Sep 23, 2022
Between the Posts at UNR
Jake Gardner reports on the goalkeepers for the Nevada women’s soccer team, what got them there and how they feel about their important role.
On September 22, in a game against Utah State, starting goalkeeper Kendal Stovall had a good night overall. In the first half, she left the Utah State Aggies scoreless. After Utah State scored their only goal in the second half, Stovall kept fighting and kept making saves to slow the Aggies down.
It was indicative of the overall resilience of the goalkeepers for the Nevada Women’s soccer team.
They show up early to practice to get their reps in and then they try to stop shots that are coming at them from all directions. During games, the goalkeeper has to be in front of the net the whole time. The only action they are a part of is when the opposing team has the ball and are in the Wolf Pack’s zone trying to score.
Another goalkeeper on the roster, Alyssa Szarlacki, says goalkeepers are important because they can see everything happening.
“We are the last line of defense,” Szarlacki said. “We get to see the whole field and we have to be good communicators and tell everyone where to be because we can see everyone out there”
Szarlacki is a freshman who became a goalkeeper because she liked the position. “When I was younger, my coach made me stay in goal,” Szarlacki said. “I also liked being in there because you get to use your hands and you’re different from the rest of the 10 players on the field. We have to be crazy to be a goalie because we are getting shots slammed at us 24/7.”
Currently, the Nevada women’s soccer team has five goalkeepers. Goalkeeper Emily McCue says the goaltending battle gets pretty fierce both in practice and in games.
“Goalkeeping this year has been a lot of fun,” McCue said. “I like it because there’s five goalkeepers on the team right now so it’s super competitive and we have some really good strikers and finishers so the competitive level at practice and training is always super high. It’s a lot of fun.”
While there are some new players on the team, Emily McCue has been with the team for at least four years due to her being a senior. McCue wanted to be a goalkeeper because she did not like the aspect of running in the game of soccer.
“As a kid, I didn’t like to run,” McCue said. “I was also really tall so my hand-eye coordination was really good so I just got stuck in net one game because when you’re younger, everyone has to rotate. I asked if I can stay in and they let me and I sort of haven’t looked back yet.”
When you are a goalkeeper, you have to be able to stop oncoming soccer balls from going into the net. Freshman goalkeeper Ally Larkin says you get an adrenaline rush when you make a crucial save in the game of soccer.
“It’s a really great feeling to be able to make a crucial save,” Larkin said. “It’s especially true in a game if it is really tight. Making a save boosts your confidence a lot and it boosts the team’s confidence in you and it just kind of gives you that extra motivation to keep the energy up to go win the game.”
Unlike her teammates, Larkin did not start as a goalkeeper.
“When I was younger, I originally started out as a midfielder,” Larkin said. “Then, I just kind of got put in goal by my coach because the goalkeeper we had wouldn’t really dive for the ball. My coach knew that I would get down for the ball and I just wanted to win so bad that I would put my body on the lines so my coach threw me in goal and I stuck with it ever since.”
Larkin says to be a goalkeeper, you also have to have an aspect of toughness. “I would say you definitely have to be physically tough as well as mentally tough,” Larkin said. “You’re gonna get scored on and you have to go into the position knowing that it’s gonna happen. You can’t save every ball. You just gotta stay consistent and make the little saves and the huge ones when you can. It’s definitely a position that can be scary because you got players coming at you and balls being kicked at you. You gotta be brave and just be able to know you gotta put your body on the line when it comes down to it to make a save and put your team on your back.”
The game on September 22 ended with the Utah State Aggies winning 1–0 but it could have been worse, had it not been for excellent goalkeeping. Kendal Stovall tied her season-high total of seven saves in a game.
