Frosh goalies learn to run defense for field hockey

The scenario seems stolen straight from every coach's worst nightmare — a team must rely on a platoon of two freshmen goalies.

Yet field hockey head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn doesn't wake up screaming every morning. Sure, the situation might not be optimal, but coaching freshmen goalies Allison Nemeth and Juliana Simon has been far from a bad dream. In fact, listening to Holmes-Winn talk, one gets the impression she wouldn't have it any other way.

"I have a tremendous amount of confidence in them," Holmes-Winn said. "I'm really impressed with how they have come in, stepped up to a pretty big challenge, and proven they can make some great saves."

Due to the graduation of second-team All-American goalkeeper Kelly Baril '03, Holmes-Winn inherited a team completely devoid of college goalkeeping experience. Fortunately, her predecessor, Beth Bozman, left her with two top recruits to fill the hole in the cage.

With no choice besides trial-by-fire, both Nemeth and Simon have seen major minutes so far this season. Statistically, Nemeth holds the edge. A goals-against-average of 0.98 and a save percentage of .824 have helped her post a 3-0 mark to start the season. While Simon's numbers aren't as impressive, she too has played well thus far.

Much of Nemeth's success stems from her natural athletic ability. Quickness and strong instincts allow her to compensate for inexperience.

"[Nemeth] has a tremendous amount of potential," Holmes-Winn said. "She just needs to be sharper knowing which skill to put on earlier."

Nemeth attributes her instincts to having played in the field early in her career, which helps her read what the attacker is going to do. Simon, on the other hand, possesses superior fundamentals thanks to her greater experience.

Despite their disparate strengths, the main challenge for both has been adapting to the collegiate game. Most noticeably, the speed of the game is far faster, due to the artifical turf surface used in college. Just as importantly, the overall level of competition is much higher.

"The speed takes a week or two to adjust to," Nemeth said. "After that, you have to focus on learning to deal with all the new skills."

The added speed of the collegiate game makes positioning critical. One specific instance is the case of a fast break. The goalie must swiftly charge out of the goal towards the onrushing attacker, in hope of cutting down the angle of a potential shot. A perfectly timed slide-tackle in which the goalie drops to the ground to block the shot is often required to make the stop.

Goalie coach Erica Johnson works daily with both Nemeth and Simon on such tactics. Other topics of instruction include eliminating rebound opportunities, clearing the ball from the circle, and dropping down on penalty corners.

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Since none of these skills are new, they can focus on refining preexisting talents through multiple repetitions. But polishing physical skills is just one element of the daily agenda; improving communication is key too.

"The ability to organize the defense is critical," Holmes-Winn said. "As the play is developing, there are a lot of things you can do to make the play predictable."

The pressure of anchoring a team is yet another hurdle to clear. Both have coped with the mental strain thanks to the support of older teammates and the sports psychology advice of their coaches.

"In close games, the pressure can be a lot to handle," Simon said. "You need to realize a loss isn't really your fault, or else it can mentally beat you down."

A final challenge for the duo is the unique dynamic of being the only two freshmen on the team, yet having to fight each other for playing time. However, Nemeth and Simon haven't let their competitive drive and ambition get in the way of friendship. They talked about the situation before the season in order to eliminate any chance of tension.

"We're definitely good friends off the field, which helps on the field," Nemeth said. "We give each other constructive criticism and try to help each other with little things you might not notice yourself."

Holmes-Winn praises their handling of the situation as "mature and professional." With an eye towards the future, she plans to continue giving both plenty of playing time — at least for now.

"They're both high quality goalkeepers," she said. "Moving forward, I see both contributing immensely. I really couldn't ask for anything more."