Oppenheimer, Walter happy sharing time in net

When former men's soccer goalie Bobby Guelich '06 walked out FitzRandolph Gate this June, he took with him his thousands of minutes of experience between the posts. But Guelich wasn't just the Tigers' most experienced goalkeeper — he was their only experienced goalkeeper. In fact, the 2005 Ivy League saves leader played in every second of every game last season.

Guelich's departure left the team without a clear successor as goalie, and it left head coach Jim Barlow '91 faced with a difficult decision.

"Bobby had a great year for us: very steady, very reliable, big presence back there. Obviously it was a concern of ours losing a guy who had played every game last year," Barlow said.

Both senior Justin Oppenheimer and sophomore Joe Walter entered the season as viable candidates for the position. Each boasted impressive resumes and hundreds of hours of accumulated playing time in junior leagues. Oppenheimer, however, who had patiently waited behind Guelich and his predecessors for three years, was the narrow favorite.

The senior keeper got off to a hot start, surrendering only one goal in his first three collegiate appearances.

By late September, the uncertainty had apparently receded. Oppenheimer had started in all eight games, playing every minute except for the final 15 minutes and 45 seconds of Princeton's 3-0 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson.

Then, heading into Princeton's Sept. 27 showdown with Bucknell, Barlow switched goalies. The decision, though in the midst of a two-game slide, came immediately after Oppenheimer's season-high 12 saves against Yale.

The move was even more surprising given that the senior leads the Ivy League in both saves and saves per game. Oppenheimer's 45 saves are 50 percent more than those of Brown's Jarrett Leech, who comes into the week with the league's second-most saves.

The change was part of a broader lineup shuffle which included the introduction of freshmen forward Ben Harms and midfielder Dion Bubar-Hall.

"The guys on the field feel really confident in both [goalies]," Barlow said. "They feel that both guys are going to be strong and reliable and that's a good thing when we have that."

In Walter's two starts against Bucknell and Dartmouth, he made six saves and shut out both opponents. The Montclair, N.J. native, at six feet and 190 pounds, describes himself as short but aggressive.

"I knew coming into the season that if I was going to start, I'd have to elevate my game and show the coaches that I'm better than I was last season," Walter said. "I think the coaches have finally taken notice."

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That's not to say that Walter has the job. Instead, Princeton is in the unusual position of having two starting goalies. Before making any lineup decision, the coaches consider a variety of factors including how each player's strengths match up against a given opponent.

"They're really different goalkeepers. Justin, as a senior, has some really good leadership skills," Barlow said. "He rises to the occasion, and has done really well. Joe is very good at managing crosses and managing games. And he can just kick the ball so far. He can give us the ability to get the ball to the other team's end."

The double goalie situation took center stage in last Wednesday night's 1-0 loss to St. John's. Oppenheimer was back in goal for the rain-delayed showdown between an inconsistent Princeton squad and the No. 27 Red Storm. Then Walter earned the starting nod for last Saturday's 2-1 overtime loss to Brown.

The Tigers' head coach, now in his 11th season, sees the predicament as a learning experience for a team in which freshmen and sophomores already hold over half of the starting positions.

"Certainly it's a nice problem to have; you like to have players pushing each other, competing for jobs," Barlow said. "Having depth is great. Would it help the coaches to have one goalie? Maybe, but it really helps to have two goalies going out there and pushing each other at practice."

As the Tigers enter the final stretch of the regular season, both goalies remain as focused as ever.

"We're good friends. It's not even a delicate situation," Walter said. "We want what's best for the team. I cheer for him from the bench and vice versa. We just want to get wins. We just want to win the Ivy League."