I say let her try place kicking, too.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/colleges/texasam/stories/112102dnspotamusoccer.1af38.html
Freshman is proving to be a keeper in goal
Former football kicker stays calm no matter how high the obstacle
11/21/2002
By AL CARTER / The Dallas Morning News
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Kati Jo Spisak knows the importance of steel nerves. For Spisak, Texas A&M's freshman goalkeeper, they're about as handy as leg irons in a penalty-kick shootout.
Or a field goal showdown.
Spisak, a former kicker for her high school football team, found herself in the crosshairs of a potential soccer nightmare Sunday in the Aggies' NCAA second-round clash with SMU. When two overtimes failed to resolve a 1-1 tie, the rivals retreated to the sideline to prepare for the penalty-kick finale.
Spisak, trying hard to hide her face from her team, softly sobbed.
"I was nervous," she said. "Then, when I was walking to the goal, I just started laughing. I have mixed emotions, as you can tell."
Spisak finished with a fury. She blocked SMU's final three penalty kicks as the Aggies cashed in a 3-2 shootout edge for a fourth straight berth in the Sweet 16. Ranked fourth nationally, A&M will take on No. 3 UCLA in the third round Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Spisak's stare down with SMU hiked her penalty save count to four in her last six opportunities. Earlier this month, she turned back a second-half penalty kick against Texas, a crucial contribution in a 2-1 victory that clinched the Big 12 regular-season title.
Still, Spisak said, the pressure of a soccer shootout doesn't compare to her experiences playing football with the guys. "There's a lot more pressure," she said, "when you're the only girl out there."
For Spisak, football tension reached a peak last season when she was called on to attempt a game-tying field goal for her Parkway South team in suburban St. Louis. During a timeout, one of her assistant coaches huddled with the field goal unit on the field.
"I thought he was coming out to calm me down, but he didn't even talk to me," Spisak said. "Then, right as he was walking off the field, he looked at me and said, 'Make it!' "
She did. Minutes later, a teammate blocked a field goal attempt by the other team and returned it for the game-winning touchdown.
A&M soccer coach G. Guerrieri says he knew he was getting a terrific goalkeeper when he signed the 6-2 Spisak in February. But it was her credentials as a football player, he said, that sold him on her determination to succeed.
"That she would agree to put on pads," Guerrieri said, "showed me that she has a very confident and fun-loving demeanor."
The niece of former Dallas Tornado defender Steve Pecher, Spisak grew up in a soccer family. Her two older brothers played soccer and also kicked for Parkway South's football team. When the team encountered kicking problems during her sophomore year, Spisak was invited to try out.
"I had never kicked a football in my life," she said.
She beat out a senior boy for the job and went on to earn three letters. Her coaches had to show her how to put on her gear. For one of her first practices, she showed up with her kneepads upside down.
Now, Spisak said, she misses football so much that she cannot bear to go to A&M games at Kyle Field. She smirks when asked about the Aggies' problems with placekickers this season.
"I'd go out and do it if they'd let me," she said. "But I don't think they'd like it too much with all the tradition here."
Still, Spisak said, "I wish they'd just let me go out to practice. I could scare the kicker into making them – or else."
Guerrieri was set to prove his confidence in Spisak's kicking ability in the shootout against SMU. He had Spisak lined up as the Aggies' No. 8 penalty kicker had the shootout gone that far.
Instead, he got everything he needed out of her in goal.
"The fact that she's 6-2, that automatically makes the goal smaller for a would-be scorer," Guerrieri said. "But her reactions and techniques are also excellent. It was apparent when we got her she was going to be something special."
Texas A&M (19-4-1) vs. UCLA (18-3), NCAA women's soccer tournament third round, 9 p.m. Saturday, Marshall Field at Drake Stadium, Los Angeles
[This message has been edited by BBRex (edited 11/21/2002 12:28a).]
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/colleges/texasam/stories/112102dnspotamusoccer.1af38.html
Freshman is proving to be a keeper in goal
Former football kicker stays calm no matter how high the obstacle
11/21/2002
By AL CARTER / The Dallas Morning News
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Kati Jo Spisak knows the importance of steel nerves. For Spisak, Texas A&M's freshman goalkeeper, they're about as handy as leg irons in a penalty-kick shootout.
Or a field goal showdown.
Spisak, a former kicker for her high school football team, found herself in the crosshairs of a potential soccer nightmare Sunday in the Aggies' NCAA second-round clash with SMU. When two overtimes failed to resolve a 1-1 tie, the rivals retreated to the sideline to prepare for the penalty-kick finale.
Spisak, trying hard to hide her face from her team, softly sobbed.
"I was nervous," she said. "Then, when I was walking to the goal, I just started laughing. I have mixed emotions, as you can tell."
Spisak finished with a fury. She blocked SMU's final three penalty kicks as the Aggies cashed in a 3-2 shootout edge for a fourth straight berth in the Sweet 16. Ranked fourth nationally, A&M will take on No. 3 UCLA in the third round Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Spisak's stare down with SMU hiked her penalty save count to four in her last six opportunities. Earlier this month, she turned back a second-half penalty kick against Texas, a crucial contribution in a 2-1 victory that clinched the Big 12 regular-season title.
Still, Spisak said, the pressure of a soccer shootout doesn't compare to her experiences playing football with the guys. "There's a lot more pressure," she said, "when you're the only girl out there."
For Spisak, football tension reached a peak last season when she was called on to attempt a game-tying field goal for her Parkway South team in suburban St. Louis. During a timeout, one of her assistant coaches huddled with the field goal unit on the field.
"I thought he was coming out to calm me down, but he didn't even talk to me," Spisak said. "Then, right as he was walking off the field, he looked at me and said, 'Make it!' "
She did. Minutes later, a teammate blocked a field goal attempt by the other team and returned it for the game-winning touchdown.
A&M soccer coach G. Guerrieri says he knew he was getting a terrific goalkeeper when he signed the 6-2 Spisak in February. But it was her credentials as a football player, he said, that sold him on her determination to succeed.
"That she would agree to put on pads," Guerrieri said, "showed me that she has a very confident and fun-loving demeanor."
The niece of former Dallas Tornado defender Steve Pecher, Spisak grew up in a soccer family. Her two older brothers played soccer and also kicked for Parkway South's football team. When the team encountered kicking problems during her sophomore year, Spisak was invited to try out.
"I had never kicked a football in my life," she said.
She beat out a senior boy for the job and went on to earn three letters. Her coaches had to show her how to put on her gear. For one of her first practices, she showed up with her kneepads upside down.
Now, Spisak said, she misses football so much that she cannot bear to go to A&M games at Kyle Field. She smirks when asked about the Aggies' problems with placekickers this season.
"I'd go out and do it if they'd let me," she said. "But I don't think they'd like it too much with all the tradition here."
Still, Spisak said, "I wish they'd just let me go out to practice. I could scare the kicker into making them – or else."
Guerrieri was set to prove his confidence in Spisak's kicking ability in the shootout against SMU. He had Spisak lined up as the Aggies' No. 8 penalty kicker had the shootout gone that far.
Instead, he got everything he needed out of her in goal.
"The fact that she's 6-2, that automatically makes the goal smaller for a would-be scorer," Guerrieri said. "But her reactions and techniques are also excellent. It was apparent when we got her she was going to be something special."
Texas A&M (19-4-1) vs. UCLA (18-3), NCAA women's soccer tournament third round, 9 p.m. Saturday, Marshall Field at Drake Stadium, Los Angeles
[This message has been edited by BBRex (edited 11/21/2002 12:28a).]