Junior Caitlin Schofield spent the first month of the season playing forward for Marist — and she was loving it.
So, when coach Chris Roe asked her to move to goalkeeper after injuries left the RedHawks desperate for someone to fill that position, Schofield wasn’t exactly thrilled.
She’s sure enjoying it now, though.
“I wasn’t excited about it,” Schofield said. “I like to score. I like to play forward. I really didn’t like playing goalie at first. But now I do. I really like helping my team.”
Schofield resembled a veteran goalkeeper Wednesday night, making seven saves to record the shutout as the RedHawks rolled to a 4-0 victory over the host Mighty Macs in a Class 3A Mother McAuley Regional semifinal in Chicago.
Nikki Young scored two goals for Marist (10-8-4), while Cate Meehan and Hannah McNeela added one goal apiece.
Seventh-seeded Marist will take on second-seeded Lincoln-Way East (13-5-2) — a 9-0 winner over Shepard in Wednesday’s other semifinal — at 6 p.m. Friday in the regional final.
Lucy Gray made seven saves for ninth-seeded Mother McAuley (11-11-2).
Schofield had some experience in the net before this season but has spent most of her time the last few years as a field player.
“I played goalie when I was younger but not much super recently,” she said. “I played in goal a little bit for my club this past season, so our coaches knew I did that.”
Goalkeeper was a revolving door for Marist early in the season as its varsity contingent suffered injuries and players who were elevated from lower levels struggled in the spot.
“Our goalie situation has been an epidemic,” Roe said.
Then, Schofield’s teammates came up with an idea.
“The girls were like, ‘Hey, what about Caitlin? She’s played backup goalie for club. She’s smart. We can play the ball to her feet. She plays the angles,’” Roe said. “The biggest problem we were having with our goalie situation was they were having a hard time with the positioning side of it.
“Caitlin’s positioning has been amazing. She reads the field well. She’s a heady player. She’s not afraid to attack the ball.”
Roe knew Schofield wasn’t thrilled about the idea at first. He called up a freshman to try in the net so Schofield could continue to get some playing time at forward.
But eventually, her feelings changed.
“After a while, Caitlin’s parents told me, ‘She’s starting to embrace it. We’re getting her a goalie’s jersey,’” Roe said. “The girls are playing super hard in front of her, and we’ve had a bunch of shutouts since she started playing there.”
Wednesday’s shutout was extra special for Schofield, who had some added inspiration after the death of someone close to her.
“My ‘grandpa Ron,’ he wasn’t really my grandpa but he was like a grandpa to me, passed away (Tuesday),” Schofield said. “I just wanted to win for him. It meant a lot. I didn’t tell my coaches about it because I just wanted to be ready for the game.”
It was also a huge night for Young, a senior who moved from defender to midfielder earlier in the spring and scored her first two goals of the season Wednesday.
“I think the last time I scored was my sophomore year,” Young said. “It’s been a bit. It was crazy to get two. I was nervous before the game because I knew my soccer career was coming to an end, so it feels great to have this moment.”
Young and Co. provided plenty of offense for Schofield, who is fully embracing and excelling at her new position.
“Playing goalie now, it’s exciting,” Schofield said. “Especially in games like this. You can bring everyone on the team together and it’s fun.”
