After playing forward throughout high school, Taylor Smith's transition to goalie has been a bright spot in Ohio's season.
Taylor Smith stands about 20 yards from her goal, watching her team string together a succession of passes, trying to break the deadlock in a double overtime game against Northern Illinois.
It's been raining and windy all day — not ideal conditions for a goalkeeper — but as her teammate Stephanie Rowland chips a ball into the opposite corner to give Ohio its second conference win of the season, everything changed.
Suddenly the inclement weather that battered Chessa Field for 105 minutes seemed to have no effect, and Smith sprinted toward the growing dog pile that was aggregating just outside the 18-yard box. The anguish from the goal she gave up early in the game is gone and only bliss remains.
But if this were a year ago, it might be Smith on the ground being piled upon by her teammates for scoring the game-winning goal instead of being the last line of defense.
Much like U.S. women's national team stalwart Hope Solo, Smith did not start out playing goalie. Instead, she spent much of her pre-college career playing as a forward and scoring the goals instead of stopping them. But coach Aaron Rodgers saw something special when Smith would strap on the gloves and stand between the posts.
"It was just something that I saw in her recruiting that I knew she would be a fantastic goalkeeper," Rodgers said.
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But whatever Rodgers saw was lost on Smith.
"I’m not sure when he noticed me," she said. But, after a bit of prodding, Smith said one of her best attributes is that, being a former forward, she knew how forwards think and puts that knowledge into practice in her goalkeeping.
Smith would have to wait her turn, however, as sophomore transfer Vanessa Cordoba and freshman Erin Beurket were selected over her earlier in the season. But that changed when Cordoba sustained a back injury against Kentucky and Beurket showed indecision, replacing Cordoba, against the Wildcats.
When the lineup was announced for the next game against Robert Morris, many were surprised to see Smith get her first start of the season. That surprise was replaced with elation as Smith, who registered two saves on the quiet afternoon, and the Bobcats won their first game of the season.
She would be tested much more in the following game against Xavier. Smith faced 16 total shots, with seven of them being on target, but made the most of it by making six saves to preserve a 2-1 win over the Musketeers.
By then, Smith was considered first-choice by Rodgers, and some of her finer qualities were beginning to show.
"Something as a goalkeeper that I like is a goalkeeper that is very solid and confident with her feet," Rodgers said. "It’s nice to have an 11th field player on the field that is also a very solid goalkeeper."
And while Smith did admit to missing playing forward for a bit, she is becoming accustomed to her new position and finding the fun in it.
"It's just exciting because it's the same thrill as scoring a goal but not as showy," Smith said. "It's rewarding."
Smith has started 12 games this season, posting a 1.62 goals against average while recording 65 saves and a .774 save percentage, all of which lead the team — not bad for someone who played goalkeeper part time in high school. Now, Smith is just focused on retaining her role and helping the Bobcats to future success.
"You have to work your best and work for your spot," she said. "And now I'm still playing goalie and it's fun."
@kellenbecoats
