It was early September of last year when the Panthers only starting goalie, Jenny Williams, got into a collision in front of the box and came out with a concussion.

Williams had no official backup and that is when the Panthers were forced to look to the rest of the team.

But the Panthers had then senior Kellie Floyd and now junior Alexis Miller who were able to step up and share time in the goal to fill the void for the one game Williams had to miss.

“Like any player, on any team, I wanted to be out there, but I knew that I couldn’t and that my team would have to be alright without me,” Williams said.

This year the Panthers will have another option at goalie with the addition of freshmen Kaylin Lorbert.

Head coach Tim Nowak said he is looking forward to having that stability.

The reason the Panthers did not have a back up goalie last year is because when Nowak came to Eastern in his first year that previous coach had not recruited a goalie and Nowak said, it was a little too late to get one.

Nowak said it is hard for a coach to recruit two goalies from the same class.

“Only one gets to play and so it is tough to get two goalkeepers and offer scholarships, with only one getting that majority of the playing time,” Nowak said. “It is really nice to have Jenny and Kaylin in two separate classes.”

Nowak said they are both very similar in the ways they play, both being small, quick and able to jump well.

“They both are very quick at getting to things and have the ability to make game changing plays,” Nowak said.

Practice is an area that Nowak said he is especially going to notice the difference now with having two goalies.

Nowak said last year there were times they wanted to train Williams harder and have her do more but they had to be careful not to push her into an injury since she was all they had.

“I was a goalkeeper back in college so there were times when maybe I would step in or my assistant, Beth, would step in and be the second goalie during scrimmages in order to take some pressure off of Jenny,” Nowak said.

Nowak said he is excited that he does not have to jump in and play goal and can now focus on the big picture during practice.

Last year, with Williams in goal the majority of the time, Nowak said she matured in her position.

“Goalie is an area where you get better with time,” Nowak said. “Some of the oldest goalies are the best goalies. And she is now playing goal at a junior level because of the amount of minutes she got in last season and that she used those minutes to her advantage.”

Williams said her role as the only starting goalie was sometimes tiring and she is looking forward to the competition with Lorbert.

“She is amazing,” Williams said. “She is really putting up a fight for the starting spot and she has a lot of confidence. She is picking up the college game really well.”

Freshmen goalkeeper Kaylin Lorbert attempts a save Wednesday afternoon at the soccer practice fields behind O’Brien stadium.

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