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It's a game of steps, of subtle adjustments of position. A few inches, Lindsey Luke said, is the difference between allowing a goal and wrapping her hands safely around a shot rocketing her way.
It can create second thoughts or gnawing regrets, but Luke lives in the moment.
"I know she chews the spotlight up," Utah coach Rich Manning said. "The bigger the game, the bigger the environment, the more she wants it."
The Utes' junior goalkeeper a quick-witted conversationalist who can wax on about her major in art history and her hobby of oil painting. She's effusive, outgoing, and non-threatening in almost every way.
But for games Luke stops all chit chat, tunes into her music playlist, and starts compulsively chewing on Honey Stingers energy gels — as many as three packs per game.
"People think I'm pissed off," she said, a bit sheepishly. "I kind of get in a zone."
In games, she uses her perch behind the defense to see the whole pitch, and shout instructions to the players in front of her. If an opponent's attack is turned around before she has to make a save, all the better.
"Our coach has us wear heart rate monitors in the games, and my heart rate, it gets up there," she said. "I joke it's probably because I yell the whole time."
But then, when the time comes for the dive, or the leap, or standing in the line of fire, Luke does that, too. Her style is unconventional, but effective, Manning said. She's had six shutouts so far this season, and her save percentage (91.2 percent) is sixth-best nationally.
By leading the defense, she's helped the Utes (7-0-2) stay unbeaten into their matchup with Stanford on Friday afternoon.
"It's like somebody has a jump shot that's just awful, but it just goes in," he said "People have tried to really correct some of her technique and stuff, but it works for her. … The bottom line is the ball doesn't go in the net."
Goalkeeping can break a weaker athlete. It's about pushing the second-guessing to the back of the mind.
It's no surprise, then, that Luke takes the same attitude to her unusual route to Utah.
The 5-foot-7 keeper was an elite recruit out of Corona Del Mar, Calif., one of the centerpiece players of a Slammers FC club team that was a national finalist in 2007. In Manning's own words: "We didn't even try recruiting her."
Luke signed with Wake Forest, an elite program at the time. But it wasn't right somehow, and she only realized it once she took a class at Wake, "Children of Divorce."
Luke grew up as a child of divorce, and though both her parents were supportive, she said she struggled with it throughout her adolescence, eventually trying to run 2,400 miles from it.
"After taking that class, I kind of got a lightbulb," she said. "I love soccer to death, it's always been there for me. But I wasn't sure if it was something I could cling to any longer. I wanted to let go a little bit, and figure out other parts of my life, and focus on making myself a better person."
She took a semester off, assuming her playing career was over. She decided to apply to Utah purely on academic merit, and she got in. She took extra time to mend some neglected relationships with her family.
It was Hannah Turpen, then a Utah goalkeeper, who ended up nudging Luke back on the pitch. Turpen invited her to a Utah spring game, and Luke felt something within her spark up again.
"I thought, 'This is what college is supposed to feel like, I think I need to play here,'" she said. "For me, there's no gray area. I'm either hot or cold. And I'm like, OK, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this 110 percent."
That's what she's done, Manning said. She's playing well. She's found ways to open herself up to teammates, and she's happier and healthier. She introduced herself to many Utah fans through a series of YouTube videos competing in swimming, tennis and other sports against football star Dres Anderson (and she won the best-of-five series, by the way).
Her serendipitous arrival is stunning, in retrospect. But another goalkeeping saying: Sometimes the ball bounces your way.
"It's apparent to me, she's very comfortable on a daily basis," Manning said. "It's good when people are comfortable and share themselves. I think she's gotten to that point."
No regrets, Luke said. Not from going to Wake Forest, not from leaving the Deacons, and not from finding a new home with the Utes. It's been her path, and she's happy to accept it.
And really, what else would a goalkeeper say?
Twitter: @kylegoon —
A closer look
Utah junior goalkeeper Lindsey Luke, this week's Pac-12 keeper of the week, has found a lot of success in her career:
In high school • Three time Pacific Coast League first-team honoree, leading Corona Del Mar (Calif.) to two league championships. ... Attended camp for U-18 National Team. ... ESPN Rise second-team All American as a senior.
At Wake Forest • Sat out freshman year, but made roster that reached the College Cup and ACC Championship game.
At Utah • Has 19 career shutouts, including six this season. ... Second-team all-Pac-12 in 2013 and set program single season shutout record with nine and ranked No. 5 in save percentage (.894). ... All-freshman team in 2012, —
Stanford at Utah
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