Pelusi steps up in first year as Pitt’s goalie

Imagine being the person to replace Brandin Knight at point guard or Rod Rutherford at… Imagine being the person to replace Brandin Knight at point guard or Rod Rutherford at quarterback after they graduated. Jamie Pelusi had to be that person this year for the Panthers’ women’s soccer team.

For the past two seasons, Rachael Brown performed the goalkeeping duty. Brown was not just a goalie, but also one of the best goalies Pitt has ever had in women’s soccer. Brown in her two years at Pitt won Big East Goalkeeper of the Year twice, was the vocal leader of the team and now helps out as an assistant coach for the women’s soccer team.

So what is it like to replace the best a school ever had?

“Well, it’s good and bad. Good because she coaches us, and if some one is going to coach you, who better than Rachael? She would help out at practices and has taught me a lot,” Pelusi said. “It is hard though because those are some giant shoes to fill. And no matter how good I do, I am not going to be Rachael Brown. Most people don’t think of that, but I definitely do – it is hard.”

As an 18-year-old freshman from Hampton, Pa., the choice of going to Pitt seemed to be a simple one. The daughter and niece of two former Pitt football players, Pelusi seemed almost obligated to keep up the family tradition as a Panther.

“My dad and uncle played [football] here, and would say jokingly, ‘You’re going to Pitt you know.’ Yet, no one forced me to go to Pitt,” Pelusi said. ” I kind of didn’t want to go because of my family. I wanted to do something different, but it ended up being the best choice for me.”

The opportunity to play right away had something to do with it being the best choice, but not entirely.

“They have a good social work program here at Pitt, and that is my major,” Pelusi said. “That was my No. 1 reason for coming, soccer was No 2.”

In addition to that, the choice to stay close to home ensured her family the ability to watch her play. Pelusi, as most other athletes in her position and in the other sports like hers, wish they had an on-campus field, and she has a good idea of where to put it.

“Right on the lawn next to the Petersen Center. If they just cut the hill out a little bit and flattened out the land, which would be awesome,” Pelusi said. “We have two basketball courts and no soccer fields, but I don’t like to complain.”

Pelusi was excited for the opportunity to play early on in her career, but knew she had to earn the job first. Pelusi not only played well in the preseason, she earned the starting job, which is something that is very difficult for a freshman to do.

As the season started, all the pressure seemed to be on Pelusi, but she appeared poised to handle it.

“I was really, really nervous at first, and as it [the season] went on, it got a lot easier. The team helped me out and made me feel comfortable,” Pelusi said. “The first big save I made in each of the first two games helped me relax, but that first win really made me feel comfortable.”

Pelusi got comfortable and even stepped up her game, recording two early season shutouts for the Panthers. One was a 2-0 victory over Duquesne and the second a 3-0 win over Lehigh.

“The first part of the season [and the shutouts] were awesome, it was such a good feeling, and we did really well,” Pelusi said. “After that it seemed like a tale of two seasons.”

It really was a tale of two seasons for the whole team, starting off with a 3-1 record and then proceeding to lose 12 straight decisions. This was a tough stretch of the season for the whole team, but an even harder one for the goalkeeper. On average, the Panthers were outshot by almost eight shots per game.

“I think two different things – normally, [going into games], I have to make big plays to help our chances to win. Also, it is hard going into games knowing from past games that there is going to be 20-30 shots on me. There is a lot of pressure, but our defense does a very good job,” Pelusi said. “Just sometimes, the other team gets a ton of chances. The team supports me, but it is still really hard sometimes. We seem to be turning that around in the future.”

The team did end up turning the season around slightly and got a big late season victory over Virginia Commonwealth University. The victory gave the team a little momentum and will help them get ready for next season – a season Pelusi seems very excited about.

“I feel really good about the upcoming years, just because I have another season under my belt and even though it did not go that well, we will come out next year with the mentality that we are going to win,” Pelusi said. “I think we have a really good chance to do some good things.”

With wins hard to come by this season and the future looking bright, the team found ways to celebrate its victories.

“With an ’80s dance party. That’s how we celebrated our win over VCU. We had an ’80s dance party down at one of the girl’s places on Meyran, then watched ‘Edward Scissorhands,'” Pelusi said.

Pelusi spends most of her free time with her other soccer players down on Meyran Avenue.

“Normally I watched cartoons on their couch while they are at class,” Pelusi said.

Pelusi confesses her favorites are “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “The Wild Thornberrys,” but her true favorite show is “Friends.”

Pelusi may have more time to watch those shows now that soccer is over, but during the season, it was about playing tough.

“We were an exciting team, and were in most games, even though the results did not show it. We have what it takes to win in the future,” Pelusi said. “Plus, I could not have done this without the support of my roommate, Lailah Issac.”