Athlete of the Week

Sarah Peterson, PC '02 Women's soccer goalie Hometown: Seattle, Wash. Major: Political Science Favorite place to visit: Maui Favorite book: Catcher in the Rye Favorite animal: Golden Labrador Retriever Interesting fact: Her two best friends from high school play on the Princeton and Brown soccer teams. Most humiliating Ivy career moment: When her best friend at Princeton scored against her.

Peterson now takes her position very seriously. "As goalie, you can't afford to make mistakes," she explained. "Or else it could cost you the game." Her high school newspaper teased her aggressiveness as goalkeeper. It described her as "getting down on the ground and getting dirty," Peterson said, laughing.

At Yale, Peterson's performance has been characterized by that dedication. Most notably, Peterson was the women's soccer team's Rookie of the Year in 1998, and broke the school record with her .74 goals against average as a freshman. This year, her performance continues to be solid, as evidenced by her eight saves in last weekend's game against Harvard. Peterson also played a substantial role in the team's historic win against No. 18 UConn on Wed., Oct. 11—the first ever in the 21-year rivalry.

Team captain Jennifer Mendoza, BR '01, explained that Peterson has been instrumental in helping her team stay confident despite an increasingly tougher schedule. "Petey is really dominating in the back," Mendoza said. "In the beginning of the season, there was not a lot of pressure. She really stepped into that role as the season progressed and as we played more difficult teams."

Mendoza and her teammates respect Peterson for being one of the best keepers in the Ivy League, though that doesn't prevent them from some good-natured ribbing. "In a freshman skit last week, the freshman playing Petey was on her knees. "Mendoza said. "We make fun of her height all the time." When asked what her actual height was, Peterson said that she liked to think of herself as 5'4", though she laughed and admitted that she was probably an inch or so shorter. "Hey, I work on my vertical," she said. Peterson does boast one of the best verticals on the team, and responds well in many other ways as a goalkeeper, according to Mendoza. "Despite her size, she is a great presence in the back for the rest of us," she said.

Off the field, Peterson devotes her energies to classes and exploring what she describes as an "absurd amount of restaurants" in New Haven with her friends. She touts Thai food as the "best thing ever" and spends many evenings at Bangkok Gardens and Pad Thai. Apart from soccer and Thai food, she said that her other passion is her hometown of Seattle. For all of Peterson's fierceness on the field, she admits that she likes Seattle's tranquillity. "It's really laid back and absolutely beautiful. I like the water and mountains," she said.

Photo by Julia Tiernan.

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