Unconventional Timeshare in Net Pays Dividends

At nearly every level and in every sport requiring a goaltender, every team has “the goalie” and “the back-up goalie.” The goalie is the man, the starter, and only when he struggles or when the team holds a big lead does the back-up see any playing time.

This is not the case for the Harvard men’s lacrosse team.

Sophomore Evan O’Donnell and Freshman Joe Pike have split time in goal all season long. O’Donnell starts and plays the first half, while Pike closes out the game, manning the net for the final 30 minutes.

“I don’t know of any other Division 1 teams who do this,” co-captain Tom Mikula said. “So it’s pretty unique.”

Before the season began, Crimson coach Scott Anderson knew that both O’Donnell and Pike could make a big impact, and both deserved to play.

“I honestly felt that we had two Division 1 starters, but two people with very different styles,” Anderson said. “One [O’Donnell] with a little more experience, and one [Pike] who was technique-wise a little stronger and bigger.”

O’Donnell started every game for the team last season as a freshman. He earned honorable mention All-Ivy League honors, finished second in the League in save percentage, and boasted a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 8.61.

“Evan is a really fiery competitor and very emotional—all positives for a team,” Anderson noted. “He had a phenomenal season [last year].”

But when Pike came along this spring, Anderson knew immediately that the freshman from Phoenix, M.D. deserved a chance as well.

“If you are talking talent, Joe might be the best goalie I’ve ever seen,” Anderson said. “He’s amazing.”

Some have suggested different methods for getting both goalies field-time, such as alternating the games they play, starting O’Donnell one game and Pike the next.

But Anderson prefers this system because it takes advantage of each of his goalie’s strengths.

“[Evan’s] process of getting charged up to play is better over a certain period of time,” Anderson noted, suggesting that O’Donnell was the choice to start because he can use the pre-game warm-up session to get focused.

Joe was the clear second half choice, because he “is so calm and methodical in the way that he plays that he can roll out of bed and jump in the goal and be great. That’s just his demeanor.”

Another important aspect of lacrosse involves scouting the opponent’s goalie prior to the matchup. For teams playing Harvard, that task becomes twice as difficult. Not only do they have to scout two goalies, but they have to completely change their game in the second half, in order to adjust to Pike.

“The offense gets a little confused and has to change their style,” Mikula added. “That helps us defensively a lot.”

The key to the system, though, is the consistency of Anderson’s method—O’Donnell knows he is the starter, and Pike knows he will come in for the second half.

“That is the one absolute—that Joe goes in,” Anderson said. “If you play around with it too much, then its not there any more....So much goes into getting ready to play, that I think [changing the system] would be wrong.”

In the first game of the season against Stony Brook, for instance, O’Donnell played a spectacular first half, allowing only three goals. But Anderson wanted to stick with his game plan, so he replaced his starter with Pike, who contributed 11 saves in the 9-8 victory.

For the season, both have produced at levels which have justified Anderson’s choice. Pike is ranked third this year in the League in both GAA (7.25) and save percentage (.617).

O’Donnell sits just below Pike in both categories with an 8.40 GAA and a .553 save percentage.

“I think it’s worked out well so far,” Mikula said. “It’s one of those things where once the team gets into a rhythm, it’s tough to change. Both goalies have been hot.”

As long as O’Donnell and Pike keep displaying success, Anderson doesn’t feel the need to change the system. He won’t rule out using the technique again in the upcoming years; after all, the goalies are young—a sophomore and a freshman.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Anderson said. “Everything has been good for us this year, so maybe, moving forward, if that is the thing that makes sense [we’ll do it].”

One thing is for certain, though. Depth at the goalie position is the key to Crimson success.

“I can’t predict the future,” says Anderson. “But we are very fortunate as a program to have that much talent at that position. That is the foundation of any lacrosse team. You can’t succeed without having solid talent in the goal.”