Get to Know: Sebastian Doppelhofer

After a 1-0 win at home earlier this year against Buffalo, Toledo Villa goalkeeper Sebastian Doppelhofer knew he'd be having a long-distance chat after the match. For him, it would only be around 10 p.m., but six time zones away his dad would be waiting to give him his thoughts from Liebmannweg, Austria.

"Yeah, early in the morning there," he said after picking up the first win for Toledo earlier this season, "He's getting up at 1:50 am and sets a timer to wake up and then watches for two hours and then goes back to bed.

"My mom, Verena, and him are my biggest supporters and I think without them I wouldn't be here to be honest."
His father, Manfred, is one of his biggest mentors as well.
"He also played as a goalkeeper, so I'm really looking up to him," Doppelhofer said. "So yeah, he's probably the biggest mentor, but also the biggest pusher for me, to be honest. He's giving me crap if I don't play well, but he's gonna say well done today, hopefully."

Playing for the Ocean City Nor'Easters of USL2 last season, Doppelhofer is backstopping Toledo this season and is enjoying his time in the Glass City. He has one season left of college and is looking forward to continuing at Lewis University, which made a run in the NCAA Division II tournament this past season.

Get To Know: Sebastian Doppelhofer
Q: What brought you to TVFC this season?
Doppelhofer: (Assistant General Manager) Jake Mercer actually sent me a DM last summer, but I tore my meniscus so I was out for the season. But Jake texted me again, because we had a great, great season with Lewis University. We went to the Final Four. But that's how I got here. The coach (Matt Johnson) and this whole program convinced me and it has been great.

Q: What did playing with Ocean City last season do to help you know more about the USL2?
Doppelhofer: USL2 is tough everywhere. Every game, you have to be 100%. I didn't see much of a difference between the practices and the games in Ocean City compared to Toledo Villa. All the practices are high quality, the games are really high quality. The same was with Ocean City. I'm glad that I'm here and I love it here.

Q: What do you want to get out of your USL2 experience?
Doppelhofer: My goal is I want to go professional after. USL2 is just to get exposed to teams and to get minutes in for the (college season), and then have a good fall. After the fall, see what's going on. I'm graduating in December and then I can see what's coming after.

Q: What's the most memorable moment of your athletic career so far?

Doppelhofer: When I was 16, I played in front of 10,000 fans against our First Division team. So that was one of my highlights in my career. But also, I think here in the US it was going to the Final Four with Lewis. It was a great experience flying to North Carolina and playing in the Charlotte Independence's stadium.

Q: Do you have any pre-game rituals or superstitions?
Doppelhofer: I always put my right boot on and then my left boot. I put my right shin guard on and then the left one. I'm putting the right glove on and then the left glove on. It started way back when I was six years old. Because my mom always said "You woke up on the wrong foot today." That's why I started doing that. I always get up on the right side and then put the right thing on first. So it's just a superstition thing, but it's been that way for 15 years now.