Pelusi talks about cartoons and being a goalie

After spending the summer soaking up the sun and gallivanting on the streets Oakland, it is… After spending the summer soaking up the sun and gallivanting on the streets Oakland, it is time to get back to finding out what Pitt athletes are really like.

And who better to start with than the first freshman to start every game in goal for the women’s soccer team, Jamie Pelusi.

While it’s rare to see a freshman start on any team, there were plenty of reasons why Pelusi was the Panthers’ starter.

All she did last season was lead the Big East in saves per game (7.32) -which was good enough to tie her for 13th in the nation – and finish second in the conference in total saves, with 139.

So what does she plan on doing for a follow-up in her sophomore season? She started by answering our questions.

The Pitt News: Why did you decide to play soccer?

Jamie Pelusi: When I was little, that was really the only sport for girls my age. All of my friends did it. That was really the only reason why I started, because all my friends did it.

TPN: Why did you want to be a goalie?

JP: I wanted to be a goalie, at first, so I wouldn’t have to run, and then I came to college and realized that wasn’t the case. I just like the position more. You can be crazy, and that fits my personality.

TPN: Did you ever play any other positions?

JP: I was a forward. I was amazing; I was lightning-fast. [laughs] No, I really wasn’t, but I did play forward, actually. In high school, if we were winning, they’d put me in at forward just to laugh at me to watch me try to score

TPN: Is there a different kind of relationship between the goalie and the rest of the team?

JP: You have to be the crazy person in the back that can just throw yourself into the play and save a goal. Risk bodily injury to make a save. I think, as far as the team’s relationship to the goalie, I think it’s just kind of like the central back player that can kind of be a leader and director of play, because we can see the whole field.

TPN: What’s your favorite sport, other than soccer?

JP: Slam ball or, well, I like American Gladiators, but I don’t know if that’s a sport. We watch that all the time. I also like gymnastics. That’s weird, but I like going to the gymnastics meets.

TPN: What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you while playing soccer?

JP: One time I went to punt a ball and I kicked my shoe off. It went all the way down the field, and my mom came and had to put it back on and tie it for me. That was pretty embarrassing.

TPN: What’s the funniest or oddest-sounding soccer term that you use?

JP: I could tell you it, [but] it’s censored. [laughs] I don’t know, “boot it,” I guess.

TPN: What goes through your mind when someone is about to take a shot on you?

JP: A million things, I think. At one point, I’m thinking of so many things, but on the other hand, I’m trying to be calm. I think it’s a mix of that, me over-thinking and me trying to calm myself down.

TPN: What do you do in your spare time?

JP: Hang out with my friends, do arts and crafts, and watch television.

TPN: If you could meet anyone in history, who would it be?

JP: I don’t know of one person, but I would want to meet someone who was like a cross between Mother Theresa and Jim Carrey. [laughs]

TPN: What’s something that people would be surprised to know about you?

JP: That I am like a little kid, I like watching cartoons and being goofy.

TPN: What kind of cartoons?

JP: Anything on Nickelodeon, like Rugrats. Oh, and I am an amazing dancer. [laughs] I love interviews.

TPN: We kind of like them, too.