On Sunday, SU head coach Phil Wheddon made a goalkeeper change at halftime in a scoreless game. Jordan Harris, who has started all five times for the Orange this season, was pulled halfway through SU’s game against Northeastern for sophomore Lysianne Proulx.

It was a sudden move: Harris had started for the entirety of this season and was near-perfect against NU, not allowing a goal to eight Wildcat shots. Harris’ replacement, Proulx, only had 105:48 collegiate minutes in goal.

It ended up paying off for the Orange. Proulx saved three shots, keeping the game scoreless, and Georgia Allen scored a game-winner in the 83rd minute. The change puts SU in an interesting situation: start the experienced graduate-transfer in Harris or take a chance on Proulx’s potential.

“We compete every single day for one spot,” Harris said. “It’s a lot different than everybody else on the field.”

Before SU’s summer training camps started, Wheddon assumed Proulx would play in the U20 Women’s World Cup for Canada. SU would go into camp with only one goalkeeper on its roster. Wheddon started to look for a replacement.

Harris had just finished her redshirt junior season with the Razorbacks, where she allowed 0.77 goals per game, posted eight shutouts and started in the NCAA tournament. The season prior, the Orange had lost its starting goalkeeper of four years, Courtney Brosnan, who graduated as SU’s leader in saves. After three years as Arkansas’ leading goalkeeper, Harris made a decision to leave the Razorbacks.

“I hadn’t planned it whatsoever,” Harris said. “To put it lightly, it wasn’t a situation I didn’t think I would be put in.”

SU was one of Harris’ last offers. She said she wasn’t sure of the move at first, but was won over during her visit to campus a couple of weeks prior to her decision. Harris was impressed by the training regime and the expertise of Wheddon, who has coached goalkeepers such as Hope Solo prior to his reign at SU. Harris liked the challenge of the ACC Coastal Division , a higher level of competition than her opponents at Arkansas, she said, so she chose the Orange in late June.

After Harris signed, SU had three goalkeepers on its roster: Harris, Proulx and freshman Ally Wakeman. Wheddon said it was an open competition for the team’s starting spot, as he said the year before.

When evaluating the goalies, he avoided using Harris’ experience as a catalyst for the decision because of the style differences between the SEC and the ACC. Proulx was the only keeper with experience in SU’s system, playing 86:18 minutes of relief in her first season.

But Wheddon went with Harris in SU’s season-opener against La Salle.

“You’re looking for a goalkeeper to have a good day more often than not,” Wheddon said. “And that was the case with Jordan leading up to that first game.”

Harris played all 90 minutes in the Orange’s first three games, allowing two goals across the three contests.

“It’s hard,” Proulx said. “I try to tell myself there’s time for me to come back. Obviously, you work harder, but at the end of the day I tell myself I’m going to do it because I love it.”

On Thursday, SU began to experiment. Harvard and SU were squared at 0-0 in the first half, but the Orange’s backline started to collapse. A 52nd minute penalty kick opened up the scoring for the Crimson. In the 63rd Harris mishit a clearance to make it 2-0 and in the 69th minute Harvard senior Leah Mohammadi knocked in another penalty to increase the lead.

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Harris was pulled in the 71st minute, her first benching at SU. Proulx came on in relief, allowing a goal in a 4-0 loss to the then-winless Crimson.

“Lysianne is training really well,” Wheddon said. “I have no problems making a change if we need to.”

While Wheddon said Harris had the edge in SU’s goalkeeper competition on Aug. 27, something changed on Sunday. Harris only made one noticeable mistake against NU, a positional error that almost cost the Orange a goal off a corner. Taylor Bennett made the clear to save the scoring opportunity in the 24th minute, and Harris was left unscathed in the first half.

Going forward, Wheddon said the goalkeeper is never fully secure. Though she didn’t appear in the team’s first three games and has yet to start, Proulx has thrown her name back into the discussion.

“We’re in a luxurious position that if one isn’t getting it done, either one of the two can,” Wheddon said.

Published on September 4, 2018 at 10:57 pm

Contact KJ: kjedelma@syr.edu | @KJEdelman