Austin’s Overby stands strong in the net
Published 6:59 pm Saturday, December 26, 2015
Austin goalie Mara Overby turns away a shot. Herald File Photo
Playing between the posts at goalie may be one of the most stressful positions in all of sports. There’s nothing but a net and a red bar separating the goalie from a flurry of slap shots and and a front line of opponents.
Austin senior Mara Overby has been standing in that net for five years at the varsity level and she’s able to shake off nerves by staying prepared before every game.
“I have a routine on game days that I go through and that usually helps me prepare,” she said. “I try to stay mentally prepared and take every day the same way.”
Mara Overby
Overby is soft spoken away from the ice, but she’s a fierce competitor on game nights. This season she has a 4-3 record for the Packers to go along with a 93 save percentage and a 2.86 goals against average.
This is Overby’s first year as being Austin’s clear cut number one goalie. In the past, she’s split time with fellow senior Allison Hoban, who is now playing defense for the Packers. Overby and Hoban were never rivals as they actually helped each other on the ice over the past few years.
“Allison and I are pretty good friends. It’s helped to work together on practice and we motivate each other,” Overby said.
Austin head coach Brett Vesel said that he has a lot faith in Overby at goalie, but he’s hoping that she can become a little more vocal with her defense in the second half of the season.
From a skill standpoint, Vesel said that Overby has plenty to offer.
“Not to take anything away from any other goalie we have, but Mara’s pretty special,” Vesel said. “She works her buns off to get better. She works on her game and we rely on her a lot to make some saves.”
Austin senior forward Chloe Summerfield has been playing with Overby since the two played U12 hockey together. She said the team has plenty of faith in their goalie.
“She’s always worked hard,” Summerfield said. “We cooperate with each other and she knows how we play. She’s been a great goalie for us.”
The Packers (5-5 overall, 4-4 Big Nine) will host their holiday tournament this week as they host Mankato West 9 a.m. Monday and they will play Tuesday and Wednesday.
