Five days before the start of the season, Penn State coach Char Morett seemed confident that junior goalkeeper Heidi Leuchte would be leading the Lady Lions in net for the first part of the season.
Now, two games into the season, Morett's opinion might have changed a bit.
Last Monday at a press conference, Morett said Leuchte had an edge over sophomore goalie Annie Zinkavich because of the experience she gained last year as the team's starting goalie.
After a redshirt year in 1998, Leuchte stepped up into the starting position and recorded eight shutouts in her 22 starts, including one in her second collegiate appearance.
In the third game of the 1999 season, she held Old Dominion, then ranked No. 2, to one goal in a 5-1 upset on the road. So Leuchte was the likely choice for starting goalie Saturday when Penn State faced Old Dominion.
However, just 13 minutes into the game, with the Lions down 3-0, it was obvious Leuchte was not having the same luck she had last year against the Lady Monarchs.
After Leuchte gave up another goal with 13 minutes remaining in the half, Morett had seen enough. Zinkavich warmed up and went in for Leuchte a few minutes later.
"Heidi was tentative in the beginning, but Annie, I think, was more aggressive," Morett said. "She's been waiting for the chance and she took advantage of the opportunity to be in there."
Zinkavich recorded six key saves and didn't allow another goal in Penn State's 4-3 loss. With that success, Zinkavich was given the starting nod for Sunday's game against Kent State.
The Lions' 1-0 win was Zinkavich's first shutout of her collegiate career. Not only is that a credit to her goalkeeping skills, it is also a credit to her skills as a team leader. She orchestrated the defense well enough that she didn't have to face a shot throughout the entire game.
"What I've been doing a lot is communicating with them letting them know where to be and what time to be there," Zinkavich said. "That makes my job easier by them coming out there and doing everything. They helped me out a lot back there. I would have come through if the defense broke down, but they were there most of the time."
Zinkavich's success in net has spawned a bit of a race for the top position — one Morett hadn't expected so early. She said, however, that it was pleasing to see both goalies are ready to go whenever needed.
Despite Leuchte's rough start and Zinkavich's outstanding performance, Morett said no one has the starting goalie position wrapped up.
"They're going to be fighting it out throughout the season," Morett said. "I think this is going to be an ongoing competition between the two of them."
She said in some cases, she would make her decision based on who the Lions are playing. In other cases, she might wait until just before game time so she can see how each goalie performs in warm-ups.
Despite the mini-competition, however, Zinkavich said she and Leuchte will help each other out no matter who gets the start.
Zinkavich said she was confident that between her and Leuchte, Penn State's goalkeeping squad could handle most situations.
"Heidi and I are both strong keepers and we can both fill the position," Zinkavich said. "It's like two totally different defenses. You have one keeper that's going to step up and one that's going to hang low and pick up all the garbage in the background. I think that with both of us here, we can get the job done."
