This country has seen just how good a goalie Tim Howard is during this World Cup, and if the U.S. team shocks Germany today and wins its group outright, it'll no doubt see it again.



But there was a moment, on a field in his hometown of North Brunswick 17 years ago, when Howard refused to play goal. And that, maybe better than anything, illustrates why he is not just the final line of defense for this American team, but its most valuable leader, too.



This was his final high school game, the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group III championship. Howard had made a deal with his coach, Stan Williston, before the season: He would play midfielder his senior year, giving him a welcome break from the pressure that came from his role as the under-17 national team goalie.



Howard was such an incredible athlete that it hardly was a sacrifice for the team. He earned all-state honors, leading North Brunswick to the brink of a title that would cap his amateur career.



Then came the final, against Ocean Township, with the home fans gathered in North Brunswick to watch. Regulation came and went without a goal, and so did overtime. The team gathered in the huddle on the field before penalty kicks, and the obvious question was hanging in the air.



"Everyone just looked around at each other. We've got the best goalie in the country and he's not wearing the gloves," said JD Martin, who played goal that season for the team. "But before anyone could say a word, Tim stepped up and said, 'JD is our goalkeeper. He'll be in net for penalties.'"



North Brunswick lost in the shootout, 8-7, but Howard had made a statement about the importance of a team. Martin, who went on to play collegiately at Rutgers and Northwestern, said it was Howard who put his arm around him first after the loss to offer support.



"That was Tim," Martin said. "After the fact, he was never the type of guy who would say, 'Oh man, if I had gone in goal, I would have saved three of those and we would have won."



Williston, who won 640 games as a coach, was never as proud as he was in a team after a loss.



"His relationship with his teammates was so strong," said Williston, who is retired and lives in North Carolina. "He was never that kind of guy who said, 'I'm on the national team. Look at me.' He has that innate ability to share the team and share the fun."



So, while his friends in North Brunswick are amazed with the acrobatic saves that Howard has made in this World Cup like everyone else, they are more appreciative of the way Howard has worked with his inexperienced defense, or calmed the team after moments of adversity that could have derailed this run already.



People in North Brunswick marvel at Howard, the athlete, who also starred as a point guard on the basketball team. But they seem most proud of Howard, the person, who will show up unannounced at high school games even all these years later and sit in the stands with the crowd.



Maybe this is why, in a tournament filled with preening (and even biting) divas, that the U.S. team has held its own. The Americans are all about the team, about toughness and grit, and it starts with the goalkeeper who has 102 international caps in his career.



"We all knew he'd have a chance at a career with 100 caps and three World Cups," Martin said. "For me, the most impressive thing is, he's still the same great guy and personality we knew as teenagers."



Martin, now a private equity investor in Boston, still knows him. He flew to Jacksonville, Fla., to see Howard's 100th cap last month, and then traveled to Brazil to watch Howard beat Ghana in the first U.S. game in the World Cup, spending two hours with him poolside the day before the pivotal matchup.



He saw an athlete who was relaxed before stepping on the biggest stage, and most of all, confident in his teammates. That, given their shared history in high school, certainly came as no surprise.

