from CAA as a team prize, attributing his multiple shutouts to the team’s strong defense. 

“Anytime someone makes a mistake they have four other guys to help fix it for them,” he said. “We all trust each other to do our jobs and if that ever fails then we know the other guys have our backs.”

Over the years, Hegarty worked on collecting himself in high pressure games, but his focused mindset hasn’t always been as sound. He reminisced on his previous years with the team, and how he has grown over the seasons. 

“I remember my first few years and my first season starting, it was super nerve-racking,” he said. “Every game was super stressful. I felt like all the pressure was on me, all the odds were on me.” 

Today, while those beginner nerves still exist, Hergarty channels that energy into excitement and doesn’t let the negativity weigh on him. 

“I’ve learned that instead of focusing on what can go wrong, I’ve tried to focus on what can go right,” he said.

Off the field, Hegarty brings a calm, stable energy to the team and locker room in the midst of a busy season. 

“He stays reserved most of the time and I think some guys look to him when it’s panic time and he’s always calm,” head coach Jeremy Bonomo said. “I think it helps and rubs off on other people.”

Harry Sankey, a fifth-year midfielder, who has shared the field with Hegarty for five seasons, shares the sentiment. 

“He’s a really respectable role model for all of us because of how much respect he has for himself and the program,” he said. 

The team has gone through three head coaches and several goalkeeper coaches in the six seasons Hegarty’s been with the team, he said. Through the turnover, it’s the team’s relationship that remains consistent. 

“Having these guys and being part of this group allows us to work through all the changes and all the external factors,” Hegarty said. “For our team, controlling those things that we can control; the hard work, the discipline, doing things the right way and staying focused for 90 minutes, are the things that can give you the win.”

Sankey emphasized the importance of players like Hegarty throughout the roster changes, who  bring stability to the group.

“I’ve been super proud of our season because it’s hard to keep bouncing back when you lose coaches, but we’ve consistently gotten better throughout this season,” Sankey said. “Colby’s been really instrumental in that.” 

Now, the sixth-year is staring down his final collegiate year of play. Hegarty might not have been a D1 star when he entered Parsons Field in 2019, but he’s become an indispensable piece of Northeastern’s success. His final season’s nationally-ranked stats have reinforced that legacy.

“Going into it my biggest goal was to enjoy it, and to make the most of it,” Hegarty said. “It’s knowing that it’s the last one that lets you appreciate it more.”