Both Gorham soccer teams are playing in regional semi-finals today (Oct. 26, weather permitting). Each squad started the season with a loss and then bounced back – the girls reeling off 14 wins in a row.
The boys did pick up a loss and tie along the way, but enter today’s game having shut out their last five opponents.
And standing as the last line of defense for each incarnation of Rams soccer is a goalkeeper named Pike.
A glance at the statistics (which include some play by back-up keepers) might cause one to guess that the duo share the same genes: the girls team has allowed 12 goals in their 15 games for a goals against average of 0.80 and six shuouts, while the boys have let up just 11 over the same span for a 0.73 GAA and seven shutouts.
However, according to both Luci Pike and Will Pike, they are not related
Luci is in her first season as a full-time keeper. Her coach, Jeanne Zarrilli, says that the sophomore brings “consistency and stability” to the team.
“She never gets riled in a game, and if she makes a mistake, she knows what she did and she moves on to the next play,” says Zarrilli. “She’s got a good head on her shoulders.”
Luci had been playing a little goalie since sixth grade – which she says she liked because “it’s something different from what everyone else gets to do” – but over the summer she began to really excel at the position.
“We all went to team camp at USM and as the week went on she just kept getting better and better,” Zarrilli says. “I asked her midweek, ‘What do you think about playing in goal (for the varsity)?’ and she just said, ‘OK.’ She’s very quiet.”
Luci, a three-sport athlete, says that the key to tending goal is to stay in the game mentally, which can be a challenge when – at least for the Lady Rams – the action spends long periods of time at the other end.
“You have to be ready to play at any moment,” she says, “and be ready to dive at any time.”
Eric Miller, the current women’s coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and former men’s coach at USM, worked with Will Pike several years ago. Miller says that the young athlete came to him with “raw abilities.”
“I was impressed with his determination and willingness to learn,” says Miller.” He took in the skills I taught him and worked hard at it.”
Gorham boys coach Tim King says that Will, now a senior, is “everything you’d want in a goalie.”
“He’s 6-foot-2, athletic, quick, has long arms and good hands,” says King. “He punts very well, and on goal kicks he can really send the ball. He reads the game well and understands positioning. He has a lot of knowledge about the game, and he’s dedicated.”
Will plans to continue playing soccer in the near future and is looking at some colleges on the Eastern seaboard. Some schools are looking at him as well.
“I can’t really picture my life without soccer right now,” he says.
The position of keeper, like goaltender in hockey and pitcher in baseball, brings with it the added pressure of individual mistakes immediately resulting in offense for the other team. The scoreboard reflects how many runs the pitcher has let up, or how many goals a keeper has let by.
“We have a really good defense, so it’s not that big of a deal,” Luci says, shrugging off any talk of pressure that she might feel. “They’re good at just keeping the ball up.”
“It can be a lot of pressure,” says Will, “but it helps build your character. The keeper position teaches you to build your composure. And the people who know what they’re talking about know if a goal was the keeper’s fault.
“There can be pressure,” he adds, smiling, “but if you win, you’re a hero – so it’s not bad.”
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