Goalkeeper White ends career as best goalie in m. soccer's history

When the men's soccer team's game against Yale in New Haven hit its 90th minute this weekend, another Princeton men's soccer season came to a close. The end marks the culmination of months of hard-work and dedication and provides some much needed respite for its wearied warriors. It gives the coaching staff, headed by coach Jim Barlow '91, another shot to bring in some of the country's best young players. And it marks the end of a long and gloried competitive soccer career for the team's seniors.

Except, of course, for senior keeper Jason White. White, who earned his 25th career shutout against Penn in the team's 0-0 tie Saturday night, will go down in the record books after the match up against the Elis as the greatest goalkeeper in Princeton soccer history. For this senior, the end of his Princeton soccer days marks what he hopes to be just the beginning of his soccer career.

For White, who has spent time with the Under-18 and Under-20 national teams and, if healthy, will meet with the national team in December, his success story begins very early in his Princeton career.

White made the difficult transition to college soccer as a freshman with ease, playing all but 54 minutes of his first season. As a freshman he set a number of records, and in the process showed early signs of greatness.

In 1999, his freshman season, White, starting in goal, anchored the varsity squad that won its first outright league title since 1960. The freshman keeper ended his regular season as the Ivy League's top keeper in league games. He had a league-best 0.62 goals against average and .823 save percentage in seven league contests and gave up only four goals in the seven games. He also had three shutouts in the league.

In his first season alone, White won the league's Rookie of the Week award three times and was named to both the All-Ivy first team and the prestigious Soccer America All-Freshman team. Moreover, his eight shutouts tied him with Chandler Brewer '45 for the Princeton record for shutouts in a season — a record which wouldn't last long.

"The first season was definitely a good jump start to my career here," White said. "By the end of the season, everything was clicking. We were able to win the Ivy League and had a really good showing in the postseason."

White was named honorable mention All-Ivy and second team All-Mid-Atlantic after his second season, finishing the year with a stellar 1.01 GAA. Moreover, he showed a considerable amount of both growth as a player and what he calls "mental growth" from the first to the second season.

Standing between the pipes as a junior for every minute of the team's 18 games, White recorded what goes down as his best season statistically. He finished the season with a 0.69 GAA, allowing an astonishing two goals in his seven Ivy League starts. Five of those starts were shutouts. His .867 save percentage was also the best of his career.

As a junior, he recorded 10 shutouts on the season, breaking the record that he set just two seasons before. The team won the Ivy League championship again that year, and White earned first-team All-Ivy honors and first-team All-Mid-Atlantic honors.

"I thought that last season I was able to do what a team really needs its goalie to do," White said. "Every good team is going to give up some good chances every now and then, and a goalie needs to make key saves when this breakdown occurs.

"Last year I was able to put myself in that situation when the team gave up chances to opponents," White continued. "I felt that it was my best season because I played a larger role in the team's success, more so than in my freshman year."

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In his senior season, in just the seventh game of play and his first Ivy League contest, White went down with a hip flexor injury, an ailment from which he never fully recovered. Though he made several appearances since his Sept. 28 injury, White has started just two games, showing the same kind of domination in his shutout against Penn that he has showed his whole career.

White will leave an indelible mark on the Princeton soccer record books. His career total of 25 shutouts nearly doubles the previous record, 13, held by Robert Pawloski '94. White earned enough shutouts in his first two seasons to tie that mark. He also set the season shutout record twice, topping the record he set as a freshman in his junior season. Among all Ivy players, White was the league's best keeper in both his freshman and junior season. His success is a testament of the dedication he has had to his sport at Princeton.

"I just want people to remember that nothing came easy to me. I've always worked hard and taken care of my body and made sure I was well rested for games and practices," White said.

"Being dedicated to what you do is really important and is something that a lot of people don't understand."