Meg Dentler
Goalie of the Week: April 21, 2003

© John Aronson, courtesy of the GMU Sports Information Dept.

Meg Dentler, a sophomore at George Mason University, is Goalie Nation's Goalie of the Week. Regardless of the fact that Virginia won against George Mason 15-8, Meg played a remarkable game as she racked up 18 saves. While her season high of 18 is quite impressive, what's equally impressive is that when she played against Virginia last year, she made a career-high 23 saves.

So far this season, Meg has played 642 minutes, made 131 saves, allowed 109 goals, has a 10.19 goals allowed average, and a save percentage of .546%.

Lacrosse Accomplishments at George Mason:

• named CAA Rookie of the Year
• selected to All-CAA second team
• garnered All-Virginia accolades
• selected to Womenslacrosse.com All-Rookie team
• started all 18 games in goal
• posted a 10.01 goals against average
• recorded a 57.8 save percentage that ranked second in the CAA and 7th nationally
• set a Mason single-season record with 225 saves
• had 20 or more saves in game twice, including a season-high 23 at #3 Virginia (4/16/02)
• selected Warrior/Inside Lacrosse Honorable Mention Player of the Week (4/1/02)
• collected 36 ground balls
• forced eight turnovers
• stopped 20 shots at #17 Johns Hopkins (4/27/02)
• made the Athletic Director's Honor Roll in the spring.

Learn more about goalie Meg Dentler in our Who's Hot in College profile.

Interview about the Game

GN: What were you thinking about during the game?
MD: Every game I go out with the same attitude, I know we can beat this team and I will do everything I can to make a difference whether it is coming up with a big stop, or running out for a ground ball. This game we had no pressure on us, we went out on the field to have fun, and just play.

GN: How did you feel after the game?
MD: I wished we had another 5 minutes left in the game. I felt like the momentum was in our hands. I was happy with the way I played, but of course I was going through my head to see what I could have done better, whether it was making that save that I tipped, or getting my defense to be more aggressive earlier in the game.

GN: Before the game began, did you know that this was your day to excel?
MD: I really begin to focus on a game the day before. When I have nothing to do, I go through my head thinking about different situations and how I would react to them. I mentally prepare for the game by visualizing saves and making the perfect clear. I knew that the year before I had a pretty good game, and that worked in my favor. I knew I could make a difference in the game and I knew my defense was up to the challenge.

GN: How did you mentally prepare for the game?
MD: Like I said before I visualize saves and making clears. I believe this position is very mental. I go into every game believing that our team is the better team. I think about what I am going to do. Being patient is one of the most important aspects of being a successful keeper. Having the control not to bait on a fake or when the attacker is barreling through the defense is very intimidating to the other team. I keep calm and don’t move until I know they are going to shoot.

GN: Do you have a memorable save, whether from that game or another game?
MD: From our game against JMU there was a 2v1. I saved the initial shot right on the crease and the rebound went right to the other attacker. She shot and hit the pipe and then hit me in the back of my leg. I tried to give in my leg when it hit so it didn’t go straight in the goal, I quickly turned around and dove on the ball right on the goal line. That really gave me a lot of confidence early in the game. For the UVA game I really felt like I was getting to the low non stick side well.

GN: Have you gelled with the defense?
MD: Our defense works very well with each other. We communicate to each other and we feed off of each other. When some one makes a check steal or blocks a shot we all go crazy. We are very loud and we can take criticism very well. We can tell each other what we think they should have done and everyone takes it as something they need to work on. We watch video together and help each other out, they tell me when I need to make a save and I tell them that they need to play more aggressively. Our defense is a bunch of veterans, even our freshman, she plays like she has been out there for 3 years.

GN: Are there any random details you can tell us about the game?
MD: I really try not to pay attention to the crowd, but when you hear it roar when you made a huge save or started off the fast break, it’s hard not to smile and think that you started that goal. I felt like I saw the ball very well. I only watch the stick, that’s the only place where the ball is going to come out of. The main thing I was concentrating on was staying patient, UVA has some of the best attackers in the nation and I knew I was in for a barrage of shots from anywhere.

Goalie of the Week: Archive

2003 SEASON
Carissa Medeiros - May 12, 2003
Matthew Wheeler - May 5, 2003
Andrew Goldstein - April 28, 2003
Meg Dentler - April 21, 2003
Tillman Johnson - April 14, 2003

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