Sophomore goalie Goralski sparks Moorestown
A budding star through most of her freshman season, there was something about the Tournament of Champions finals last year that pushed Jess Goralski into elite status.
A budding star through most of her freshman season, there was something about the Tournament of Champions finals last year that pushed Jess Goralski into elite status.
Confidence, as Goralski points out, is fueled by more than just how you feel about yourself.
"I play better when I know my team has faith in me, too. They showed it that day, and it was honestly one of the best experiences of my life," the sophomore goalie for the Moorestown girls' lacrosse team said.
With her team trailing by two goals at halftime, Goralski was inserted into the game after not seeing any action in the first half. She was a freshman, coming in cold in the biggest moment of the season for one of the country's marquee programs.
She responded by making four saves and allowing just one score as her team came from behind to win, 8-6.
"It's something that really doesn't hit you until after the game," she said. "You realize what you just did and what you were just a part of."
The experience stayed with Goralski. It sparked an attitude in her that carried into this season.
She is still just a sophomore, but it'd be hard to tell by watching her demeanor on and off the field.
Her leadership has been as big as her clutch saves for the Quakers (12-1).
"She's stepped up big-time for us as a sophomore goalie, and she won the position because she has confidence in herself. She knows what she can do," head coach Deanna Knobloch said. "She's made some incredible, huge saves for us. She has phenomenal position. And the biggest part about it is not only is she confident in herself, but her teammates are confident in her as well."
Last year, Goralski split playing time with a group of goalies who are all still on the team.
There's rarely a better way to sum up the lore of Moorestown girls' lacrosse than by looking at its annual crop of goalies. The team's backup goalies - players who either have just one year, sometimes even less, of being a full-time starter in their high school careers - often end up being four-year starters and star players for big-time colleges.
This year is a similar story. There are talented, older goalies behind Goralski, including Gabby Cooper, a Catholic University recruit, and Miranda Chrone, a TCNJ recruit.
Chrone and Cooper would be stars - All-South Jersey caliber goalies - on almost any team in the area.
Goralski being named the regular starter is not really a knock on the team's other goalies, it's more a testament to how far Goralski, a James Madison recruit, has come.
Even in the team's loss to Ridgewood on Saturday - the loss that snapped Moorestown's 88-game winning streak - much of the talk centered on Goralski's inspired play and acrobatic saves.
"That game probably would not have been as close as it was if it wasn't for Jess," Knobloch said. "She thrives under pressure, she comes up with the big saves. She gives us the spark that we need."