AUBURN — When he picked up the game of lacrosse, it was apparent early that Cody Rodrigue’s strength wasn’t going to be as an attacker.

Or a midfielder.

So he tried his luck at one of the toughest and noblest of positions in any sport: goaltender.

“I wasn’t very good as a player, and coach (Dave) Haefele’s been my coach for a long time,” Rodrigue said. “I tried (goalie) one game, and I was pretty good at it, so I stuck with it.”

At the time — in sixth grade — Rodrigue switched in the cage with Haefele’s younger son, Troy, now one of the top scorers in the state.

By the eighth grade, Rodrigue was a fixture between the pipes.

“I wasn’t going to be anything else at that point,” he said. “That’s about when it became permanent.”

As St. Dom’s, under Haefele’s guidance, prepares for its Eastern Class B lacross semifinal Saturday against North Yarmouth Academy, Rodrigue knows he has to be on his game for the unbeaten Saints.

“I try not to get into pressure or things like that,” Rodrigue said. “I know that if the defense can keep the shots to the outside, I’ll be fine, but there’s not really any more pressure added to it.”

The defense has also been an integral part of the Saints’ season, and of Rodrigue’s development at the keeper position. Chief among those defenders is Rodrigue’s older brother, Dylan.

“I’m not a very good shooter,” Dylan admitted. “That’s a big reason I play defense.”

And having a brother on the squad is one reason Cody is so comfortable with his defenders.

“I’ve been with him my whole life,” Cody said. “I’m used to him being around. It’s fun playing with my brother, and I try to enjoy every minute of it.”

“Playing with these guys all the time, he’s either adjusted, or he’s adjusted to them,” Haefele said. “It’s a good group for him.”

One of the skills that made Cody Rodrigue a natural as a keeper, Haefele said, is his hands.

“He’s working with the quickest hands I’ve seen, really, so he works around that,” Haefele said. “Acquiring a lacrosse IQ, working on breakouts, in the cage working on his angles, all the details is where he works now. But you have to have something to start with, and that’s why he’s so good.”

Haefele likened it to being a track star.

“It’s like running, you can get a little quicker,” Haefele said. “But you have to have that hand-eye, and the quickness about it inside you to begin with.”

And the fearlessness. Often, after practices and games, the Saints keeper will leave the field with red welts on his legs.

“It’s painful for a little while, I’ll get a little red mark for a little while, then it’ll go away,” Cody Rodrigue said. “The inner thigh, that’s probably the worst, but that’s pretty much it.”

And when he’s facing fewer shots, and they feel like they’re coming at him more slowly, the chance that he’ll stop them increases.

“Every year gets less,” Rodrigue said. “I feel like I see less every year and they seem to be slower than the previous year. Freshman year, I was younger, I wasn’t used to facing varsity shots, and then as a sophomore, when you have (graduated Saints’ players) Tim (Day) and Trevar (Haefele) shooting on you every day, you get pretty used to it. But they’re still pretty hard.”

The only time he’s relinquished the over-sized stick and extra padding is when he’s become a bit too aggressive, and been whistled for a penalty.

“That’s only happened once this year,” Rodrigue said with a smirk.

In that case, Troy Haefele spelled Rodrigue in the cage. That’s about as far from the crease as he likes to roam, though.

“I stay at home pretty much, the furthest I usually go is the attack line,” Rodrigue said. “The defense will get the turnover, or I’ll pass it to them and they do their thing. I’m kind of aggressive, and I could be more aggressive, but I like to stay at home. I don’t want to go out, a guy come in on me, I have no outlet and then they get the ball and score.”

“You almost take it for granted, with him back there,” brother Dylan said. “We rely on him, and he’s a good goalie.”

A goalie, Haefele said, that the team is lucky to have as the program prepares for a tough test Saturday.

“He’s grown with the team, and he’s part of the growth of the team,” Haefele said. “Now that we know we’re playing NYA, it’s very important he’s on his game. The same goes for the rest of the team, too. It’s a big matchup.”