Inner Growth

If you were to use a single word – a word other than memorable – to describe the 2005 season of the Boston University women’s soccer team, you might choose stable.

Throughout the season, the America East champions played tough defense, worked hard on the pitch and brought a sense of intensity in every game that helped them go undefeated in conference play and led them to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

However, if there was one position on the field where the roster spot wasn’t necessarily stable, it was between the posts and under the crossbar. During the season, the Terriers went with a rotation of junior Stephanie Dreyer and sophomore Christina Reuter, choosing to have the two goalkeepers alternate games, even halves at times.

Both keepers had outstanding seasons for the Boston 11. Their final stats are mind-boggling: Their combined goals-against average was 0.62. Reuter ended at 0.60, while Dreyer finished the season with 0.64.

Reuter’s average set a school record for the lowest ever, surpassing Kara Lange’s 1995 mark of 0.62. Dreyer’s average tied her with Meghan Lynch’s 1996 season for third in BU history.

With two extremely successful goalkeepers, there’s bound to be a measure of competitiveness, and neither will deny that level of competition fuels their on-field relationship.

“It’s definitely a competitive relationship,” Dreyer said. “I think for a while it worked negatively last year, but this year we made each other better. We push each other to make each other better and offer each other constructive criticism.”

Reuter agreed.

“I think that whenever you have an atmosphere where two people are competing for the same spot and it’s apparent that the coaches could go with either one, it forces you to not take a single training for granted,” she said. “We both had to improve every day. I knew if I didn’t, she would.”

But there wasn’t much room for improvement. The stats impressed more as they accumulated with every game. Out of Reuter’s eight victories, five were shutouts; out of Dreyer’s six wins, she blanked her opponents in five. The two tied for fifth in the America East in shutouts and were second and third, respectively, in GAA.

Each keeper attributed her low average to the tenacious defense in front of them, which did not allow many opportunities for opposing teams to hit the back of the net.

“We’ve gotten used to the rotation,” Dreyer said. “But the reason we’ve had such great numbers is because of our defense. The team made it easy for us – because when you only have to face five shots a game, it’s easy to do well.”

“I had so much confidence in my back line,” Reuter said. “They shape things and make play predictable, and it makes my job of reading the game so much easier. When you have a solid line in front of you, that doesn’t make you do too much. You want to come through for them when they’re counting on you.”

And the Terrier goalkeepers came through all year long. Both goalies performed at such a high level during the season that the coaches could never make the final decision on who should be the regular starter.

BU assistant coach Dave Bucciero, who works primarily with the goalies, said the coaching staff didn’t go into the season expecting to rotate the two netminders.

“We have two very good goalkeepers,” Bucciero said. “This wasn’t the plan from the beginning. We wanted a regular at the start of the season and even in the middle of the season, but they both deserved to play.

“[The rotation] was good for both of them. They both wanted to start every game, but they both made each other better because they both had fantastic seasons,” he added. “They played great in all games. If one of them raised their game, they both did it.”

After the Terriers captured the America East regular-season title against the University of Hartford on Oct. 23, BU coach Nancy Feldman was faced with a difficult decision. With the playoffs looming, which deserving goalie would she start in what could potentially be the last game of the season?

Feldman’s choice ended up being in the interest of fairness. She started Reuter in the semifinal against the University of New Hampshire, and then let Dreyer play the second half. After the Terriers fended off the Wildcats, Dreyer started the America East final against the University of Maine, while Reuter finished the game in goal.

In both cases, the starter didn’t allow a goal during the first half and the sub allowed one in the second. So after the Scarlet and White snuck out of Nickerson Field with the conference title, Feldman knew she had to make a choice for the NCAAs.

Instead of switching the keepers at halftime, she decided to put Reuter in goal for regulation and the overtime periods, while bringing Dreyer in if the game would go to penalty kicks.

“We kind of evaluated how they were playing in both practices and games,” said Feldman. “Near the end of the year, Christina started to play with a little more confidence and looked sharper in practice. She took her game to another level.

“We started to see a difference in their performance – not in their results, but in how they were getting the job done. As we said all year, playing time is up to the players and Christina raised her game.”

Understandably, Dreyer was more than a little disappointed when she found out Feldman decided to start her counterpart.

“Coach told me a day early so I could think about it,” she said. “At first, I was upset because it was my second trip to the NCAAs [she went as a freshman in 2003 when BU lost to the University of Connecticut in the first round] and I wanted the chance to play. Coach wanted one keeper for the tournament and she picked Reuter.

“I was still happy I had the opportunity [to face the penalty kicks] and I knew I would do the best that I could. I still felt like I was part of the team.”

Reuter’s game continued its ascent during the tournament. Over the two games, Reuter recorded 16 saves and allowed only one goal, which came in BU’s season-ending 1-0 loss to Boston College.

And while both goalies have a competitive nature about them, both said that even with Feldman’s decision to put Reuter in goal, they each only had one real thought: Let’s do what’s best for the team.

“Sometimes, it’s hard to compete with someone, give your all day in and day out, and watch them play when you want so badly to be out there,” Reuter said. “But this sport isn’t about individuals, it’s about the team. And one thing that both of us wanted even more than to be on the field playing was for our team to be successful.

“I think the difference between last year and this year was just a little bit of maturity,” she added. “Instead of focusing on competing against the other person, this year I think we just gave our all and hoped that that was enough for our team to be successful.”

The 2005 BU women’s soccer team was successful – one of the best in team history – and while the starter in goal may never have been stable, the concept was.

And while Dreyer and Reuter stopped potential goals all season, they scored one together, helping the 2005 women’s soccer team drive as far as it could.