Two goalkeepers are better than one.
That's the approach the Texas A&M soccer team has taken this season with juniors Kristin Arnold and Kelly Dyer splitting time in goal in all but a handful of games.
The strategy of playing one half each in a match is very unique in soccer, but the plan has worked out well for the Aggies.
"I want to win, and whatever it takes for our team to win, that's what I want to do," Arnold said. "We've been successful so far this year, so as long as we are winning, I'm happy."
The Aggies (15-6-3) will play at Florida State on Friday in the third round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament.
"It's definitely been an adjustment, but it's a good adjustment because we are now in the Sweet 16, and we've been doing very well," Dyer said. "We are here to win, and we are winning."
A&M head coach G. Guerrieri, a goalkeeper himself at Tulsa, knew the risks involved in splitting time at goalkeeper, and he gives Arnold and Dyer credit for how they've handled a plan he's not used in 17 years at A&M.
"I couldn't have done this as a player," Guerrieri admits. "I was too selfish. I wasn't a very good teammate to my competition. I was a great teammate, a team captain, with everybody else, but when it came to the other goalkeeper, I was like, 'Sorry, you are trying to take my spot.' They are much more mature than I was."
Arnold and Dyer each have started 12 games, with Arnold logging about 100 minutes more. Arnold has allowed 13 goals with 36 saves, while Dyer has given up 12 goals with 39 saves.
"At first, [Guerrieri] asked us if we would prefer playing halves or games, and it's hard to sit out a full game, so we started out with halves because neither wanted to sit out," Dyer said. "All three of us talked about it, and then Kristin and I talked about it and thought it best if we just did halves so we would get more game action."
Some of the action comes between halves when the two prove how well they work together.
While the rest of the team retreats to the locker room, Arnold and Dyer go to the end of the field the Aggies will defend in the second half. They then warm up with the first-half starter putting the second-half starter through a number of drills, while also discussing their opponents' tactics.
Dyer played her way into this rotation. Arnold started 47 of 48 games over her first two seasons but had to redshirt after getting hurt in the third game last season. In stepped Dyer, who gave up only 1.0 goals per game and earned first team All-Big 12 honors.
Arnold returned this summer healthy, which gave the Aggies two of the best keepers in the Big 12.
So the two went into the season battling for one job.
"We wanted them to know that training would be a competitive situation, but not a situation where if they make a mistake in practice they lose their job," Guerrieri said. "By creating that environment, it's made it to where they have both gotten significantly better this year, which makes you scratch your head a little bit because they were already the best in this part of the country."
Both keepers have advantages over the other in specific skills, and Guerrieri uses that to choose when they will play.
The 6-foot Arnold is better against teams that serve the ball into the penalty box with long crosses or off set pieces, while the 5-7 Dyer's strength is against teams that attack in front.
"At LSU and against Memphis [last week], we thought both would be a come-at-you type of team, so the ball would be on the ground, and that benefits Kelly," Guerrieri said. "So we started Kelly in the first half, then we figured we'd be ahead or in a situation at the end where it would come down to free kicks and restarts and service into the box, and that plays into Kristin, who is world class in the air."
In the 1-1 overtime match against LSU in the NCAA Tournament's second round, Arnold played the second half all the way through the extra 20 minutes. Dyer then came in when the match went to penalty kicks.
"She made a great save on the first PK, and it really got into the heads of their shooters, so that was huge," Arnold said of A&M winning 4-2 on penalty kicks. "She's incredible at it. It was awesome. I got there as quickly as I could [to celebrate with her]."
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NOTES -- Florida State has a 17-match home winning streak and is also 17-0 at home in NCAA Tournament matches. ... Tiffany McCarty and Jessica Price, both sophomores, lead the Seminoles in goals with 17 and 15, respectively. ... FSU has reached the Women's College Cup three of the last four seasons, including both times it's been in College Station. ... A&M has made it to the Sweet 16 in six of the last eight years. ... A&M junior Rachel Shipley was named one of 38 finalists for the Soccer News Net Player of the Year Award on Wednesday.
What: Sweet 16 match, NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament
Who: No. 22 Texas A&M (15-6-3) vs. No. 6 Florida State (18-4-1)
Where: Seminole Soccer Complex, Tallahassee, Fla.
When: 7 p.m. Friday
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