When Liz Hogan steps onto the turf before games, she gasps for breath. Stress grasps hold of her – a product of both her responsibility and her youth.

‘I have to pull myself aside,’ said Hogan, the sophomore starting goaltender for the Syracuse women’s lacrosse team. ‘Tell myself to breathe. I have to tell myself that I am good enough to be here, and that I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.’

Hogan is ailed by a symptom so common to athletes, she laughs about it. It won’t affect her game, she said, but it still bothers.

She says it’ll happen again today just before 4 p.m., before the ball’s drawn at the Carrier Dome when No. 10 Boston (2-0) travels west to take on the No. 7 Orange (3-1). Because it always happens, just before the first draw, when Hogan has time to contemplate what lies ahead.

Her youth is both a benefit and a hindrance. Before games, she tightens up, struggles to catch her breath. During games, she plays loose and free, influenced by youth. She gives up 7.84 goals a game, with a 54.5 save percentage.

At least once a week Hogan’s age slips the mind of Maggie Koch, the Syracuse assistant coach in charge of goaltenders. Koch sometimes forgets that Hogan is 19, and starts in a role reserved for the experienced.

Sometimes she sees a senior in the sophomore’s place. Sometimes she forgets Hogan’s greatest asset may be her greatest fear.

‘I have to remind myself she’s only a sophomore,’ Koch said. ‘She might need more support than a senior. I forget that sometimes.’

Koch forgets because Hogan plays with a calm that belies her pregame jitters. Even as a freshman, Hogan had the nerve to step outside her net. She’s athletic, Koch noted. That much was obvious: against Dartmouth last year when Hogan cleared her end with a 60-yard pass, and again last Friday when Hogan threw 55 yards for an assist.

And she can save. Hogan stopped 163 shots freshman year, good for fourth on SU’s all-time list. Hogan topped the Big East in save percentage (.489) and goals-against (8.14). Hogan plays with confidence – and a willingness to leave the crease and take risks.

When the ball drops, age no longer matters. Defensive captain Lindsay Rogers expects as much from Hogan as any defender. Hogan is expected to speak inside of the huddle – to speak like a leader – and find ways to improve. And Rogers will listen.

In California, during a Stanford rally two weekends ago, Hogan pointed out that SU defenders weren’t marking their opposition. The Cardinal were cutting all over the field.

‘So we worked on communication on subbing,’ Rogers said. So what if Hogan has jitters, those laughs before each game. ‘She’s always there.’

Hogan relies on what is natural to her: Her stable stance she learned as a softball catcher at Victor High School in Victor, N.Y. A stance she carried into lacrosse, where she found balance between competition and recreation.

‘Some people change completely when they’re on the field,’ Koch said. ‘With Liz, it’s the way she is in everyday life, is the way she is in goal.’

For what is natural to her, Hogan knew she would start as a freshman. But from the start, Hogan has lost her breath. She waits for the game, contemplating. It’s as soon as the draw, Hogan said, that weight lifts from her gray, scratched chest pad.

Then, she seems to forget.

‘Yeah, I get nervous all the time,’ Hogan said, ‘but you’ll never notice.’

edpaik@syr.edu

Published on March 3, 2009 at 12:00 pm