BU keepers standing tall

Who needs Janie Reilly?

The Boston University women's soccer team has found two more than worthy replacements for the former goalkeeper &- a 2010 alumnus and one of the most accomplished BU goalkeepers in team history whose 20 career shutouts rank second all-time in program history &- in freshman Kelly King and junior Alice Binns. Their performances through the first five games of the 2010-11 campaign have been one of the bright spots of this young season, as evidenced by their play in BU's 1-0 loss to No. 6 Boston College this past Saturday.

In particular, Binns may have had the best performance of the two.

Though she was in between the pipes when BC sophomore Kristen Mewis scored the eventual game-winner in the 63rd minute, Binns was solid throughout the second half &- King got the start in net for the first half &- and finished the contest with three saves while facing a relentless BC offense that bombarded her with seven shots in the final 45 minutes of regulation. King, however, did not face too much pressure from the Eagles in the first half, as she was called upon to make only two stops.

"Each of them has made about one or two [big saves] every game," said BU coach Nancy Feldman. "Kelly maybe didn't get tested today as much as Alice, but pretty much, each of them has had one of those or two of those in each of the first five games. We've had outstanding goalkeeping, and we couldn't be more pleased with the two of them."

"They've always kept us in every game," said senior tri-captain Corie Halasz. "They've both been phenomenal for us. They're both important players on our team and are playing with a sophistication that we don't usually see from first-year players."

But it was Binns who stole the show at Nickerson Field Saturday and drew praise from the Terrier faithful in attendance, as she kept BU in the game with save after save. Binns, however, wasn't too quick to agree with the assessment that she deserved the spotlight &- she decided instead to pass the credit along to her teammates.

"I thought I was a little off, but my team was always there helping out," Binns said. "There were very few times where they needed to come together and we did, but we just needed that one push more."

With her team already trailing the Eagles 1-0, Binns made her most impressive save of the contest in the 72nd minute. BC junior Stephanie Wirth beat senior tri-captain Lina Cords in a foot race for a long ball from the Eagles' backline and had a one-on-one opportunity inside the 18-yard box. Unfortunately for Wirth, Binns made the diving save to her left, stopping the point-blank shot that would have given BC a two-goal cushion.

Surprisingly, the junior's mind wasn't on making the outstanding save. Rather, her mind was thinking a few steps ahead.

"I just think about the next play and think about getting it up the field for the forwards to have a chance with it," Binns said.

Feldman's formula of splitting the netminding duties between the two goalkeepers so far &- using King in the first half and Binns in the second &-hasn't had any negative effects or made it challenging for either one of them to get into the flow of the game.

"It's not difficult getting into the flow of the game because you're already into the flow on the bench &- you're just well into it there," Binns said. "But it always seems that there's more pressure in the second half than starting out."

Through five games, the tandem of King and Binns has allowed only four goals and combined for two blank sheets, 23 saves and a 0.84 goals against average in 450 minutes, leaving Feldman with no choice but to laud their efforts.

"The goalkeeping has been terrific," Feldman said. "They're very brave. They're gamers and they have done everything they can to put us in positions to win."