Pelusi satisfied with what she has entering 2004 season

Expect nothing out of life, count everything as a blessing, and be happy with what you have…. Expect nothing out of life, count everything as a blessing, and be happy with what you have. It sounds so simple, but sometimes, it can be so difficult to learn.

It is a concept not foreign to Jamie Pelusi, the Pitt women’s soccer team’s veteran starting goalkeeper, who enters her junior season in 2004. In fact, it is a life lesson she learned by way of a month-long trip to Africa this July.

“It has been something I have wanted to do since high school,” said Pelusi, a social work major considering a career in international affairs. “I learned so much on that trip.”

She also learned a lot when she first arrived at Pitt two seasons ago. Regardless of what she expected of her soccer career, what evolved was a tremendously difficult road, one that was tough to navigate at first.

Despite Pelusi’s becoming the first rookie keeper in Big East history to start every game, the team gave up a nightmarish 49 goals her freshman season, a 4-15 campaign that included a winless conference record and a woeful 12-game losing streak.

Isn’t the NCAA trying to crack down on freshman hazing nowadays?

“It just felt like we were going through the motions,” said a somewhat dejected Pelusi, who looks at the season as a good learning experience now. Overall though, the amount of time the ball spent on her end of the field was uncanny. The Panthers were out-shot 341-197 that season, forcing Jamie to grind out 139 saves for the year, putting the freshman alone in second place for total saves in the Big East.

2004 Women’s Soccer Home Schedule Date Opponent Time 9/3 Duquesne 7 p.m. 9/17 Georgetown ** 7 p.m. 9/19 Providence ** 1 p.m. 9/26 Boston College ** 1 p.m. 10/6 West Virginia ** 7 p.m. 10/19 St. Francis 7 p.m. 10/24 Villanova ** 1 p.m. ** Denotes Big East Conference Game

That averages out to about seven saves on 18 shots faced — every single game. For most keepers, 18 shots on goal are typically only seen in practice, or maybe once a season when facing teams with the skill level of North Carolina. Even so, while just about any freshman wouldn’t mind leading the Big East conference and ranking 13th nationally in saves per game, the majority of keepers polled might tell you the fewer she has to stop, the better.

Her high school career was not plagued with such misfortune, as she earned all-Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League and all-Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association honors at Hampton High School in Pittsburgh several times. In addition to leading the Talbots to numerous WPIAL and PIAA playoff appearances, she also won a state championship with her club team, the Pittsburgh Strikers.

But something needed to be done to lighten Pelusi’s load if the Panthers were to compete in the loaded Big East conference.

Enter new coach Sue-Moy Chin, the former top assistant at the University of Colorado and standout goalkeeper at Florida International University. Chin started all 67 games at goalkeeper at FIU from 1991-94 and earned several honors along the way. Even though she has only been at Pitt for a short time, her decorated playing career and exceptional knowledge at the goalkeeper position have already paid huge dividends to Pelusi in particular.

“Coach typically has us go earlier for a session before practice starts,” Pelusi explains of her new coach’s methods. “I think I have improved tremendously because of these extra sessions, because we would work on footwork and technical stuff that we weren’t getting before. Also, we were ready to go when the team got there to start practice.”

“She has a good mind for the game,” said coach Chin, who finds the extra sessions beneficial to both the keepers and to the team. “She puts herself into positions where she makes difficult saves look easier because she covers the goal so well. That allows the rest of the team to take chances up the field because we have enough confidence in her to attack more.”

Pelusi’s individual improvement was evident in 2003, as she earned three shutouts. She also gained her first career shutout in Big East play, a scoreless tie with Rutgers in which she made a season-high 14 saves.

“She has done a great job as a leader,” Chin said of her captain. “Her eagerness to win and competitiveness every day says a lot about her.”

“She is a captain in every way,” said fellow captain Aimee Romasco, a senior who has noticed much improvement in the team and in Pelusi. “She has the most heart and desire I have ever seen in another player. You feel confident when she is in the goal.”

Pelusi’s teammates also took a page out of the coach Chin confidence book in 2003, stepping up the defensive effort as a whole. The Panthers gave up fewer shots (235), and on the offensive end, took more shots (200), than the year before. What was even more impressive was the sensational drop in the number of goals Pitt had given up. The Pelusi-anchored defense allowed less than half as many scores as they did the year before, rounding out with a school-record low of 23 goals for the season.

Big East Tournament berth or not, Pelusi’s legacy at Pitt is secured for years to come. She owns the school record for fewest goals allowed (23 in 2003) and season goals against average (1.32 in 2003). She also has led the Big East in saves per game in each of her first two seasons at Pitt, ranking in the top five in the conference in total saves as well. Her 15 saves in a 2002 loss to Providence rank second highest in Panther history in saves per game. She was also named Freshman Female Athlete of the Year by The Pitt News to boot.

“What makes her stand out and what has given her so much success at Pitt has been her heart, drive and dedication every time she sets foot on the field,” Romasco said.

Pelusi hopes the Panthers can improve on last year’s 5-10-2 record. She hopes all of the improvement can propel the Panthers into the postseason for the first time since 1998.

“She makes me want to play harder for her,” claims Romasco, one of Pelusi’s outside defenders also determined to improve on last year’s outing. “You know she will play her hardest while she is in there, so you want to play your hardest for her.”