There are often humorous stories told about how a player becomes a goalie in any sport. For Robbinsville High lacrosse junior Alley Ortega, it was less humor and more a process of elimination.
“Honestly, I wasn’t too good at the other positions,” she said with a laugh. “My mom was saying maybe I should try something else, and I decided goalie would be it.”
It turned out to be the right move for Ortega and, eventually, the Ravens. Now in her second year starting, Alley has become a backbone of the defense and helped Robbinsville to an impressive 6-3 start.
“She’s come up in a couple games against really good teams with 14 saves (against Allentown) and 13 saves (Notre Dame),” coach Jennamarie Colicchia said. “She came up really big against Hopewell when we had a good win and played consistently against Allentown.
“The shots that she is saving are typically goals. She is performing a lot better than last year. Her goals against are a lot lower (seven per game) and she’s been performing more consistently this year.”
Scoring has been no problem for the Ravens behind Kendall Franke, Sydney and Danielle Sieja, Alyssa Leal, Morgan Gonser and Cora Butler. But without Ortega, there could be a few less wins and some more high-scoring losses.
“She’s making saves against some of the strongest players in the CVC and it’s giving our team momentum, where in past years those goals would be against us and slow us down a little bit,” Colicchia said. “She’s able to fuel our attack by making a big save and it’s a trickle effect down the field.”
Alley began playing for the Robbinsville Lacrosse Association in fifth grade. Two years later, a coach asked for volunteers to play goalie for a game.
“I just hopped in and fell in love with it,” Ortega said. “It’s scary at first, the motions are a bit weird. It’s something you definitely have to get used to but once you get into it, it just comes easily.
“Even now, some shots are crazy. But it’s really just like being able to stand there and be prepared for the shot. Even if it’s a hard shot, as long as you’re standing there ready, you’ll be OK.”
It took some time for Ortega to progress. She would have likely started as a freshman before Covid-19 hit. After taking over last year, there were some growing pains but there was also growth. Much of it had to do with the tutelage from Laura Redler, the Ravens starting goalie from 2015-18.
“My club coach Bill Gonser said they had been looking to see if there was a goalie out there and they had found someone who could help me,” Ortega said. “In eighth grade she used to come to practice and help me and come to my house and do different drills with me, and she’s still here.
“She just taught me a lot of different things. My skills weren’t as set when I started with her. She helped me with different goalie stances, how to step up to the ball and just enhance how I was playing.”
Redler also taught the new goalie all about the position’s mindset.
“Laura training Alley is a good thing,” Colicchia said. “When Laura graduated she said ‘You have a goalie coming in, I’ve been training her.’ I was excited about that because I knew Laura was gonna pass on the psycho mentality a little bit.”
Psycho mentality?
“The aggression,” Colicchia continued. “If you’re gonna get scored on you gotta be able to bounce back and Laura always had that; you could see her have that ‘OK, next play,’ mentality. If you’re gonna get scored on, the fact she can bounce back is great to have in a goalie.”
Ortega isn’t sure if she considers herself psycho, but does have another word for it.
“I get told I’m dramatic all the time,” she said with a grin and, amusingly, a group of teammates within earshot all nodded their heads in agreement. “It’s a little crazy sometimes. There’s just the aggressiveness. Just coming after the ball, it’s very explosive, and very dramatic.”
However dramatic it may be; Ortega is learning how to deal with it. Colicchia feels she has become more aggressive this year and is more confident to come out of the cage and challenge shooters.
“She thrives on that,” the coach said. “Even after a mistake, like if she doesn’t make the best clear and they come back down on her, she’s able to make the save if it’s one-v-goalie. In the past she would step back and now she’s stepping forward and I think that’s a big confidence thing for her.”
Part of that confidence comes from working on her game, so she knows what to do in certain situations. She takes help from whoever offers it.
Her dad, Marcus, a non-lacrosse guy, got her used to grabbing a ball with the goalie stick by shooting at her in the backyard. Marcus isn’t the most dangerous of threats, but his daughter said with a grin “He’s working on it.”
Ortega also worked on learning how to play the angles with junior teammate Hannah Tyler over the summer.
“I definitely practiced to see from each spot what type of shot I would see,” she said. “There are parts around the eight(-yard-line) where we’d practice shots from each place, seeing where the shot is coming from. I feel that definitely helped.”
Colicchia feels that the goalie has made things easier on herself by keeping possession of a save, rather than have it become a rebound to produce a quick follow-up attempt.
“Where the ball used to pop out, she’ll make a save and now it’s a catch,” the coach said. “She’s then able to look up and hit a pinpoint pass right away. We’re able to have a faster transition game because of it.
“Our defense (led by Kennedy Odenheimer and Alyssa Fleith) does a good job of making it a lower angle shot, but she knows where to sit. Alley is a big part of our defensive unit. She now has a veteran presence where she knows the experiences and the types of drives people will make. She knows exactly what to do in those situations.”
And while much of her improvement comes from individual drills, Ortega feels one of the biggest reasons for her progress is being able to practice with her teammates. Going against good players every day is raising her level of play.
“Overall we’ve gotten so much better in so many different ways,” she said. “That really helped push me to get better. I’m practicing against better shots and better passes now.”
She hopes to keep practicing long after high school is over, and is looking to play in college.
“I really want to focus on this as my future,” she said. “Last year I was a bit unsure but this year, I think playing in college is something I’d enjoy.”
All it took was finding a position she was good at.
RHS girls’ lacrosse goalie Alley Ortega has made double-digit saves in a number of games this season. (Photo by Rich Fisher.) ,
