Freshman Goalkeeper Thrown into Starting Role for Crimson

Even before the preseason began, the Harvard women’s soccer team could feel the heat of injuries on its back.  First, a broken foot caused sophomore goalkeeper Courtney Diekema to end her college soccer career while an IT band injury left the team without classmate Alex Woodcock.  Sophomore Morgan Keefe was next, as chronic shin injuries ended her season before it could even begin.

And now, a new injury has struck yet once more, as sophomore goalie AJ Millet suffered an undisclosed injury during practice, putting her out of play for an indefinite period of time

As a result of Millet’s injury, the starting goalie position has fallen to freshman Jessica Wright.

Luckily for the Crimson, Wright knows her way around the goal.

Making her debut as the starting goaltender against Boston University last week, Wright put up impressive numbers. Facing 22 shots from the Terriers’ forwards, Wright made seven saves on the night. In spite of the 3-0 loss, team members expressed pride in Wright’s performance.

“Jessie’s been put in this position so suddenly and she’s doing a great job,” sophomore Alicia Johnson says. “We all have so much confidence in Jessie and the net behind her. She’s such a leader out there. It’s a tough position for her to be in but she just has such an amazing attitude and she’s working so hard.”

Wright had only 24 hours to prepare for her new role as the team’s starting goalkeeper after receiving word from co-captain Gina Wideroff and coach Ray Leone the night before. For Wright, the news took some adjusting to, but support from her teammates helped to excite her for the upcoming game.

“At first, I was nervous,” Wright says. “But then I got to talk to Gina and she got me really pumped.”

Previously, Wright had played less than 22 minutes of a collegiate level game in a 3-0 loss to the University of Central Florida a week earlier. Since Wright spent less than a third of the game on the field when no shots or goal were taken, her talents remained hidden.

But following her first collegiate start against the Terriers, Wright took to the net against the University of Rhode Island in the team’s last preseason match-up. Against the Rams, Wright earned her first victory as the primary team goalie, letting only one goal past her line and making five saves.

After two games starting in the net, Wright says the surprise is gone, but the pressure not only to perform, but to stay healthy as well, remains. After all, Wright has no reserve goalie to fall back on.

The third goalie on the team, freshman walk-on Brandy Machado, quit just before Millet’s injury earlier that week. Yet, Wright has dealt well with the pressure and high expectations, preparing to take on things one day at a time.

“I just know that I have to go out there fight hard and hopefully not get hurt,” Wright says. “And if anything’s minor, I just have to just suck it up.”

Wright says that the team has been incredibly supportive of her and her new responsibility.

“They’re just a confidence boost,” she says. “Even if something doesn’t go really well in practice they’re really uplifting, and they’re like family.” While Wright has the starting position for now, she and her teammates expressed concern for Millet, wishing her the best of luck in a speedy recovery. “Obviously we’re really sorry for AJ. But Jessie seems to be stepping into the role well, and we’re really supportive,” Wideroff says. “We all believe in her, and she’s really pulling through for all of us.”

Until Millet returns, Wright will continue to build her confidence each game.

“I played 20 minutes in Florida, so playing [a full game] was new [to me] and I didn’t know what to expect,” she says. “But by the second game, I had a lot more confidence, so it was a lot better.”

With the support of the team and plenty of playing time, Wright feels more poised in her abilities, and, not surprisingly, her Harvard teammates are benefiting from the results.