CHICAGO — Bozeman goalkeeper Oliver Olsen is the 2024 Gatorade Montana boys soccer player of the year, the organization announced Friday.
The Gatorade award recognizes high school athletes for their performances on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
Olsen, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound senior, helped the Hawks to a 14-0-3 record and the Class AA state championship last fall. He had nine shutouts on the season and allowed just 13 goals. In the state semifinals, Olsen made two saves in a shootout with Bozeman Gallatin to propel the Hawks to the championship match.
Bozeman defeated Billings West 1-0 to win the title.
Olsen was also the Eastern AA player of the year and a two-time first-team all-state selection.
“I’ve always been impressed by Oliver’s talent as a keeper and the overall defensive stability he adds to his team,” West coach Luke Ashmore said in a Gatorade news release. “I’ve never seen a goalkeeper influence matches the way Oliver did this season.”
Off the pitch, Olsen has maintained a weighted 3.91 GPA and participated in a service-mission trip to Tanzania in association with the Montana Futbol Foundation. According to the news release, he helped build a school building, fixed steps that provide access to a soccer field and supplied soccer gear for youth players. Locally, he volunteered on behalf of the Special Olympics.
Olsen is the fifth player from Bozeman High to receive the Gatorade award, joining fellow winners Zach Springer (2020), Ted Scott (2019), Ben Hietala (2015) and Alec Mashall (2014). Olsen will continue his soccer career at Westminster University in Utah.
Brady Reed of Missoula Hellgate won the 2023 award.
