By Camryn Crouch ‘29, special contributor
There is a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that happen behind the scenes while playing sports at the college level, all the hours at the rink, time watching film, team lifts in the gym; first-year goaltender Savannah Alexander on the LVC women’s Ice hockey team finds a way to balance it all while keeping up with her mental health, schoolwork and social life.
Coming from Chicago was a big change, but she decided to come here because of the team comradery, and all that the team had to offer. Alexander said it is nice to have a home away from home, and a team that treats her like family.
Alexander’s parents are the ones who got her started playing as an ice hockey goalie and her love grew from there. Being a goalie is completely different than any other position; the mental aspect is a huge part and can sometimes be very demanding. Coming into this season, Alexander was aware that the team already had a top of the conference junior goalie who would likely get most of the playing time.
“I knew it was going to be tough, and I would have to fight for my spot, but I thought this was a really good opportunity,” she said.
In a situation like this finding the motivation and determination to keep going can be discouraging and can take a toll on confidence and performance.
“Having my teammates always being there for me and cheering me on definitely helps keep me going and brings back my confidence when I find myself struggling in practices or games,” Alexander said.
Alexander has started six games and has played in nine so far this season. She has also recorded four shutouts.
Some first-year goalies never even see the ice in a game, but Alexander took that challenge head on with the help of her teammates and a positive, hardworking mentality and has had a successful freshman year so far.
The women’s hockey team will host Alvernia University on Friday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. at Hersheypark Arena. It’s senior day. The team will return to action again on Saturday against Stevenson University.