Amanda Boylson started 13 games as goalie for Nicholls soccer team last season when the team set a record for least amount of goals given up.
Boylson has high expectations going into her junior year. The keeper from St. Petersburg, Fla. said the team is going to be anchored by the defense this season coming off of the best defensive season the team has ever had. Last year, Boylson gave up 30 goals and managed to snag 54 saves.  So far this year, she has six saves and four goals allowed.
Q: How did you get started with soccer?
A: I started playing when I was four years old. I used to play with all my cousins, and I was the only girl, so that helped me become competitive because I didn’t want to be the weak one of the group.
Q: Why goalie?
A: That was actually a mistake. I was always a striker until my eighth year, and then the coach decided he needed someone else to go in the goal when our goalie got hurt. I was the first to volunteer, and I have been there since.
Q: Do goalies get treated like kickers get treated in football?
A: Very much so because when we mess up, it is more noticeable. The pressure on goalies is similar to pressure kickers have in football.
Q: With defense as the team’s building point, who do you expect big impact from?
A: I expect Meg [Meghan Lanteigne] to make a big impact because at center, she has always been a solid wall in the back. I can always rely on her to be there to make those recovery runs.
Q: Coach Harrison has 21 wins since coming to Nicholls in 2009. This season the team is 5-0-1, which is the best start in school history. What has he done differently as opposed to other coaches?
A: Off the field, he has done a better job recruiting because there were never many players from other states. They had players from other countries, but there weren’t as many from Fla. and other states. He has gone out of his way to recruit quality players from tournaments around the country. On the field, he hasn’t just coached us, but he has also helped us grow as a team. He has united us more than previous coaches.
Q: 30 goals given up and 54 saves. What have you done to elevate your game going into the season?
A: I’ve been training all summer and I am ready for the season. The two new keepers have pushed me and Haley even more, so I expect great things out of us this season.
Q: The team scored 29 goals last year. The offense has 21 goals in 6 games this season. Who makes the impact offensively?
A: Spencer will definitely be an impact player. She has the right touch and stays composed, especially this year during preseason. Shelby came off the bench as a freshman against LSU and scored in the first five minutes of the second half. She is only a freshman, so I am excited to see where she goes.
Q: The team has 11 freshmen and typically freshmen get teased. Does the soccer team initiate the freshman, so to speak?
A: There is definitely some teasing, but it is all in good fun. We just mess with them about the college experience and tell them things like they have to pay for their own food when they really don’t.
Q: What is your greatest memory in your soccer career at Nicholls thus far?
A: I just love that we are so close as a team, and when we do things like eat in the cafeteria, we will stick 10 people at one table.
One of my biggest moments was when I got my first chance to play my freshman year because it was also my mom’s birthday and she was there. I made a save and after that, I just felt on top of the world.