Extra Time with Lainey Burdett
10/10/2017 | Soccer
No. 2 (now No. 1) Stanford crashes seven players towards the net off a corner kick, each one standing on average a few inches taller than even the largest Arizona defender. And then out of nowhere, Lainey Burdett rises up and punches the ball skyward, clearing out her box and giving her defenders a chance to set themselves for the next wave. She made eleven saves that match, setting a career record for saves in a game.
"That game had a lot of action," said Burdett. "It was fun, I love having those type of games because you know they're one of the best in the nation. We've had some good games against them in the past, so we were just trying to leave everything out there. I just had a pretty good game I guess. Once you make that first save you have so much adrenaline that really gets you going. That helps you get moving and progress and you hope that it goes your way."
More than a pretty good game for Burdett, that match and the ensuing shutout at No. 11 California earned her Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week honors.
"It feels good that what I'm doing is being recognized. Everything that I'm working on with Paul [Nagy] in training is progressing me as a player and a goalkeeper."
Last weekend Burdett faced No. 6 USC and No. 1 UCLA and with that came four penalty kick attempts. But she held the shooters for only 50% when the expected return for a goalkeeper is usually less than 20%.
"When people have PKs, they're supposed to score them. All I can do is be confident in the direction I pick. I feel pretty good that one of the girls shanked it and then saving the other one was pretty cool."
Burdett's PK save came in the 73rd minute of the match against UCLA to keep the game level at 2-2 and eventually was the key save to give the Wildcats the draw.
The Wildcats have just come out of a four-game stretch against the top teams in the Pac-12 (Stanford, California, USC, and UCLA) and currently hold a record of 5-4-3. That's not normally a record of note, but when you look at the competition they've faced – it's a stellar mark. Burdett has always been the competitive type and didn't share that sentiment.
"We would rather have had a few more wins in that. But seeing how hard we've worked and progressed and pouring all of our energy out onto the field has been really good. We have good momentum moving forward to the last stretch of the Pac-12 conference play and should be able to get the results that we want to."
That's just a token of how badly this team wants to win. The Wildcats took seventh in the Pac-12 last year and missed the tournament by one spot (the top six teams in the Pac-12 were awarded berths). This year, that's not an option.
"Everyone has this mentality where we just need to get the job done. We just want to get the wins and were willing to do whatever it takes to get them. We're doing pretty good. We're working well together as a team. We have the mentality that we have each other's backs. We're communicating well and working with each other and helping each other out."
Arizona remains unranked in the polls and is currently holding the number six spot in the Pac-12 standings. The team feels a little undervalued to say the least, but Burdett likes that. It gives the Wildcats an edge.
"It's almost like people overlook us and say, 'oh we're just playing Arizona.' They'll see the energy that we bring and how hard we work. We do everything that we can to keep the ball out of the net and that means we're trying to be a pretty good."
In Burdett's opinion, part of the reason for the Wildcat's success this season is the "vibe" of the team. Burdett herself is a huge component of this as she's known to bring a lot of energy to the squad. Pregame ritual for her? Being wild.
"We just blast music and it's just me going crazy, getting hyped. Just being loud and obnoxious to get everyone going. Games could go a different way if you don't have energy. I think being able to bring energy and having people have the same energy that I have, that's uplifting and more of a positive thing."
But Burdett also feels responsible for her younger teammates, like she has some unofficial duty.
"I graduated early and came in January, so I was the only one in my class that was here. It was nice to have some of the older girls from the team take me under their wing because it adds that comfort level. I felt that I should be that person to help out and be there now, even with the littlest things like taking them to get groceries. You just talk to them and get to know them so that when you're communicating during a game their almost more willing to do what you say just because you have that bond and connection."
Which one of these roles is more important to Burdett though?
"I am not responsible enough to be the team mom," she laughed. "More just the team goofball."
