BERKELEY --- In soccer, success as a goalkeeper comes, in essence, from preventing accomplishments by your opponent.
 
From curtailing a high-powered offense to beating longstanding rivals, the keepers that can take away the best give the most to their own teams.
 
Most teams that have faced the California women's soccer team over the past three seasons have struggled to find success because of Golden Bear goalie Emily Boyd and her ability to consistently halt their plans.
 
Boyd, a junior and native of Seattle, Wash., has thrived in the role of starting goalkeeper, performing at a historic rate during her time in the Bay Area.
 
If her career ended today, Boyd would already walk away with her name etched into the Golden Bear record books: back-to-back seasons of school-record shutout production (11) in 2015 and 2016; one of four Cal keepers all-time with 200 or more saves; a career goals against average (0.82) on the edge of the school's top five; and the Cal career shutout record a clean sheet away. With at least one NCAA Tournament match left in 2016 and a senior season on the horizon, Boyd is primed to extend her records even further.
 
Her high-level skill set is remarkable. The journey it took to get to this point on the field and her aspirations off of it are equally as impressive.
 
Boyd picked up the sport from a player and a coach within the family. Emily's older sister, Molly, helped her develop the spark to play and her mother Dana would coach her growing up.
 
"I really looked up to my sister and I wanted to be great like she always was," Boyd said. "So right when I could walk, my mom would let me play on [Molly's] soccer teams."
 
Molly - who played four seasons at the University of Washington under former Golden Bear Lesle Gallimore - was a field player, which Emily wanted to be in her early playing days because she wanted no part of being a keeper.
 
"When I was younger, I really hated playing goalkeeper because, in rec [competition], you just stand there the whole game, no one ever passes you the ball and no one lets you do anything until the ball comes to you," Boyd recalled. "My mom was my coach and I would get mad at her if she made me play goalkeeper."
 
Her views on the position changed at the age of 14 when an opportunity to replace a club team starter in a Washington state semifinal match - and the strong performance she had in the contest - provided the confidence she needed to pursue it full-time.
 
"I was never really great at [being a keeper] but once I was finally able to do something well, it really drove me to be the best that I could be," Boyd said
 
Adding on-field performance to her innate fearlessness allowed Boyd to succeed in goal through high school and through her sophomore season at Cal in 2015, which she ended already near the school's top five in saves and shutouts.
 
Still, Boyd wanted to be better, and she relied on that tested goalie formula - stop something to go and gain something - to embark on improving herself. Better fitness and healthier eating were her target objectives, so Boyd pledged to dedicate herself to fueling her body more effectively and preparing it for game action.
 
"After last season, I told myself that there were things that I wanted to be able to do," Boyd said. "To do them, I needed to change my lifestyle."
 
Given her performance this year - twice setting a career-high for saves, matching her shutout record and earning several national player of the week awards in October - her commitment to ending her poor habits paid off handsomely.
 
Besides the accolades she received, Boyd also gained something else: a desire to help others. She started an account on Instagram - @EBoydsFood - where she shares recipe ideas and advice with others who may need it. She also takes time to log her meals and workouts to keep herself accountable.
 
"Being able to share all of the things that I'm doing and get feedback from others has been so awesome to see," Boyd said. "I like being able to help others become fit like I have been able to do. It's something I want to keep doing."
 
Whether it's keeping up with a newfound commitment or continuing to produce at an elite level, Boyd seems to have found the right balance of taking away certain things and using those actions to give her life and the lives of others more meaning.
 
"Now that I'm on this nutrition kick and on this fitness kick, [I tell myself], 'don't stop, don't slow down because you're successful", Boyd said. "Continue to do what you're doing. It'll continue to build and build until you're unstoppable, in soccer or whatever you're doing.'"