by Krista Hutz, Athletic Communciations Assistant

PHILADELPHIA – Don't try to get anything by this group.  Not La Salle's goalkeeping corps.  
 
The Explorers boast three of the top goalkeepers in the nation in their respective sports.  In the most recent national rankings, men's soccer's John McCarthy was first in the nation in saves per game (7.73) and third in total saves (85).  Women's soccer's Melissa Sanger is third in the nation in save percentage (.933) and also goals against average (.211).  Rounding out the group, field hockey redshirt freshman Lisa Shaffer is also third nationally in save percentage (.828).
 
All three would agree that it's mental toughness that has allowed them to consistently play well and battle a barrage of shots week after week.  
 
“You definitely can't dwell on things,” Shaffer said, talking about a sport like field hockey, which usually sees more shots and more goals than soccer.  “You need to forget about it and keep working.”
 
Sanger, a senior, has a similar approach.
 
“Sometimes if a goal gets in front of you, it's not your fault,” Sanger said. “You can't stop communicating if that happens and you still need to keep your team upbeat.”  
 
McCarthy, a sophomore, takes the game minute by minute and also looks to lead his teammates through communication.
 
The goalkeepers try to stay ahead of their competition, especially on penalty shots or kicks by getting cues from their opponents eyes or body language and avoiding being faked out.  
 
The three super keepers all wound up in goal through different ways.
 
McCarthy started playing goalie around age eight.
 
“The goalie on our team wasn't very good, so I thought I'd give it a try and that's how it happened,” McCarthy said.
 
Sanger didn't become a goalie full-time until late in her high school career.  Her coach used her either in goal or on the field depending on the game situation.
 
However, when it became time to look into playing soccer in college, Sanger made the decision to concentrate on being a goalie. 
 
“I talked a lot about it with my dad,” Sanger said. “I also think I was influenced by my older brother who played two years at goalie at CW Post and then his junior season at Rowan.”
 
An injury to Shaffer in seventh grade left her unable to run well, so she tried out goalie – and she was hooked.  She also took after an older sibling, as her sister was a goalie as well.
 
Shaffer has noticed that playing goalie makes her undergo a transformation.
 
“Normally I'm a pretty quiet person,” Shaffer said. “On the field, I need to be the most vocal, most demanding person there. I need to almost be mean.”
 
McCarthy has also transformed himself into having a goalkeeper's mentality.
 
“You have to own the position,” McCarthy said. “The position becomes you and you're different because you can't really be replaced as easily as a field player. You need to lead from the net.”
 
Being the last line of defense is not an easy job, but these three La Salle keepers have stepped up to the challenge.