In his senior year, Jamie Morse made the rare transition from being a goalie to an attackman for the men’s lacrosse team.
Until this year, Morse and J.J. Pearl battled every day of every season for the starting position of goalie. In his freshman year, Morse won the starting job from Pearl. Morse had a save precentage of 61. Pearl won the position in their sophomore year, and they split time in their junior year. And this year everyone decided it was time for a change.
“There was always a lot of pressure,” Morse said. “Every time somebody scored a goal, I found myself looking at the sidelines to see if I was going to be substituted.”
Morse said that his move from goalie to attackman was probably the best move for both Pearl and himself. He said that both he and Pearl were feeling the pressure, and it was affecting both of their performances.
“Every day at practice, J.J. and I would be battling it out,” Morse said, “I felt like I was reaching my peak before the game, and it was probably the same for him.”
“I cannot say that I’ve ever seen another player go from being a goalie to attack,” Coach Glen Thiel said.
It is an unusual switch. Thiel said he said that he has seen a couple of players go from being goalies to long-stick defense, but never to the attack. Morse is a good garbage player, Thiel said, always in the right place at the right time. Much of that came from his experience as a goalie.
“I think that being a goalie so long has helped (Morse) to anticipate where the goalie will be, and to shoot opposite of him,” Thiel said. “Morse has been doing a great job screening for us also. He knows where the goalie needs to be looking and is right there blocking his sight.”
“As a goalie, I watched attackers and I learned through their eyes,” Morse said. “It helpes me to know where and when I am going to shoot.”
Before this year, Morse had only played attackman in pickup games and just experimenting by himself. He said that he has made the transition comfortably.
Morse said that he has become confident with this new position. He is the third-highest scorer for the Lions this season. He scored three of the Lions’ 11 goals in their win against the Scarlet Knights, breaking a 10-game losing streak against Rutgers.
Morse said that he wants to make the Northeast Regional Tournament this year. Since he started at Penn State, Penn State has always come close to making it, but has never quite pulled it off. This year the Lions are undefeated to date, but their biggest challange is yet to come. Today they will face Towson State, which just defeated No. 1 Loyola.
Morse said that he will not treat this game any different than any other game. He said that he does not let up for a game.
“Every game is a big game,” Morse said, “If I start to let up just because a team is not doing so well, that is when stupid mistakes come in, and that can cost you the game.”