Lambert helped the Tigers start the season well, going 2-1 each of the last two weekends at prestigious tournaments in The Woodlands and Georgetown. Consol will play another nondistrict match -- a friendly, as coach Stefano Salerno calls it -- at Magnolia West on Friday, then open defense of its District 18-5A championship Tuesday at Huntsville.

No doubt more collisions are coming, but Lambert won't shy away.

"If there's a ball anywhere in my area, I'm going to get it," Lambert said. "I kind of lost that a little bit after the injury, but this season I feel like that's coming back to me. There were some corners or free kicks [during the first six games] that I came out on where it was me jumping up against two or three guys."

Salerno considers Lambert to be fearless.

"He doesn't blink," Salerno said.

Lambert has reason to dread contact.

Last year three games into district play, he charged off his line after a through ball. He slid and knocked the ball away from an onrushing Bryan player, who attempted to jump over the keeper but wound up sending his knee into Lambert's head.

"It was on the fence of whether I would be able to go out and pick [the ball] up or it would be a one-on-one," Lambert said. "His knee hit me pretty much smack dab in the eye."

Lambert suffered a concussion, and the orbital bone around his eye was fractured in two places. He missed about four weeks before returning with two games left in district play.

"The second game I was back there was one of those 50-50 balls and I hesitated a little bit, and they ended up scoring off it," Lambert said. "I realized that when it comes down to it, if a goal is on the line, I'm just going to go for it. What are the odds of me getting a facial fracture again?"

With hopes of becoming a secondary school math teacher, Lambert may one day calculate those odds. His concern these days is another 18-5A title and the program's first trip to a regional tournament.

Although the Tigers had to replace five seniors off last year's teams, hopes are high at Consol. And Lambert is a big reason. He has allowed just four goals in six games, including a 1-0 victory over Georgetown Eastview, which reached the Class 5A state final last season.

"We were one game away [from regionals] last year, and that's as close as we've gotten," Lambert said. "It would be a big milestone to make it. I definitely think it's possible."

Lambert says he was drawn to goalkeeper when he started soccer with a rec league while in about the third grade. Less running seemed appealing, and with a background in basketball, he liked the idea of getting his hands on the ball.

He has done a bang-up job, both at his position and in leading his team.

"He's our voice, the guy that represents what this program is really about," Salerno said.