Megan Roche didn’t play soccer until she was a freshman at St. Laurence.
Now she’s a second-year starter at goalkeeper and a dependable senior leader who already has three shutouts for the Vikings this season.
“The experience has helped me a lot,” Roche said. “Coming in as a little freshman who had never played soccer, my coaches have helped me a ton along the way. Now my teammates are pushing me and helping me have success.”
Roche made five saves Monday night, but the one shot she let past her was too much for the host Vikings to overcome in a 1-0 loss to University High in Burbank.
St. Laurence (2-2-1) has been held scoreless in back-to-back games, including a 0-0 tie with Oak Forest on Friday.
Roche has kept the Vikings in every game, though.
“You can see the strides she’s made over the last year and a half of consistently playing soccer,” St. Laurence coach Jaime Alonso said. “She portrays that confidence back there. I think that influences our back line.
“I feel like she’s a great person to have back there. She’s shown early on that she can make the big saves, and she showed it in the playoffs last year too.”
Roche, who played volleyball and basketball before high school, was talked into trying out for soccer as a freshman.
“My main focus was just to make friends,” she said. “I knew a lot of people coming out for soccer. The coaches convinced me to try it. They said they needed a goalie, and they thought I could do it.
“When I started playing, it felt like family with the girls and everything. It was something I looked forward to every day.”
Roche felt her background in the other sports helped her become a strong goalkeeper quickly.
“Volleyball and basketball help with being a goalie because of the quick action and quick reflexes you use in those sports,” she said.
Roche made a couple of big saves early Monday, stopping Lucy Aronsohn’s shot off a corner kick and Carly Penn’s attempt on a free kick from 27 yards.
The Maroons (1-1) came up with the game’s only goal in the 26th minute when Stella Sturgill ripped in a shot from 25 yards.
Still, Roche’s play gives her teammates confidence to take chances with the ball, according to Perla Guzman.
“It really makes me excited to have Megan in goal because she comes out with these amazing saves,” Guzman said. “Right when you think it’s going in, she’ll come up with a save.
“It makes me way more confident playing knowing that I have a good goalie back there. I can play more freely because I know if anything goes back there, Megan will probably save it.”
Guzman helped generate some of St. Laurence’s best offensive chances.
The Vikings, playing without leading scorer Emily Garcia, were held without a shot on goal in the first half but picked things up significantly in the second half.
St. Laurence had five shots on goal over the final 40 minutes, but they were all stopped by University High goalkeeper Sarah Solomon.
The Vikings’ best chance came off a corner kick 10 minutes into the second half. Guzman sent a cross into the box, and Avery Geigner played a nice pass to Jocelyn Ruiz, who had an open look from 20 yards. Ruiz’s hard line drive was stopped by Solomon.
“We just have to focus on getting our team together and finding the balls up top so we can finish more,” Guzman said. “I feel like we’re doing good on defense and in the midfield. We just need to finish and score some goals. That’s the part we’re missing right now.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.