First in a two-part series on Harvard's freshmen in goal

If not for the sharp eyes of a high school basketball coach, the Harvard women's soccer team just might be without its star freshman goalie.

Tracee Whitley was an eighth-grade basketball player when her coach suggested that she take her "great hands" to spring soccer tryouts as a goalie.

Today, just five years after she first stepped onto a soccer field, those hands are a big reason the Yardling stars on one of the nation's finest collegiate soccer squads.

A member of the national girls' 19-and-under team, the Raleigh, N.C., native stepped into the Harvard goal at season's start and has been near-perfect in her 450 minutes there.

She's given up just three goals in 10 games and has recorded seven shutouts. The Yardling has also been one of the key reasons the Cantabs have jumped out to an 8-1-1 record and a top-15 national ranking.

The fact that Whitley's become a standout on a talent-laden squad--one that includes five former All-Americans and a swarm of All-Ivy selections--hasn't surprised a lot of observers, many of whom have charted the aggressive goalie's rise to prominence from eighth grade on.

By the time her senior year in high school rolled around, in fact, several colleges were interested in having Whitley minding their nets. In addition to Harvard, North Carolina and North Carolina State were especially interested.

In the end, says Whitley, there was no contest. When she visited Cambridge after being accepted, she was sure that Harvard was the place.

And at least on the soccer field, she's been just the person for Harvard. Her goaltending exploits--and her personality--have obviously been appreciated by her teammates. "Tracce is a very spirited person," says senior left wing Kelley Landry. "She's a good person to have around."

Whitley says the transition from high school to college goaltending hasn't been very difficult, though her concentration level has to be "100 percent almost the whole game." Her national team experience has helped, providing her with the best competition in the nation for the past few summers.

One thing that distinguishes Whitley--besides her net-minding skills--is the helmet she wears in goal.

A few years ago, Whitley recalls, she had a spate of potentially serious injuries, including one when she dove into a goalpost and required four stitches, and several minor concussions.

Her coach suggested that she wear a bicycle helmet to protect herself, and once she started, her parents forbade her to play without one. Last summer, the by-then very worn helmet was replaced with one designed especially for goalies that she now uses in every game.

And these days those are soccer games thanks to are eighth-grade basketball coach.

Tomorrow: Field Hockey's Kristen Abely