By Bill Reno (@letsallsoccer)

Typically MLS’s spring season is marred by goalkeepers shaking off rust from an extended offseason, but this season fans have witnessed a breath of fresh air when it comes to goalkeeping. First, we've had a number of young goalkeepers far exceed expectations, despite not even being starters last year. Tyler Miller, Matt Turner, and Richard Sanchez were all sitting a bench somewhere last year but have shown the public (and previous employers) why they are worth putting in goal. Luis Robles and Alex Bono have done well in the Champions League, while Sean Johnson and Jimmy Maurer are seeing some resurgence in their careers. It hasn't been all daisies and roses, but compared to previous years, it’s been a blast seeing goalkeepers win games instead of costing their teams points.

On the other side of the coin, goalkeepers like David Bingham, Andrew Tarbell, and Zack Steffen haven’t exactly shown up on the stat sheet in ways they’d like to. All three carry more than their fair share of hype when it comes to the media (Tarbell was deemed a “10-year keeper” before he was even drafted) but today we’re going to focus solely on where Columbus Crew’s Zack Steffen is struggling. This isn't a scouting report per se, as many of us are well aware of the positives behind Steffen’s game, but instead we’ll dive into where he needs to continue to develop and why he owes Columbus 2.82 goals six games into the season.

Angle Play

We’ve all heard it a million times: imagine there is a string tied from the middle of the goal line to the ball. This is a good rule of thumb, but of course like any guideline, there are exceptions. If a defender has cut off a part of the frame, a goalkeeper can cheat to one slide. Or on certain high-reflex situations, a goalkeeper can play the odds instead of the angle. Clint Irwin gives an example of this in MLS’s first (and only?) “Anatomy in a Save”. But one thing that’s been more prevalent this season is goalkeepers overprotecting their front post. Perhaps this is due to the stigma of giving up a goal on the near post (Justin Bryant informs you why protecting the front post is overblown) but regardless, Steffen would behoove himself on fixing his angles. Against Montreal and DC, he was protecting his near post so much that shots slightly away from the middle of the frame were unsaveable.