Finally a starter, senior Guelich shines in goal

Similar to political success, sometimes athleticism just runs in the family. From 1999 to the 2004 season, a familial lineage dominated the goalie position for men's soccer. This year, however, senior Bobby Guelich finally broke the monopoly to earn the starting spot in net.

Despite coming to Princeton as a highly-touted recruit, Guelich knew he was low on the pecking order for playing time as a freshman. Jason White '03, who Guelich argues "is the best goalkeeper Princeton's probably ever had, as far as I know," held the top spot throughout Guelich's freshman year. He was then succeeded by his brother, Eric White '05, who started during Guelich's sophomore and junior seasons.

Guelich was accustomed to the usual scrapping for a starting spot from years of club, state Olympic Development Play and high school competition, though. His time in Orange and Black has honed his talents, but his basic skills come from years of specialized experience and play in goal.

"My dad actually coached my house league team, so I would play on the field in the first half, and my dad would just throw me in goal in the second half because no one else really wanted to play goalie," Guelich said.

By the time he was about 10, he had found his permanent niche in front of the net playing on Olympic Development Program and Bangu club teams in his home state of Minnesota.

After mainly just cheering from the sidelines for his first three seasons, Guelich finally claimed the full-time starting role as a senior. Though he had game-playing experience under his belt with 12 saves in the 2004-05 season and two starts and 14 saves in his sophomore season, Guelich still needed to prove he could handle the responsibilities of being the last line of defense.

"[Guelich] has a great work ethic, is a student of the game and patiently waited for his chance," head coach Jim Barlow '91 said. "Now he is making the most of it. Now we need to find a way to score more goals to take some of the pressure off of him and the backs."

The adjustment to full-time keeper at the collegiate level this season was not without difficulties. Facing a barrage of shots in the season-opening games, Guelich's confidence wavered, and he let some goals slip past him that he would have liked to have stopped.

"He looked nervous and tentative in the first couple of games, but since then he has settled in and done a great job for us in the goal," Barlow said. "His last two [double overtime] games in particular have been really solid."

Guelich feels his technical skill was more than adequate from the get-go; he cites his continually increasing confidence as the cause for his improvement and the reason he has recently saved many of the tough shots he has faced.

Guelich has also adjusted to fill a new role on the team — critical team leader — recognizing that his efforts and field mentality spread to the rest of the Tigers.

"Bobby has continued to become more comfortable communicating with the guys in front of him, sorting out problems quickly and leading the defense," Barlow said. "All of his teammates have a great amount of respect for him and listen to him when he has something to say."

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With eight seniors on the team, many of whom are regular starters, Guelich relies on sharing leadership with his other equally experienced counterparts, including Princeton's leading scorer and captain Darren Spicer.

"I don't think that any of our seniors are really kind of 'ra ra' people," Guelich said. "[For the seniors], I think it's more about example and about the fact that we all really care about the team and all really want to win."

Guelich has been doing everything he can to propel the Tigers to victory. He currently leads the Ivy League in save percentage and recorded 12 saves in a tough opening Ivy loss to Dartmouth. Guelich's impressive performances have also recently translated into defensive success. By allowing just eight goals in eight games, the defense has now put the pressure on Princeton's frontline to turn closely contested losses and ties into wins as the season progresses.

Though he leaves no brother to succeed him in the cage, Guelich and the rest of this year's senior class will most certainly leave a lasting legacy of team unity that the underclassmen will struggle to replicate next year.

"The seniors are guys I'm going to be friends with for the rest of my life," Guelich said. "[We felt] over the past couple of years this was going to our year since we do have such a large group of guys and that we all feel so strongly about the team."