This time last year Jackie DesJardin, now a freshman goalie, had no idea she’d be in this position.
“I kind of knew, or I assumed,” she said, “that I wasn’t going to be playing a lot.”
The freshman from Sunnyvale, Calif., has been crucial this season for Georgetown, stepping in for injured senior Jade Higgins. DesJardin has recorded five shutouts in seven wins, and has 0.45 goals against average in nine games this season.
Even head coach Dave Nolan is surprised by the transformation of his recruit.
“I didn’t really know what I was getting, to be honest with you,” the fourth-year head coach said. “We had trouble getting to see her, being from the west coast. I saw her warm up at a tournament in Texas without knowing who she was, and I thought, `Hey she looks like pretty decent player.'”
Nolan later realized that the player he saw was DesJardin, who had already been in contact with Georgetown. Luckily for Nolan, she was interested in Georgetown because it offered her the chance to play soccer as well as get a great education.
A two-sport athlete at Archbishop Mitty High School, annually one of the best soccer schools in the nation, DesJardin feels that her time as a softball player made her a stronger and better athlete and helped to prepare her for the rigors of being a Big East goaltender.
In her senior year, the player that Nolan had not even noticed back in Texas signed, along with six other players from around the country, to play soccer at Georgetown. She was heavily recruited by the University of Pennsylvania and many other top-flight schools, but as Nolan put it, Georgetown “stole” her.
The decision forced her to give up softball in favor of playing soccer full time to prepare herself for Georgetown. She spent her senior year starring in goal at Archbishop Mitty and on De Anza Force, under the tutelage of Coach Bob Joyce, father of senior defender Vanessa Joyce.
There was no question about her athletic ability, but having only truly focused on soccer for one year before college, there was a concern about how polished of a player she was.
“I knew she was a great athlete, but I felt this year she would have to sit and watch and learn from Jade for a year and pick up some of the nuances of the college game,” Nolan said. “Unfortunately because of Jade’s injury she was thrown into the deep end, but she’s done really well with that.”
Luckily for Georgetown, DesJardin did not sink in the deep end of college soccer in her first few games. In fact, she has been swimming laps over the course of her first nine games, leading the Hoyas to a 7-2 start, the best in program history.
“I didn’t really know much about her or any of the freshmen coming into this season, but in the American tournament, she made key saves when the game was tied to keep us in it,” senior defender Karen Waskewich said. “It’s tough filling in for Jade [Higgins]. Those are some big shoes to fill, but the American tournament was when I knew that we would be all right with Jackie in goal.”
Last Friday against now-No. 22 Villanova, DesJardin recorded three saves in a 1-0 defeat. After the game, Villanova Head Coach Ann Clifton, who has an excellent goaltender of her own in all-American Jillian Loyden, was impressed with the play of Georgetown’s freshman.
“She is really tough. She’s only going to get better and be that much more dangerous,” Clifton said.
DesJardin has a growing fan base on campus, but no fan can compare with her two biggest ones – her parents.
“My mom is very proud, but she is really laid back so she just says, `good job,'” DesJardin said. “My dad, though, is so proud. He’s come and visited twice to see me play. He claims it’s for work, but I don’t really believe it.”
DesJardin attributes much of her success this year to her parents’ support but also gives credit to Assistant Coach Naomi Meiburger and Higgins, who helped her with the transition from high school to college.
“[Naomi] was a great trainer,” she said. “There were a lot of things I was doing during preseason that I’m not supposed to that she picked up on. Things that no one ever taught me before, she did, and in a way that was easy to get . Watching [Higgins] at the beginning of the season, I really learned a lot.”
No one expected DesJardin to be in this position at this point, not even she, but has nevertheless impressed.
Nolan has faith in his fire-tested freshmen goaltender and believes she could make a big impact on the program this year and in the years to follow.
“She’s earned the position through merit now. As long as she keeps working hard [and] keeps her feet on the ground, she has a bright future in front of her.”
Next up for DesJardin and the Hoyas is Seton Hall today at noon on North Kehoe Field.