Maxx Anderson signs with Mount Mercy

FAIRFIELD - Fairfield goalkeeper Maxx Anderson will be heading north next season. The Trojan senior signed his letter of intent to attend Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, where he will play soccer.

'I really didn't know much about Mount Mercy until my sister went there,” Anderson said. 'There were multiple schools that had really good nursing programs, and I looked at all of them. Mount Mercy showed to be the vetter school, because I could go play soccer up there.

Anderson has manned the net for Fairfield since his freshman year, but moved to the starting position last season, where he had 55 saves and 23 goals against, for a .705 save percentage.

Anderson credits the Fairfield coaching staff, as well as volunteer Daniel Ray for improving his goalkeeping skills well enough to prepare him for becoming a college athlete. He says he's excited to be able to continue to play the game he loves.

'I've played since I was four,” Anderson said. 'I've gone through two knee surgeries and continued to play it. With playing my high school career, I was like, ‘I want to take this at the next level.'”

Like many spring sports athletes, Anderon was robbed of his 2020 season due to the COVID-19 outbreak. He says he has tried to stay working on his game despite not being able to play with his teammates.

'I've done a little bit of touching with that eball and (work on) my reflexing,” he said. 'With the Coronavirus, I haven't went out to the field much. The moment I can, I plan on getting back out there.”

Anderson and the Trojans went 10-7 last season and finished the conference season 6-1. They were knocked out in the postseason in a 2-1 game against Oskaloosa.

Anderson will join a Mount Mercy team that went 7-9-2 overall and 4-6-1 in the conference.

While at school, Anderson plans on working toward his C.N.A. (Certified Nurses Assistant). He says he has been interested in the medical field since he was in middle school.

Anderson says he didn't know any of the Mustang players until he went to see them play, but that the group made him feel at home. He says he doesn't know if he'll be able to play right away, but is excited to eventually make a difference.

Anderson also spoke to his teammates at Fairfield, and how much of a family atmosphere he felt with the Trojans.

'I think coming in as a freshman was a real eye opener,” Anderson said. 'I was playing against stronger, bigger players than I had before. They were very nice, caring and really good teammates all around. Being able to work with those kids for one, two, three years really helped me build my team mentality. It was like a family on the field. We definitely had our arguments here and there, but we all stood for each other.”