Once a Stopgap, Holman Becomes a Stopper in Goal

When Jennifer Holman was asked to be her team’s goalkeeper as a 7-year-old it was not because of her skills but rather a lack of them.

“I kind of got stuck at goalie because I wasn’t any good in the field,” she said.

Once relegated to the goal, Holman discovered that she enjoyed one aspect of the job: “I liked making diving saves in the mud,” she said. “I’d find a mud puddle and I’d stand in it.”

Ten years later, Holman is known for more than diving in the mud. She is the goalie at Simi Valley High, one of the Southern Section’s best teams.

A big reason for the success of the Pioneers (13-1, 2-0 in Marmonte League play) has been the play of their senior goalie. In 12 games and a portion of two others, Holman has allowed just one goal and has registered 11 shutouts, including two last week in league wins over Channel Islands and Royal.

“She has the uncanny ability to come through for us when the chips are down,” Coach Mark Johnson said. “The tougher the competition, the better Jen Holman becomes.”

Johnson saw how tough Holman could be in the clutch when she was promoted to the varsity as a sophomore. Kim Duran, then the Pioneers’ senior starter, contracted mononucleosis early in the season and Holman was thrown into the breach. Her first match came down to a penalty-kick shootout and Holman stopped two shots to win the match.

“We have been in a lot of shootouts since then and she has never lost on penalties,” Johnson said.

Holman’s greatest attributes as a goalie are consistency and durability, Johnson said.

“We know what she is going to do all of the time,” he said. “Goalkeeping is the one part of the game where you can’t have any surprises.”

Holman’s first season was cut short after 15 games because of a broken finger and then abdominal surgery to remove a cyst. But she blossomed as a junior, tying the single-season school record, held by Duran, of 18 shutouts and helping the Pioneers to the 4-A Division final.

El Toro beat Simi Valley, 3-1, for the title, and the Chargers defeated the Pioneers again last month, 1-0, in the final of the Excalibur tournament. In each of those games, Simi Valley was not at full strength. Holman remembers the losses well.

“I want to play them when we are healthy,” Holman said. “If we play them when we are healthy, I know we can beat them.”

Holman’s grudge against El Toro might have started with last year’s loss but it was reinforced when she gave up her only goal of the current season against the Chargers.

“I still have nightmares about that shot,” Holman said of the free kick that gave El Toro its 1-0 win. “It was just . . . that I jumped too soon. It was a floating ball that hung in the air like slow motion.”

One of the major reasons for Holman’s success, she said, is the chemistry of Simi Valley’s defensive line.

“I’ve had the same stopper (Taina Tande) and sweeper (Amy Hood) for two years,” she said. “We’re really tight. We always know what the other player is going to do.”

Holman is also tough to beat in the classroom. She carries a 3.7 grade-point average, taking mostly college preparatory classes. She hopes to attend UC Santa Barbara where she will concentrate on studying and put her soccer playing days behind her.

“She is a very conscientious student,” said Johnson, who teaches Holman in a math class. “She is very mature. A lot of kids slough off in their senior years but she is carrying a full academic load.”

And she is also happy to have found her niche in goal.