Cozart stands strong in net

It takes a unique personality to stand in front of a lacrosse net. Standing in a circle while people constantly pelt you with a hard rubber ball is a thankless job, but that doesn’t seem to bother Western goalkeeper Colleen Cozart.
“I thought it was something new, something different,” Cozart said of her decision to become a goalkeeper. “It’s terrifying being in net, but that’s part of the thrill. That fear makes you focus. Adrenaline is constantly pumping. You’re isolated. All you think about is that one good save.”
Cozart’s personality seems to be a perfect fit for stopping shots, but Western coach Nancy Haws is more impressed with how hard her senior works.
“The thing that has impressed me the most about Colleen has always been her work ethic,” Haws said. “She does a lot of off season work on her own.”
Eager to learn the position, Cozart went after a suitable mentor. She struck gold when she found former UVa goalkeeper Ginger Miles.
“She recruited her own goalie coach,” Haws said. “We happened to run into Ginger Miles. Colleen sat next her, not knowing her at all, and got her to come and get involved with Western lacrosse.”
Under Miles’ personal tutelage over the past two years, Cozart has developed into a formidable goal tender herself.
“I would be nothing with out Ginger,” Cozart said. “From day one it was, do this, this, this. She always has something new and something different.”
It takes confidence for a coach to put a player in net, but Haws had no problems in trusting Cozart. Two years ago Cozart demonstrated just how committed she was, not only to her trade, but also to the team.
“She worked with Ginger on her own in the offseason just to improve her game, but knowing that we already had a starting goaltender,” Haws said. “She did that knowing that she was going to ride the bench. That shows just what kind of dedication she has to the game.”
Haws is also enamored by Cozart’s ability to shake off a goal and keep playing.
“She has a really good concept of when a goal is her fault or whether it was on the defense,” Haws said. “That’s so important for a goal keeper, because if you get down every time there’s a goal scored on you, and take personal responsibility, you’re not going to be effective.”
Over the years, Cozart has developed a trick for resetting and keeping a goal from nagging her.
“I come into the game with a song in my head,” Cozart said. “Anytime a shot goes in, I switch songs. I say ‘Ok. The score is 0-0. Let’s do this again.’”
Cozart has come up big in the last three games, making 21 saves. The Warriors have held their last three opponents to three goals apiece.
With Cozart holding her own in net, and senior defenders Jordan Lynn and Molly Schoewbel doing their part, the Western defense is in tiptop shape. As a result the offense has been on fire. Western has scored 48 goals in its last three games.
“If the defense doesn’t get us in the zone to attack, we’re not scoring a point,” Haws said. “I think because we focus and acknowledge that, it’s easy for the players who don’t always get to score all the goals.”
At 5-1 on the year, and winners of five straight games, Haws knows her team is talented and has lofty expectations for them.
“We’d like to go deeper than last year,” Haws said. “We won the district last year, and made it to the first round of states, but we want to go further.”
With the way the team is playing right now, that goal doesn’t seem so far out of reach.