Nerves of steel: Griffin welcomes pressure from being Ags’ goalkeeper
Whether she’s crazy, confident or just cold as ice, USU senior goalkeeper Ali Griffin loves being under pressure.
When the game is on the line and it’s just her and an opposing forward that’s separates a win from a loss, she doesn’t sweat bullets. She gets excited.
“Always, as a player, when there’s lots of pressure, I play better,” Griffin said. “It’s actually something I enjoy.”
Griffin said she plays better against tougher teams, creating a challenge she’s up to facing. On the other hand, she said she sometimes struggles mentally preparing for weaker opponents. For whatever reason, stress works for her.
“It’s like that in all aspects of my life, actually,” Griffin said. “I don’t know if it’s just me as a person or if its my soccer career. That’s definitely something I find enjoyable, it’s that pressure. It kind of propels me.”
Whether it’s the pressure that propels her or raw talent, Griffin has been a force to be reckoned with in the net in her four-year career at Utah State.
With one game remaining in the regular season, Griffin has logged more than 5,200 minutes in the net, earning her a place at the top of the USU record books for career goalkeeper minutes. She is currently second for career saves at 230, and will log three season saves appearances on the books.
Griffin is the USU career goals-against average leader at 1.08, and the career shutouts leader with 20. She has also been named a Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar Athlete twice.
Despite her success, Griffin said she doesn’t pay attention to stats and the records aren’t important to her. She said while a goalkeeper can sometimes get the glory, she prefers concentrating on keeping her opponents from scoring, always holding to her goalkeeper philosophy of “don’t get scored on.”
That philosophy has worked well for Griffin at USU.
After a freshman season where she played two games for a total of 73 minutes, Griffin immediately became the Aggies’ designated goalkeeper.
Though fresh and relatively untested in collegiate competition, Griffin rose the challenge her sophomore year, playing the statistically-best season of soccer in her career. That year, Griffin appeared in every match for a total of 1,884 minutes in the net, recorded 86 saves, had eight shutouts and boasted a 0.86 goals-against average.
From there, her position was secured. Again, in her junior season, Griffin appeared in all 20 matches, earning seven shutouts, posting a 1.09 goals-against average and making 75 saves.
Not bad for an athlete who didn’t want to be a goalkeeper in the first place.
Griffin said she has always had a love for the sport but wanted to be a forward.
A dual athlete, playing basketball and soccer, Griffin said her coaches put her in as goalkeeper because they thought her basketball background would make her more nimble and able to catch the ball.
“I was like, no, I was a forward. I want to be scoring goals, I don’t want to be back here standing in the goal,” Griffin said of her early soccer days. “It was actually kind of frustrating. Then I learned to love it.”
Through the dedicated teaching of an eighth-grade keeper trainer, Griffin said she learned to love the position and from there on out, she has been a defender of the pipes.
A smart player on and off the field, Griffin credits much of her knowledge of the game to her father, who took her to college soccer games and would make her analyze what was happening.
Because of this early training and years of constant practice, Griffin said she is confident in her abilities and doesn’t get nervous. Far from being egotistical, Griffin said she has made enough grabs in her life that she knows she can do it when she steps on the field. Oh, and there’s that little bit of pressure that gives her a boost.
“I get really, really excited right before a game,” Griffin said. “There’s nothing really to feel nervous about. It’s just a game. It’s not like you’re going to die if you lose. It’s frustrating when you lose but there’s nothing really to be nervous about.”
Griffin said the nerves should be on the shooter, not the goalkeeper, because it is their job to score.
And when they shoot, she’ll be ready.
–seth.h@aggiemail.usu.edu