EMMITSBURG, Md. – Fourth-string goalie Nick Kellinger had been on the field for less than three minutes yesterday before getting to taste the turf.
With 2:31 remaining in the Terrapin men’s lacrosse team’s easy 17-7 win against Mount St. Mary’s, Kellinger, a senior, was facing his first real threat on goal. He veered slightly out of the goal when he was essentially run over by freshman teammate Shane Hall.
The play allowed an easy, albeit meaningless, goal for the Mountaineers. They ended up tallying a second goal against Kellinger as time expired, giving the reserve a game line of two goals allowed and zero saves.
But the seldom-used walk-on didn’t show any disappointment with his performance. He was happy to be on the field – even face-down.
“You practice all week, but when you get out there, there’s so much adrenaline. It’s a totally different feeling,” Kellinger said. “It’s fun. It’s fun to get out there.”
Kellinger and third-string freshman goalie Mark White both entered the game for the No. 4 Terps (2-0) in the fourth quarter of the dominating win. And while the Terps were outscored in the quarter 3-2, the emphasis was clearly geared toward getting players in with a stable lead rather than worrying about a lopsided victory.
Rainy weather, the Terps’ ball control and coach Dave Cottle’s three goalkeeping substitutions made matters more difficult for all four goalies. While White said he felt ready entering the game, starting sophomore Brian Phipps, who played the first half in the cage, admitted it was tough staying loose.
“It’s kind of hard,” Phipps, who allowed three goals on four shots on goal, said. “There was not much action, so you’re freezing down on one end. But goalie’s all mental, so you’ve got to stay mentally strong the whole time.”
White, who made his college debut, proved that mental strength by not allowing himself to get flustered after allowing a goal on the first shot he faced. The freshman came back and stopped another shot before being removed after 9:34 of action.
“I was just getting the jitters out,” White said. “After that first goal, I was like ‘Okay, shake it off and stop the next goal.'”
The weather may have been against them, but the score gave both seldom-used goalies a nice cushion to work with. Phipps and redshirt junior Jason Carter helped the Terps to a 15-4 lead after the first three quarters.
Both goalies are very realistic about their roles with the Terps. Both realize that, barring injuries to both Carter and Phipps, they will not be entering many non-blowout games. Kellinger, who walked onto the team last season to fill the Terps’ need for a practice goalie after Carter and former start Harry Alford went down with injuries, is content with his role on the team.
“Realistically I’m not going to get out there very often, and when I do it’s going to be a blowout,” Kellinger said. “It’s just great to be a part of it. It’s just fun to be with the guys.”
For White, the role is different. The freshman knows he will have to wait his turn and embrace these small opportunities now, as he attempts to learn from Phipps and Carter for the day when he may take over the starting position in the cage.
“I just take every day as a learning experience,” White said. “I just learn as much as I can from them every day.”
Yesterday, White learned resilience, bouncing back from allowing the first goal of his college career. Kellinger learned to watch out or he might be run over by a teammate.
But both seemed genuinely grateful for the opportunity to play, even as the rain poured.
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