Tompkins' Play In Goal A Big Part Of Buffs Winning Streak
October 19, 2016 | Soccer, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Ask Jalen Tompkins about her season thus far, and the Colorado goalkeeper answers with a quick shrug and a grin.
"It's going OK, I guess," she says. "There's always room for improvement. But the team's winning, and that's the most important thing."
"OK" might be a bit of an understatement, both for Tompkins' season and the Buffs' performance thus far.
The two are tightly intertwined.
The No. 22-ranked Buffs (12-3-0 overall, 6-0-0 Pac-12) currently own a 10-match winning streak, part of a 6-0 conference start that is the best in school history. That streak will get a big test this week when the Buffs play at No. 3 Stanford on Thursday and at No. 10 Cal on Sunday.
Tompkins, meanwhile, has a 12-2 record in goal with 60 saves this season, an .896 save percentage and six shutouts — including four in Pac-12 play.
She's also been named Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week twice this season, a stretch that saw her record three straight 1-0 shutouts of conference foes.
Not bad for a redshirt freshman who earned the starting job four matches into the season.
Up to that point, Tompkins and sophomore Scout Watkins had been engaged in a neck-and-neck battle for the starting job. The two had both enjoyed solid springs and equally solid fall camps, and shared playing time early in the season.
But with Watson sidelined by an injury, Tompkins played the entire match against Missouri, going the distance in a 2-1 overtime loss.
"J.J. just played fantastic," CU head coach Danny Sanchez said. "She really kept us in the game, made a lot of saves. She just kind of earned the spot that day and has done very well to hold onto it — obviously."
Obviously, indeed. While the Buffs lost in her next start — another heartbreaking 2-1 overtime defeat, this one to Michigan State — they have since reeled off 10 consecutive victories to break into the national rankings.
Tompkins has been stellar throughout. The winning streak includes six shutouts and she has allowed just four goals in those 10 wins. She's also now just one save away from the CU freshman record.
"It's definitely helped my confidence, but I've never gotten to the point that I'm complacent about the starting position," Tompkin said. "Every day is still a competition.
"But I think it started last spring when I began to get more confidence in games and practices. I felt like I was doing well and I felt like the team had confidence in me. I stayed here in the summer, and that helped, and I think preseason really helped — but I still don't feel complacent. Scout's a really good goalie as well and I alway have to keep working."
Tompkins arrived on campus a year ago as a highly touted recruit from Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Ariz. Because the Buffs already had an experienced keeper, they decided to redshirt Tompkins and have her spend the fall working with assistant coach Jason Green.
A year later, she's establishing herself as one of the premier goalkeepers in the Pac-12, one of the nation's premier soccer conferences.
"I think there is a confidence level that you have to have," Tompkins said of taking over the job. "Stepping into goal just feels right. Representing Colorado, being back there, it just feels right. I think the coaches have helped a lot because in meetings they tell me they believe in me and that I need to step up to the challenge. For the most part, I believe I have so far."
In CU's most recent win, a 2-1 decision over Washington last Friday, Tompkins had a spectacular second half, coming up with five saves, including a pair in the last 10 minutes that turned away a furious Huskies push to tie the game.
On one save she leapt high into the air and batted the ball into the crossbar, then dove to the ground and punched it away from in front of the goal just before a Washington player could get to it.
"It's just instinct," Tompkins said. "After so many years in the net, it's just a matter of, 'Don't let it in the net. Flip it out.' Jason (Green) always talks about even if it's not going to be the cleanest save — which is what we go for every time — do what you have to do. Get it out of the net. That's all you're thinking at that moment. I saw that girl coming and I knew I had to flip it out. I couldn't catch it, so I just had to hit it."
Sanchez said Tompkins hasn't come close to reaching her full potential. As a redshirt freshman, she still has plenty of room to grow, both in the mental aspect of the game as well as some physical aspects.
"As she continues to work with our sports performance coach, I think she'll become even more explosive," Sanchez said. "She's not going to get taller, but I think she can become more explosive and continue to work on her fitness. Her communication is very good, but I think as she gains more experience in games, it can even better. Her distribution, as well, is an area to improve on."
But, Sanchez adds, he's pleased with the way she has progressed thus far.
"Right now, she's really playing to her strengths and playing well," Sanchez said. "It's a matter of her expanding her game, and that just comes from playing. She's an extremely competitive young lady who wants to continue to get better."
Earlier this week, Tompkins was one of two Buffs named on Top Drawer Soccer's list of top 100 freshmen in the nation. Tompkins was listed No. 21 while teammate Taylor Kornieck (CU's leading scorer) was No. 5. It's a strong sign that the future of Colorado soccer is in good hands.
"For me, I just want to keep working, keep improving," Tompkins said. "I'm a perfectionist. When I do something wrong, I want to correct it and fix it. As a goalkeeper, I need to be a lot cleaner with decision making. There are always little things you can improve on, and I think it's important to realize those things."
But it doesn't mean Tompkins doesn't also have some long-term goals.
"I think everybody here's goal is to win the Pac-12, win a national championship," she said. "But I want to make an impact off the field as well as on the field. I want to be that senior who helps the freshmen come in and feel good about themselves right off the bat. That's how you win, is if everybody feels part of the team. I want to be part of that."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
