Five minutes. That’s how much time Amber Pardee-Hill spent in goal last season, her freshman year.

Even seeing that much time was a surprise. Jen Kasel already had established herself as one of the best goaltenders in Syracuse women’s lacrosse history. Ashley Pike, not Pardee-Hill, was the backup.

This year is a different story. Kasel graduated and the starting job was available to anyone who wanted it – even an unheralded, unrecruited walk-on with no prior goalie training.

That leaves Pardee-Hill as the only player listed as a goalkeeper on the roster. However improbable, the spot belongs to a sophomore who came to SU hoping to play lacrosse but never expected to actually achieve that goal.

‘It’s a lot of pressure and I’m a little nervous,’ Pardee-Hill said. ‘It’s a big deal, but I know I gotta step up because this is what I came here for.’

Last year was tough for Pardee-Hill, and not only because she wasn’t playing. After spending most of her childhood on the Tuscarora Indian Reservation in Lewiston, N.Y., she had to adjust to an entirely new culture when she came to Syracuse.

The reservation is small, so everybody knows everybody. Pardee-Hill said Tuscaroran culture is simpler and more relaxed – like a big family. Many people work right on the land, so the approximately 1,500 community members are forced to rely on each other for sustenance.

It took time to get used to practicing with her teammates at Syracuse. The reservation and SU are close geographically, but far culturally.

‘When I come here, it’s a completely different society and atmosphere,’ Pardee-Hill said. ‘When I play with the girls on the reservation, we’re like sisters. Here, we’re really good friends, but the girls on the reservation feel like blood sisters.’

She feels that way with good reason. Lacrosse is a family tradition on the reservation, and the game is passed down through the generations the way Little League baseball is in traditional American suburbs. Pardee-Hill’s male cousins put her in the net and began flinging balls at her when she was only 4 years old.

Most students on the reservation attend Niagara Wheatfield High School, a public school across the street from the reservation. By the time Pardee-Hill started school, the girls on the reservation had played lacrosse together for so long, they were the only players to make the varsity team.

Even though she spent her whole life in goal, she had no formal coaching at the position. Everything Pardee-Hill knew about goalkeeping was self-taught, but that didn’t stop her from earning first-team all-league honors three times in high school.

‘Her natural athletic ability really got her through,’ said Kim Abrams, Pardee-Hill’s high school coach. ‘Not too many students are so driven and set such high goals at such a young age. She knew she was good at something and knew what she wanted.’

Coming to Syracuse was a rude awakening for Pardee-Hill. She knew she had trouble handling low shots, but she didn’t realize how little she knew about the intricacies of the position. While the rest of the team honed specific skills, Pardee-Hill was still learning the fundamentals.

Pardee-Hill gives a lot of credit to Kasel for working with her. The veteran spent a lot of time with the rookie not only working on big things like angles and clears, but also more advanced techniques like understanding opposing attackers and working with her defensemen.

‘Her confidence was definitely a little low last year, but Jen and all of us kept telling her how she was improving and she really took to that,’ senior defender Chelsea Strodel said. ‘Her work ethic is so much better this year. She really wanted to start. All she needs is experience.’

At the end of last season, SU head coach Lisa Miller told Pardee-Hill she could compete for the job so long as she continued to improve the fundamentals she worked on with Kasel and the coaching staff, especially angles and low shots.

She improved those skills and more by spending her whole summer playing and training for lacrosse. Abrams was especially impressed with her stick-handling. When Pardee-Hill returned in the fall, everyone took notice.

‘She’s so much better with her angles and cutting angles on the shooters now’ Miller said. ‘This summer was when it occurred to her, ‘this could be mine.’ She’s gained the trust of her defensive unit and she’s only going to get better as the season goes on.’

Pardee-Hill knows she has the tough job of replacing a successful three-year starter all while continuing to learn the position on the job. The training wheels have come off, and the Orange is relying on this inexperienced sophomore to lead it deep into the Division I Championship.

It’s been a long ride – walking onto the team, learning a brand new culture and learning to play goalie at the D-I level all at the same time. But earning the starting spot this year shows how much that work has paid off.

‘It’s been frustrating, and sometimes I wanted to pull my hair out,’ Pardee-Hill said. ‘Being a goalie is all about repetition, and I know if I keep doing what I’m doing, it’ll all work out in the end.’

Published on February 13, 2007 at 12:00 pm