Women's water polo: Freshman goalie Ashleigh Johnson makes a splash

W hen a team loses a four-year starter to graduation, like the women’s water polo team did with goalie Kristen Ward ’12 last year, a period of transition in the following season is expected. Yet with the addition of freshman Ashleigh Johnson, the Tigers have picked up right where they left off last season.

In her first collegiate appearance against No. 4 Cal at the Princeton Invitational on Feb. 8, Johnson recorded 19 saves to break Princeton’s single-game saves record. The rookie has since tied the previous record of 18 set by Natalie Kim in 2008 twice and now has 151 saves over the 13 games that Princeton has played thus far. With more than half of the season still remaining, Johnson is on pace to surpass the program record of 302 saves in a single season, set by Ognjenka Vukmirovic ‘00. More importantly, Johnson’s contributions in goal have helped the Tigers surge out to a 11-2 overall, 1-0 CWPA start to the season.

“Ashleigh has great lateral movement left to right but also is very quick to come out of the goal,” head coach Luis Nicolao said. “What makes her so successful is that she probably has the strongest legs I have ever seen. She is able to hold herself higher in the water for a longer time which makes it very opposing for shooters.”

Combined with her 6-foot-1-inch frame, Johnson’s leg strength allows her to lift most of her upper body out of the water, making it seem as if she were standing in the pool. Her explosiveness in and out of the cage is not only illustrated by the number of saves she has compiled, but steals as well. With 17, Johnson is currently tied with teammates senior Brittany Zwirner and junior Molly McBee for the team-high. However, height and strong legs will only get a goalie so far. The position requires the development of good hand-eye coordination and reaction time — two components that come along with experience, of which Johnson has plenty.

The freshman has been playing water polo since she was nine years old when her swimming coach at the time suggested that she and her four siblings join in on the water polo practices that followed swim practices. After the first session, there was no turning back. All five Johnson siblings became immediately hooked on the new sport. Johnson was initially attracted to play goalie because she wanted to emulate her sister, who had taken up the same position. When her sister quit, however, Johnson continued to play.

“I like the feeling after you block,” Johnson said. “I feel that everything you do in goal, you can see an immediate reward.”

Over the years, Johnson blossomed into one of the best goalies in the nation in her age group. A native of Miami, Fla., Johnson played club water polo for the Gulliver Riptides for seven years and led her high school to three consecutive Florida State Championships. At the same time, she earned All-America honors at the U18 Junior Olympics in 2010 and 2011 and was a member of the 2011 Youth National Team.

But while most of her teammates on the Junior Olympics and National squads headed west for college to join the powerhouse schools in California, Johnson decided to take the path less traveled and come to Princeton. In doing so, she gave up a higher possibility of securing a spot on the 2016 Olympics team, but to Johnson, academics were more important when making her decision.

“I knew that if I went to one of those schools [in California], the Olympics would have been less of an option and more an expectation of me,” Johnson said. “When I went to visit those schools they showed me four-year plans leading to the Olympics. I don’t even know if I want to do that. I didn’t want to eliminate other options like studying abroad and sacrifice academics just to play water polo.”

Johnson may already be one of the top goalies in collegiate women’s water polo, but that does not mean that there are no areas in which she can improve during the next four years.

“I need to work on my communication,” Johnson said. “I am kind of like the quarterback of the defense. If I don’t tell the players what is going on then they don’t know.”

Nicolao agreed with Johnson, but said that her current reticence is just a product of adapting to a new team, and her communication will improve with experience.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

“There is no doubt that Ashleigh as a freshman is on the shyer side and more quiet,” Nicolao said. “As she gets more comfortable, she will be more vocal in the game and be a leader in the water in what she wants the girls to do and get them to move where she wants them to move. I think that will just come with more experience.”