Coach Neil Macmillan had a plan in place at the end of last year. Senior goalkeeper Jen McGill, a 2011 All-Mid-American Conference first team selection, would join the Bobcats as a redshirt senior. It would give them the stability needed and give freshman goalie Brittany Walker and recruit Lina Trucco a year to learn the ropes.
But those plans never went into motion as McGill suffered two concussions in the offseason, making a return to the team almost impossible. It was up to Walker and Trucco to earn a goalie job that suddenly became a question mark in the offseason.
Fast forward to mid-September and Walker, now a sophomore, is thriving in the net for Ohio. Aside from a 6-0 defeat against then-No. 7 Syracuse, she hasn’t allowed more than one goal in regulation and was recently named the MAC defensive player of the week.
“All we keep seeing is improvement,” senior Cathryn Altdoerffer said. “She’s the type of girl that if she’s not doing it well enough, she’s going to push herself to get it right. And that’s a great attitude to have especially as a goalie, because they’re the last line of defense, and you need them to be on their best at all times.”
But when Walker first heard the news that she would be starting for the defending MAC champion, she felt pressure to live up to the job McGill did the season before.
“She really had a great way of communicating with the team and organizing everything,” Walker said. “She was a great goalkeeper, and I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t be able to fill her shoes because of her experience and since she’d been there for such a long time.”
But sitting behind McGill on the depth chart last season allowed Walker to learn valuable lessons that have allowed her to shine this year.
“I learned a lot of the techniques that Neil has because he has a different style of goalkeeping,” she said. “Jen did a great job of developing that really well and taught me mental toughness and just to do your best and give it your all. She was a great role model on and off the field.”
Things didn’t click right away, though. It took a difficult scrimmage against Ohio State in August to change the reserved goalie Walker was into the aggressive force she is today.
“After the OSU game, I just got over the nerves and was like ‘Hey, I’m here to play, and I have my team with me, and everything’s going to work out,’” she said. “I think after I got my nerves out, that’s when I really started to perform and get over those anxious feelings.”
And Macmillan, who was a goalie in his playing days, couldn’t be more pleased with how she has performed this season. He said she is a year ahead of schedule in terms of development and has played exceptionally well to this point.
“To play two Big Ten teams (Indiana and Ohio State), 200 minutes and only concede one goal against them is phenomenal,” Macmillan said. “She’s really stepped up and is showing us what skill she has, and we’re really pleased with where she is right now.”
Walker doesn’t have any plans of letting up either. The sophomore goalie is looking to continue building her skills and keep her team in every game.
“I want to work really hard and know that at the end of the day, I put in 100 percent,” she said. “I never want to let my team down. I just want them to know that I’m working hard and I’m going to give it my all for them because that’s what they deserve.”
ch203310@ohiou.edu
