Goalie not prepared to act independently (2,2,5)
I believe the answer is:
go it alone
'act independently' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'goalie not prepared' is the wordplay.
'prepared' indicates anagramming the letters.
'goalie'+'not'='goalienot'
'goalienot' is an anagram of 'GO IT ALONE'.
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for go it alone that I've seen before include "Take something on on one's own" , "set up as freelancer" , "act unaided" , "Proceed without the help of others" , "Take something on, eschewing any help" .)