Christian Bignotti ’25 is a goalkeeper on the men’s soccer team hailing from Santiago, Chile. The Garnet won their last conference game on Saturday 7-2 against Haverford College, where Bignotti had one save in 54 minutes of play on his senior night. Throughout the season, Bignotti has anchored the Swarthmore defense, starting and playing in fifteen games. He ranks top seven in the Centennial Conference for goals against average (1.13), save percentage (.738), and saves per game (3.00 avg/game). Bignotti is in the top six for shutouts on the season with a total of four. Highlights of this season include a career-high seven saves against No. 23 Franklin and Marshall College and helping the Garnet to a tie against No. 6 Dickinson College with five saves. In his career at Swarthmore, Bignotti has played a total of 35 games and 3,001:43 minutes. He has accumulated 97 saves and boasts a career save percentage of 0.69 with a 1.29 goals against average. The 2x 2023 Centennial Defensive Player of the Week has helped the Garnet to a total of eighteen wins and seven ties in his time at Swarthmore. Bignotti has also been named to the Centennial Honor Roll (2022, 2023), an impressive feat for an engineering major. Swarthmore’s season has concluded for this year and we look forward to seeing them back out on the pitch next season.
Abby Chang: How did you feel about the win against Haverford this weekend?
Christian Bignotti: The win this weekend was a pretty good way to end the season I guess. Even though that was the last game for the seniors and me, it was nice to be able to end with a win at home. My mom and siblings were here as well, so that made it even better.
AC: What have been some of your favorite memories with the team over the past four years?
CB: My favorite memories on the team are all the trips with overnight stays. They are always super fun. This year we went to California for four days. We played and won two games, we got a beach day, went to the Santa Monica pier, Venice Beach, etc. Everyone had a good time; even just hanging around in the hotel with the team is fun.
AC: Do you have an athlete role model or someone in the sport you look up to?
CB: Growing up, I always looked up to Claudio Bravo. He was the goalkeeper and captain of the Chilean national team for most of my childhood. He was on the team when they won two Copa Americas which were the first two international tournaments Chile ever won.
AC: Why do you play soccer?
CB: I don’t really have a cool story of why I play soccer. I grew up in Chile, and it is pretty much the only sport there is. Everyone is expected to know and play soccer. At recess it was the only thing to do, so I guess I started playing because I wanted to make friends, and still kind of do.
AC: Why did you choose Swarthmore? What is your area of study?
CB: Honestly, I had no other coaches interested in me, so whenever Coach Wagner reached out it was either try Swarthmore out or study in Chile. I am happy I chose Swat, I really love it here. I am majoring in engineering and minoring in applied math.
AC: What is your favorite class that you’ve taken at Swarthmore?
CB: My favorite class at Swat is Engineering 29 (Embedded Systems) with [Associate Professor of Engineering Maggie Delano]. It is a project-based class where we got to build electrical circuits with microcontrollers that did different really cool things (Radio, Heart rate monitor, RC car). I really liked building things instead of doing problem sets. I have also taken a couple painting classes with [Sara Lawrence Lightfoot Professor of Art Randall Exon] which I really enjoyed and are a close second.
AC: How has being a student athlete impacted your experience at Swarthmore?
CB: I think the biggest impact being an athlete has had while at Swat has been the extension to the Swarthmore community you get. Trainers, coaches, strength coaches, administration, athletes on your team and other teams are all people who want the best for you. Having so much support has been great. It is always pleasant to go to the field, the gym or the fieldhouse.
AC: What is something on your bucket list that you hope to do before you graduate?
CB: The last thing I need to do before I leave is win the IM pickleball tournament again. My pickleball partner and I have never lost.
AC: What are your plans for after graduation?
CB: After Swat I am hoping to get a job in biomedical engineering somewhere in the Northeast or Chile.
AC: Do you have any advice for underclassmen?
CB: My advice for underclassmen is to try to do a little bit of everything at Swat. I think it is easy to fall in a groove and not really do things outside of your routine. Try different clubs, take random classes, join the IM leagues, go to Philly, apply for anything and everything you may be interested in, etc. It is a great place to try everything.
AC: What do you like to do outside of school and soccer?
CB: Outside of school and soccer I really like to hike, camp, and mountain bike, which I am fortunate I can do a lot of at home.
