In perhaps the South Carolina women's soccer team most critical match of the year against Florida, the game waged into its final minutes of regulation as a scoreless battle.
It was the 78th minute when Florida had their best opportunity of the night. The Gators connected a string of passes through the Gamecocks’ back line and had a clear shot on goal. As she has done so many times this year, the freshman goalkeeper Mikayla Krzeczowski came up with an acrobatic diving save to keep the score even and eventually send the game into overtime. The Gamecocks ended up winning in double overtime 1-0 off a penalty kick.
Krzeczowski was recruited by South Carolina during her sophomore year of high school and fell in love with the university from the beginning. She enrolled at South Carolina in the spring of 2016, began spring training with the team and eventually took over the vacant goalkeeper position for the Gamecocks, making her one of the youngest and least experienced players in the starting lineup of a veteran-dominated roster.
“It definitely forced me to become way more professional, obviously as a freshman goalkeeper, on a high-profile team in the SEC, " Krzeczowski said. "It's kind of an intimidating task to take on, but I’ve always liked having that kind of pressure put on me.”
She has definitely risen to the occasion, as the Gamecocks are currently 13-0-1 with Krzeczowski starting between the pipes. With that kind of season, whatever superstitions or pregame rituals Mikayla has seem to be working.
"I usually put on my left shoe before my right shoe and my left sock before my right sock, that kind of thing," the keeper said.
Most importantly, however, she added that before she runs out of the tunnel for the game, she wants to be "physically loose and mentally tight."
Although Krzeczowski is the barrier between opponents and the goal, she wasn’t hesitant about crediting her back line. She relies heavily on that back line comprised of senior Kaleigh Kurtz, junior Anna Conklin, senior Paige Bendell, senior Evelyn Robinson and freshman Tatumn Milazzo.
For some young goalies, the added pressure of defending a 16-game winning streak would be an overwhelming obstacle. But Krzeczowski says the team focuses on each game one at a time.
“The winning streak really isn’t a mindset for us," Krzeczowski said.
The winning streak will take care of itself, but for now, the freshman goalie will focus on staying "physically loose and mentally tight."