On today’s episode of the Lax Goalie Rat Podcast, I sit down and chat with Missouri Western State University goalie Mackenzie Porter!
They say Drake Porter has the most drip in the college game, but for me, it has to be Mackenzie. She’s got some great style to her game with her awesome eye black.
Mackenzie just hit a huge career milestone by making 400 career saves after a 12-save performance against Maryville (MO) earlier this season.
The Buchanan, NY native started playing lacrosse in the second grade and wanted to play in goal the minute she started. She finally got her chance when she made it to the fourth grade and would never look back.
Mackenzie’s dad was a huge impact on her development as a goalie. He did as much as he could to learn the position and teach his children how to play the game.
Porter played her high school ball at Hendrick High School and had a unique story of playing varsity lacrosse as a 7th grader which allowed her to play 6 years of high school lacrosse. While she was initially intimidated by the idea of playing up a level, the girls on the team were so welcoming.
She would go on to be named a two-time US Lacrosse All-American, a five-time All-League, and a four-time All-Section. She produced a school-record 870 saves during her scholastic career and was named the NYS Section 1 Goalkeeper of the Decade in 2020.
As the years went on, her mental game became much stronger which landed her on the list of many collegiate program recruiting boards.
Mackenzie would go on to commit to Rutgers, but after two years, she felt like she needed to go somewhere else and entered the transfer portal.
Mackenzie was looking for a program that would develop her as a goalie but also where her game was going to impact the team using her style of play.
She didn’t reach out to any coaches initially and trusted that the school that wanted her would reach out. That’s when the Missouri Western coach reached out. The idea of starting a program from the ground up was very meaningful to her, and she saw the vision and wanted to be a part of it.
At MWSU Mackenzie would end up starting right away and has had an outstanding career so far with the Griffons.
She’s been named 2nd Team All-GLVC three times with the upstart Griffons program and currently sits at a career .457 save percentage and 11.81 GAA.
In 2023, Mackenzie is currently the only goalie at MWSU this season, and as a 5th-year goalie with one more year of eligibility, she’s in an interesting spot. It’s very rare in a collegiate program to be the only goalie, which certainly comes with some pros but also has some cons as well.
But Porter has seemed to shine in the role so far, being named GLVC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season.
Mackenzie’s journey to becoming the starting goalie for Missouri Western is an impressive one, and we’re excited to have her on the Lax Goalie Rat podcast to discuss her experiences, her style of play, and the challenges and rewards of being the only goalie on her team.
I hope you enjoy this episode with Mackenzie Porter!
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Lacrosse is my passion! The game has given me so much and this blog is my way of giving back to the lax community. Specifically the most bad a$$ part of that community - the goalies! After learning to play goalie from scratch, I wanted to create a site where I could share what I learned with others so they too can become champions in the crease and in life. Learn more about Coach Damon.
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