The goalie conveyor belt for the Steinert girls soccer team has been running smoothly the past three years.
When Gemma Goldenbaum rolled off the belt after the 2021 season, Jillian Jones came along right behind in 2022. Jones came off the line after last year, but then Emily Hardiman came cruising around the carousel.
The senior has stepped in admirably, allowing one goal and posting four shutouts in Steinert’s 4-1 start. Once again, coach Mike “Stinger” Hastings hasn’t had to worry about who’s in the nets.
“It’s tremendous,” Hastings said. “It’s really nice. Jill did the same thing Emily is doing. A lot of goalies kind of ride the pine for a while. They learn and they’re hungry by the time they’re in this spot. Emily’s hungry, she’s ready.”
Hardiman saved 23 of the first 24 shots she faced this season after making nine saves in seven games as a 2022 back-up.
“Last year I was really grateful for my opportunities and getting in the games I could,” Hardiman said. “(Assistant coach Kristin) Jacobs really got me prepared for this season; we did more game situations because I didn’t get a lot of those opportunities last year. We worked on a lot of game scenario shots before the season started.”
The athletic Hardiman, who also plays basketball and lacrosse, started her soccer career playing the field.
“When I was young I tried a lot of different sports and soccer is the one that stuck with me,” she said.
At around age 9, Emily doesn’t quite recall why she did it, but she asked her rec coach to try and play goalie. She admitted to being a little scared but added “you kind of get used to it.”
The result of the game, which Hardiman did remember, was a 4-1 loss. From there she went on to play indoor at the Bob Smith Soccer Academy in Robbinsville, which proved helpful.
“I got a lot of rapid shots with that on a small field,” she said.
Hardiman moved from Hamilton rec soccer to the Hamilton Wildcats before finishing her travel career with Upper Freehold/Allentown.
During her sophomore year, with Goldenbaum and Jones both playing in front of her, Emily played JV but got into three varsity games and made two saves.
“She was very good as a JV player,” Hastings recalled.
Despite her limited varsity time last year, Hardiman proved to be valuable in another way.
“She pushed my starting goalie last year really hard,” Hastings said. “She was a great back-up keeper because she kept Jill on her toes. She trained hard every day. That’s what made her the better player that she is today. She’s a starter this year and she’s earned it.”
Hardiman began to show how good she was over the summer, earning praise from opposing coaches.
“During seven v seven games all the other coaches were like ‘You’re goalie. . .wow,’” Hastings said. “It’s nice to hear that. You tell players that and give them that confidence like ‘Yeah, you can play. You belong here.’”
It did, however, take Hardiman a little while to realize that she belonged on varsity.
“It was definitely weird at first,” she said. “Now I’m getting used to it. At first it was very different. It was kind of nerve wracking. I would think about it in class when we have a game. But now I’m used to it.”
Hastings feels that Hardiman’s work ethic played a big part in her earning the starting role.
“She played sparingly here and there last year but now it’s her job,” the coach said. “She’s worked really hard to get where she’s at. She’s so athletic, you can see she’s gonna make some saves that some other goalies will not get to. She plays other sports, the Hardiman family is pretty athletic, she’s got it in her genes.”
The one thing Emily doesn’t have is height. But that never stopped Goldenbaum back in the day, and it’s not stopping the 5-foot-5 Hardiman.
“We do a lot of jumping warm-ups and stuff,” she said. “We do balance in the beginning where everybody just jumps in the air to catch a high ball. We do high ball parrys where we throw it into high corners trying to get them, and we jump into the crossbar a lot to get our mobility. It helps and it gets me stretched out.”
One thing the keeper is still working on, is being able to communicate with her defenders and control the box. She is a relative newcomer in the back, playing behind senior veterans Alyssa Hendricksen and Brenna Riddell.
“She’s working on it,” Hastings said. “There’s things she still has to work on but she’s a quick learner, she gets better every day.
“Right now she doesn’t know when to come out. She’s working on that stuff. We have Alyssa and Brenna who have been here four years. She thinks they can do everything but sometimes she has to come out and help them. But she’s learning.”
It is not something that Hardiman takes lightly, as she is well aware of what needs to improve.
“That’s my big thing this year, working on my communication,” she said. “I think that comes with experience and I feel like I’m getting better at it already; compared to our scrimmages. And Alyssa and Brenna really help me out with the marking on the side.”
When she’s not playing soccer, Hardiman is involved in student government and is a member of Teens on Fire, which performs community service. People hungry for a burger may be seated by Emily as she is also a hostess at Rossi’s.
But most importantly for Hastings, she has continued the long line of girls who stand tall as the Spartans last line of defense.
“Having a good goalie just gives you confidence,” the coach said. “You know if you give up a shot she’s probably gonna save it. You have that back there as another thing in your arsenal to go forward and give you confidence.”
It’s all part of maintaining the tradition for Steinert.
Senior goalkeeper Emily Hardiman had four shutouts in Steinert soccer’s first five games. (Photo by Rich Fisher.),
