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EVHS goalie brought to you by the number zero
"Whoo!"
"Hit it in!"
"Go!"
"Get it in!"
"Go Jackie!"
When you're Eastern View High School field hockey goalie Nicole Woodworth, and your teammates are on the attack so often that you don't get a stick on the ball until midway through the second half, there's only one defensive maneuver you can do: Shout words of encouragement to people 50 yards upfield. This is much more difficult than it sounds, however.
"Sometimes I do get distracted," said Woodworth. "I sing songs, and I think 'What was my homework last night?', but then I have to think, "Wait, here comes the ball," and focus."
Woodworth declined to mention which songs those might be, but given her professed tastes in music and the lackluster competition she has faced this season, an appropriate tune might be Blink 182's "Pathetic." Opponents have failed to score on Woodworth in six of her 11 starts through the end of last week, with King George High School laying a goose egg for the second time this season with their 6-0 loss on Oct. 3. She also earned MVP honors for the Herndon Tournament last month.
"Nicole is just a real special kid," said Eastern View coach Peggy Allen, whose team was 7-3-1 overall and 4-2-1 in the Battlefield District at the end of last week. "She just really, really tries her best all the time and she's kept us in many games."
One such game was the Sept. 17 3-3 tie against James Monroe High School, in which thoughts of defunct punk bands and faded memories of algebra homework took a backseat to the quick reflexes that produce clutch saves. "They had like 30-some corners, and that's really hard, because it's eight players against your five, if not more," said Allen, referring to the combo of Woodworth and defenders Gracie Gilmore, Liz Crane, Kelsey Larson and Morgan Martin. "They had 14 in overtime against us, just one after the other after the other, and these kids just hung in there and showed character."
Woodworth didn't start playing field hockey until 10th grade, but gave it a shot at the urging of a couple of future teammates, including senior Samantha O'Connell. "I was a softball player, so I was used to looking through a caged view," she said. "So I gave it a try and fell in love with it."
She became the sole starting goalie a year later, and her love of incarcerating headgear may end up taking her to Longwood University before all is said and done. "That's my number-one choice," said Woodworth. "They have want I want to major in [forensic science], they have a good field hockey program, and I have friends there already."
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