Nazareth’s Peggy Masterson became a goalie for her fourth-grade soccer team, not because she loved the position or thought she’d be great at it.
What it boiled down to was, unlike many girls her age, she simply wasn’t afraid of the soccer ball.
Having pair of older sisters who loved soccer helped her become fearless in the net.
“When I was little, they wanted someone to shoot at and I was the one to play goalie,” Masterson said. “They were the reason I was the only girl not afraid of the ball. I was always getting beat up by them and I was always trying to beat them up back.”
Masterson’s oldest sister, Nora, graduated from Nazareth in 2010, while Tricia graduated in 2012. Both played soccer for the Roadrunners, but Peggy Masterson is the only goalie in the family. Her oldest sister is in awe of how she handles herself in goal.
“She’s probably so good because she had us beating on her when she was a little kid,” Nora Masterson said, laughing. “She amazes me. She doesn’t really care who is coming at her with the soccer ball. She’s going to go get it from them.”
While Nora Masterson never got to play with Peggy, she is getting a chance to coach her. After finishing up college at St. Ambrose, where she played basketball, Nora Masterson took a position as the JV soccer coach at Nazareth.
She’s able to offer Peggy some guidance or make a suggestion, but more important they get to be around each other.
“It’s just us two at home, so it’s good we get to spend more time together,” Nora said. “It’s going a lot better than I thought it would. I was worried I was going to be too hard on her, but I’m not really working with her. It’s nice to be around, but not have to be in charge of her.”
Senior Peggy Masterson is in her third year as starter for the Roadrunners and head coach John Nikchevich is glad to see the third Masterson he’s coached be able to find her own niche in a family of athletes.
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“They’re all close and supportive and I think that let her do something out of the ordinary, and not be on the field,” Nikchevich said. “She took the responsibility of learning how to play goal. She’s fast and aggressive and she could have done many different things. In soccer she was allowed her own identity, which is nice.”
After a loss and tie to start the year, Nazareth is beginning to show it can be as successful as last year’s team that made it to the sectional finals.
The Roadrunners (3-1-1, 1-0) steamrolled Marian Central 9-0 in an East Suburban Catholic home game on Wednesday.
Masterson hasn’t allowed a goal in the last three contests, but her focus is entirely on the future.
“We were thrilled with how far we went last year and we want to go further this year,” Masterson said. “I have high expectations because we have most of our starters returning and I’m really excited to see how far we can go.”
NOTES
* Sophomore Claire Ramsey scored four goals and added two assists for Nazareth. Ramsey has nine goals this year and is in hot pursuit of the school record of 28 in a season, set by Erin Voss. “The nice thing about Claire is that as well as she is playing and as well as she is getting the ball in the net, there’s so much more of her to develop,” Nikchevich said. “She’s really fun to watch and there’s so much more to come. She’s developing and learning every game.”
* Also finding the back of the net for the Roadrunners was Julie Saladino, Gigi Ariola, Kelly Renehan, Emily Beedie and Allison Salata.
Valentin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.