Sure, Mari Pietersen had a solid sophomore season in backup for Callie Shanahan, with a .911 save percentage and 2.07 goals against average.
But why else would Watchorn land the 2023-24 NCAA National Goaltender of the Year after a one-year absence if he wasn’t going to be the primary option in net?
A shared goaltending room at the start of the season put an end to that idea. Yet Pasiechnyk was still seen as the favorite to emerge once she found a groove.
Watchorn appeared to lean even further toward Pasiechnyk after Pietersen gave up four goals in less than 29 minutes at Northeastern on Nov. 1. She was pulled after allowing the fourth and did not appear in BU’s next four games.
But when Watchorn gave Pietersen another chance against Providence on November 21, the junior seized the opportunity and hasn’t looked back. She recorded a 34-save performance in a 4–1 victory.
Fast forward to the Friendship Series in Belfast, where Pietersen was named the tournament’s MVP. The junior starred Friday night, making 36 saves during regulation and overtime, followed by three more in the shootout as BU stunned No. 8 Quinnipiac with a 2-2 tie and a shootout victory in the tournament semifinals. In the final, she stopped 27 of 29 shots, leading the Terriers to a 3–2 victory over Harvard.
“It helped us again find a way to win,” Watchorn said on Friday after Pietersen’s 36-save performance. “It’s the big saves, it’s the big moments, and I know the girls really rally around her as well.”
Pietersen has started seven straight games for BU. In those games, she has posted a .949 save percentage and 1.57 goals against average.
Watchorn was asked on Saturday if she expected the goalkeeper’s room to shake like it did when she brought in Pasiechnyk.
“I was open to everything. I am grateful that we have two great goalkeepers,” Watchorn responded.
BU’s head coach didn’t give either goaltender a long runway in the early going, mainly due to a lack of wins. After starting the year 0-5 for the Terriers, she said, “If we’re going to get some wins here, we’re going to give each of them an opportunity to earn a runway.”
But in its last seven games, BU is 3-1-3, with three shootout wins, after a 2-10 start. Pietersen gives the Terriers chances to win, and Watchorn rewards her.
“From the day we placed Mari at Providence, she has been committed to the group and helping us, I say it every time, find ways to win,” Watchorn said Saturday. “I think the players feel that about her.”
Quinnipiac thoroughly outscored BU for 30 minutes of Friday’s match, making 35 of its first 39 shot attempts and at one point holding a 17-3 advantage in shots on goal. The 2-0 gap to climb out of could have become insurmountable.
In overtime, Pietersen came up with several big saves as the Terriers killed off a 4-on-3 power play. With 30 seconds left, back at even strength, faced with a 1-on-0 breakaway against the country’s second top scorer, Kahlen Lamarche, Pietersen forced her backhand wide of the net.
Her performance on Saturday was not at the level of Friday. She got lucky with a goaltender interference call in the first period, negating a Crimson goal set up by a rebound that Pietersen sent straight into the middle of the slot. She didn’t make the heroic saves of the night before, and she wasn’t called upon to do so. But in the end, Pietersen made sure Harvard deserved its two goals, including an unreal snipe from the top of the circle that they had no chance of saving. She gave the Terriers a chance.
It is currently unclear how long Pietersen’s belt is. Pasiechnyk is still a strong goaltender, having held the edge prior to the most recent seven-game stretch. But as long as Pietersen continues to perform as she has, it is and will be her starting job that she will lose.
“She’s just in the moment. It’s not about getting the shutout, having the perfect game. It’s about how we can all, as a group, find a way to win,” Watchorn said. “And that makes her play well.”
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