Olivia Sorlie

JAMESTOWN – Three years ago the Jamestown girls’ high school team was in desperate need of a goalie. 

The teams two expected netminders for the 2021-22 season quit the sport. Without a goalie ready to move up to the high school level from Jamestown’s youth hockey program, ’Jays coach Andy Fitzgerald needed to look to a current player on the roster to fill the position.

Enter Olivia Sorlie.

“Her freshman season she was on the fourth line and got about five shifts all season,’’ Fitzgerald recalls. “When school started in the fall I asked if she wanted to give it a try. She was the soccer goalie, so that was the closest thing we had at the time.”

Sorlie was hesitant, but agreed to try it during captain’s practices before the start of the season. 

At first glance, the concept is the same between soccer and hockey goalkeepers: Defend the goal. But that’s where the similarities end.

“Both require different skills,’’ Sorlie said. “Moving around with all that gear on definitely took getting used to.”

Hockey tenders also need to possess quicker reflexes, good balance on their skates and prepared to see a lot of shots.

Sorlie admits it to took a bit of time to get comfortable in goal. “There is a lot happening in front of you and you have to stay focused on tracking the puck,’’ she said.

Fortunately, she had an assistant coach, Tyson Bower, who worked with her throughout that fall. 

“We knew we had something when she had 30 saves against Bismarck in our second game…a 2-1 loss,’’ Fitzgerald said. “She took off from there, and the last two years my assistant coach Austin Carr has worked with her to get her to where she is at today.”

And today, Sorlie is one of the top goaltenders in the state. 

“My positioning has improved so much since my first year,’’ she recalls. “I was nervous about coming out of my crease (to challenge the shooter).”

Eventually, she did, and was able to cut down the shooter’s angle to the net and her goals against average dropped and her confidence and save percentage rose.

She credits working with her high school coaches as well as putting in the time during the offseason to attend development camps and play on Team North Dakota to get more comfortable in the position and improve such skills as lateral movement, rebound control, puckhandling and tracking shots through screens.

As the last line of defense, there is a lot of pressure on the netminder to keep the puck out of the net. However, a goalie can’t stop them all. And Sorlie said the most important thing is to have a short-term memory.

 “If you let in a goal, you can’t dwell on it. You have to be ready to face the next shot,’’ she said.

Fortunately, there hasn’t been too many pucks that have gotten past Sorlie. Her save percentage entering February sits at 94.3 percent and her goals against average is 2.00. She has posted five shutouts.  

Perhaps what’s most impressive about those numbers is that her squad is averaging just 1.4 goals per game. So Sorlie needs to be sharp to keep her team in the game. 

Hockey players are known to be superstitious, or have a particular game-day routine. For Olivia, it includes sipping on a coffee and tea while warming up. Bouncing and catching a racquet ball against a wall to test her hand-eye-coordination. And then, with the help of a teammate, use a massage gun on her back to loosen her muscles. It’s all part of her preparation to be ready to do her job when the puck drops.

Fitzgerald said Olivia is a more of a lead-by-example player, but is not afraid to speak up in the locker room, or offer words of encouragement to her teammates. 

Sorlie still has hockey ahead of her after this season. She signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Arizona Club Team this fall. The Wildcat coach showed interest in her and Sorlie took an official visit to the school in Tucson.  She liked the program and the opportunity to play higher-level hockey. Balancing college athletics with courses will be challenging, but she’s used to it. She’s been a three-sport athlete (golf, hockey and soccer) at Jamestown. 

Sharing her time between sports, school work and other interests have taught her to stay organized. 

There is still a month of hockey left in her Blue Jay uniform and Sorlie is hopeful that will include a trip to the ND state girls’ tournament in late February. The squad has some work to do to clinch a tournament berth, but she’s confident in her teammates.

And, no doubt, they’re confident in Sorlie to backstop them.

(Photo, courtesy of the Jamestown Sun)