EDMONTON — Entering the 2015 season, FC Edmonton’s home field already had a reputation as a tough place in which to play.

Between the physical back-line, the extreme temperatures (high and low) and incessant bag-piping noise, no team had scored more than a single goal at Clarke Stadium from June on last season.

Head coach Colin Miller expects that to trend to continue with the addition of six-foot-five goaltender Matt Van Oekel.

“If you look at him, I wouldn’t even swear at him through the phone,” Miller said.

The “loud” Van Oekel says he likes to “play big.”

“I’m aggressive off my line, so that’s probably what (Miller is) talking about,” said the Virginia native, who was signed by FC Edmonton in the off-season from the Minnesota United, with whom he played the last five seasons.

Minnesota United finished with the best combined record in the North American Soccer League last season. The club is three years away from joining Major League Soccer, the top soccer circuit in Canada and the U.S.

It was while Van Oekel was playing in Minnesota that the 28-year-old caught Miller’s eye.

“It was a no-brainer. The first time I saw Matt Van Oekel play, I wanted him to be a part of my team,” Miller said. “I’m very pleased that we have the best goalkeeper in the North American Soccer League, in my opinion.”

The signing has raised a few eyebrows, however.

FC Edmonton was already prepared to enter the season with three other goaltenders under contract: Tyson Farago, Christian Kaiswatum, and John Smits, last season’s Golden Glove award winner as the ’keeper with the NASL’s lowest goals-against average at 0.90.

The Toronto native filled in admirably for last year’s starter Lance Parker, who missed the majority of the season with various ailments. In his stead, Smits helped FC Edmonton finish the fall season with the second-fewest goals allowed in the league.

Despite Smits’s success, his coach still saw room for improvement.

“Smits had a good season, and I don’t think for a second that he did a poor job,” Miller said. “But our fans will see a difference when Matt kicks a ball or comes out for a cross.”

Those were the biggest criticisms laid upon Smits last year. While he can stop shots with the best in the league, his ball distribution and decision-making left his coach wanting more.

There were times last season in which Smits would find himself in trouble — most notably a failed clear in the second-to-last game of 2014, which led to the Fort Lauderdale goal that ended FC Edmonton’s playoff hopes.

Still, it all comes back to that physical presence that Miller desires in a goalkeeper; someone who makes opposing players think twice about entering the Eddies’ box. FC Edmonton has that now with Van Oekel.

“You don’t want to get caught underneath him, because if he lands on top of you, or is going for a punch, I would not want to be on the receiving end of that,” Miller said.

The goalkeeper seems to be working out so far for FC Edmonton. Van Oekel hasn’t allowed a goal, albeit in limited time, during FC Edmonton’s two pre-season matches against the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Jacksonville United.

Miller hopes that those performances carry over into the regular season.

“What I want from a ’keeper is someone that will win us 10-12 points in a season, and I think Matt will do that for us,” Miller said.

“I’ve challenged him to see if he can go on to another level, because he has all the attributes of a top level goalkeeper.”

Follow me on Twitter: @arcurimike

