Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMLAX | Backup plan: A bizarre series of events trust freshman goalie Jake Hagelin into the net for Loyola, where he's starting to assert himself
By Jesse Caputo
Posted: 3/27/08, 1:12 AM EST Section: Sports
"In the first couple games we wanted to protect Jake and let him get used to the speed," Moore said. "Now seven games in, he's proven himself to us. At first we definitely wanted to play as hard as we could around him, but now we know how he is going to play."
Besides just making saves, Hagelin has to be a leader as well. One of the major roles of a team's goalie is to be vocal during the game. He has to shout out coverages and shift the defense around him.
After an opposing team scores a goal, the defense has a huddle to determine where the breakdown was and how to fix it. Until lately, Moore has been the main communicator within those huddles, with occasional input from Hagelin.
"In the past couple weeks, Jake has really started taking over those huddles," Toomey said. "I told him, you don't have to have a 'C' on your shirt to be a leader in there. He's definitely growing in seeing where the breakdown was and how to move on."
Moore sees in Hagelin a player with the ability to quickly forget about negative plays - something he deems an important trait. With an inexperienced goalie and a defense full of new starters, mistakes are prone to happen.
Indeed, Hagelin has had his share of down performances - the most notorious of those outings coming when Hagelin and Loyola allowed 21 goals in a loss to No. 2 Duke.
But having the ability to look ahead and not dwell on past goals has proven vital for Hagelin this season. It culminated in a breakout performance last Saturday against Massachusetts. After allowing a UMass goal halfway through the first quarter, Hagelin saved his next 14 shots, allowing no more goals in a 15-1 rout.
For Hagelin, that win might be overshadowed by his first career win - a 13-8 result over Towson. Hagelin's brother, Adam, is a senior starting midfielder at Towson. Adam fired two shots at his little brother - one sailed wide of the net, and Jake saved the other. The save, Jake said, gave him bragging rights over his older brother.
While the job clearly belongs to Hagelin for now, questions arise about what happens when Peaty recovers and is ready to be on the field.
Toomey prefers to cross that bridge when he comes to it.
"We have two very capable goalies, and we'll let it play out when it happens," Toomey said. "At this point it's very easy because it's Jake's job. Jake's our guy, and he's doing a hell of a job for us."
jtcaputo@syr.edu
Besides just making saves, Hagelin has to be a leader as well. One of the major roles of a team's goalie is to be vocal during the game. He has to shout out coverages and shift the defense around him.
After an opposing team scores a goal, the defense has a huddle to determine where the breakdown was and how to fix it. Until lately, Moore has been the main communicator within those huddles, with occasional input from Hagelin.
"In the past couple weeks, Jake has really started taking over those huddles," Toomey said. "I told him, you don't have to have a 'C' on your shirt to be a leader in there. He's definitely growing in seeing where the breakdown was and how to move on."
Moore sees in Hagelin a player with the ability to quickly forget about negative plays - something he deems an important trait. With an inexperienced goalie and a defense full of new starters, mistakes are prone to happen.
Indeed, Hagelin has had his share of down performances - the most notorious of those outings coming when Hagelin and Loyola allowed 21 goals in a loss to No. 2 Duke.
But having the ability to look ahead and not dwell on past goals has proven vital for Hagelin this season. It culminated in a breakout performance last Saturday against Massachusetts. After allowing a UMass goal halfway through the first quarter, Hagelin saved his next 14 shots, allowing no more goals in a 15-1 rout.
For Hagelin, that win might be overshadowed by his first career win - a 13-8 result over Towson. Hagelin's brother, Adam, is a senior starting midfielder at Towson. Adam fired two shots at his little brother - one sailed wide of the net, and Jake saved the other. The save, Jake said, gave him bragging rights over his older brother.
While the job clearly belongs to Hagelin for now, questions arise about what happens when Peaty recovers and is ready to be on the field.
Toomey prefers to cross that bridge when he comes to it.
"We have two very capable goalies, and we'll let it play out when it happens," Toomey said. "At this point it's very easy because it's Jake's job. Jake's our guy, and he's doing a hell of a job for us."
jtcaputo@syr.edu
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