Justin Feil

By: centraljersey.com
Ally Potts didn’t have to go far to find some help when she agreed to switch from defense to goalie for the Bordentown Regional High School girls soccer team.
The Bordentown sophomore had seen her brother, Tommy, switch to goalie last year for his senior year with the Scotties boys soccer team.
"He’s actually the person who trained me to become a goalie before he went off to college," Ally said. "He’s the main person who I learned all my skills from."
Tommy still keeps tabs on how his sister’s transition has gone, and he has to be feeling some pride with every report he’s gotten so far. Potts made 10 saves in a 0-0 tie with Delran last Thursday for her second shutout in three games.
"I’ve been playing soccer my whole life," Ally said. "I was never a goalie until a week before the season started. It was really nerve-wracking until I get a couple games in. Now I’m comfortable with it."
Each game, Potts gains a little more confidence in her abilities, and learns something new. In the Delran tie, she could see just how far she’s come since giving up three goals in a 3-2 loss to them barely two weeks earlier.
"I’m not an experienced goalie," Potts said. "The first time we played them, it was the first time I had ever played goalie in the rain. It was a little different. I wasn’t used to slipping and I wasn’t sure how to catch the ball. It got me off focus a little. I was focused on the rain.
"I’m not worried about it now. I’m pretty confident with my abilities as a goalie."
A confident goalie on top of a talented team in the field has BRHS feeling good going into the Central Jersey Group II state tournament. The Scotties, at 10-1-3 going into today’s final regular season game that will be their first under the lights on their new turf, figure to get a high seed.
"Now we know for however many games, we’ll be playing at home," said Scotties head coach Dominick Castaldo. "That helps us tremendously."
Coming into the season, goalie was a big question mark after BRHS lost last year’s starting goalie when she elected to focus on softball year-round. Potts, too, plays softball but intends to stay with soccer, as she enjoys playing it on the side even in the big-pressure positions she’s in now.
"I don’t really feel a lot of pressure," said Potts, a corner infielder in softball who played defense on the JV soccer team last year. "I have a good team on the field in front of me. I know they usually do a lot of the work. I don’t usually get a lot of shots on goal. They usually keep it away.
"It’s probably good," she said of not facing many shots. "In the beginning of the season, it was definitely good. It gave me more time to get comfortable with the position."
The Scotties also have quite an attack to take pressure off their defense and new goalie. In the five games that preceded their scoreless tie with Delran, they had combined for 25 goals. The offense combined with a solid defense has helped BRHS win all but one game.
"That’s surprising," Castaldo said. "Going into any season, I don’t care what kind of team you have, you know the season is long and you don’t know what can happen. We did some good things. We had some good wins. At (Rancocas Valley) was a nice win. Delran were good games.
"I feel like we as a team have come together especially as the season has gone on. It’s going to be interesting to see how many more steps we take between now and the state tournament."
Castaldo is feeling better about his team’s chances now that Potts isn’t so new in goal. She looks more comfortable, even in tight games like the Delran contest.
"She’s playing like it," Castaldo said. "That’s a good sign for us for this year and the future. We came into this season, and the girl who was our keeper was a softball player and went to do that. Ally’s stepped up and done a great job."
Said Potts: "Probably the toughest thing going in was to not think about what happens if I do something wrong. That was my biggest thing, was not worrying about if I miss it."
Fortunately, neither she nor the Scotties have had had to worry about it. They are fine-tuning their game now to take on the best in the state tournament.
"Our whole team is really confident," Potts said. "I think we all feel we have a good chance of going far in states, if not winning it.
"I think coming into the season, we knew we would be a good team. We have a lot of talented players on the team."
Goalie, though, was an unknown. With the success of Potts’ brother, some of her teammates and the coaches convinced her to give it a shot. It could have been a tough spot to be thrown into, but Potts has eased up any fears by solidifying their one question mark.
"I wasn’t really worried about it," Potts said. "The older girls on the team boosted my confidence. My older brother was an example for me. He ended up being really good."
Ally Potts has learned well.