Veteran goalie remains rock steady for team
Just halfway through the 2013 season, the lady Bison’s star goalkeeper Kyra Dickinson has already racked up 57 saves and three shutouts on the year. The junior from Ontario, Canada, finished last season with a .803 save percentage and 163 saves on the year, making her one of the top 20 division I goalkeepers in the country according to the NCAA. Dickinson who began playing soccer at age six, says that her start in the sport was very natural.
“I have three older brothers, and all of them played soccer,” she said. “I use to go to their games and at halftime I’d always be on the field.”
In high school, Dickinson was a five sport athlete excelling in soccer, tennis, volleyball, flag football and rugby. In fact, she says that had she decided to stay in Canada for college she would have played college rugby instead of soccer.
Head coach Brent Leiba has to be glad that she decided not to do that, as Dickinson has been a beaker of consistency since joining the Howard team back in 2011. The Health Science major has a career saves-per-game average of 6.87, which is fourth amongst all active division I goalies.
Dickinson, who is having yet another outstanding year, credits her impressive performance to both her mental strength and her teammates.
“The back four, we work very well together as a unit,” she said. “So it’s definitely not all me, but for me its a mindset. I always tell myself that the goal is my goal, and that nothing is going to get by me.”
As confident as she might sound, despite her years of experience Dickinson says she has yet to become fully comfortable with the pressure of playing goalkeeper.
“I’ve been doing this since I was six and I still get nervous before every game because if I make a mistake it could result in a goal, and a goal could result in the team losing.”
Although Dickinson has played well this year, the lady Bison still have a less than stellar record at 2-5-1, and are currently riding a three game losing streak. Dickinson, however, is confident the team can turn the season around.
“It’s all refocusing,” she said. “Once you lose one game it kind of gets to you, but we have seven games left so we can still pull out a winning season.”
Next year the lady Bison will be competing in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The team is looking to end this season on a high note as they prepare to enter next year as serious contenders for the SWAC Championship. Dickinson believes that they will be a threat.
“We have a very talented team, and the conference is definitely winnable,” she said. “I think next year we’ll go into the SWAC as the team to beat.”