Do you want to know what pressure is? Ask Ohio goalkeepers Vanessa Dennis, Lori Schmidt and Bethen Turano about it.

"Goalkeepers are faced with challenges really no one else on the field faces," Ohio head coach Wendy Logan said. "Any mistake they make is usually final. If a keeper makes a mistake, there is no one there."

The goalies have played a big part in the 7-3 Bobcats' success. The team has five shutouts this season and has only given up 11 goals.

Logan said some of the traits of a good goalkeeper that have played a big part in Ohio's success are quickness, reaction speed, strength and courage.

"Goalkeepers have to have an attitude or presence in goal," she said. "It could be a physical presence or it could just be playing big."

Dennis, a freshman, said she has been playing goalkeeper for about six years. She starts for the Bobcats and has played most of the time at keeper.

"You have to have a lot of confidence," Dennis said. "You can't be a nervous person and you have to put your body on the line."

Logan said Dennis' strength right now is her approach to the game.

"She reads balls very well," Logan said. "She has great natural instincts. She knows when to come out and get a ball in the air."

Dennis was at the heart of the Bobcats recent five-game shutout streak; a fact she is quick to deflect credit for.

"The defense has been playing so well," Dennis said. "I don't think the backs have gotten enough credit."

Schmidt, a junior, said she knows what traits a good goalie has to have.

"You have to have tactical skill and awareness of where you are," she said. "You have to have a lack of sanity."

Schmidt said she became a goalkeeper in second grade when she said she was crazy enough to announce to her coach that she didn't care what position she played. Logan is glad she remained at goalkeeper.

"Lori's strength is her quickness," she said. "She gives up a little in size but makes up for it in quickness. She covers a lot of the goal. She's one of the hardest workers on the team and never gives up."

Turano, a sophomore, said she thinks good goalkeepers can have a lot of different traits. She said it is a self-taught position.

"Every goalkeeper develops their own style and you can only do and practice what works for you," she said.

Turano said she has been in goal since sixth grade. Logan said Turano relies on a lot of textbook goal keeping.

"Bethen is very technical," she said. "She relies a lot on positioning and playing the angles. She's a good diver and has good size."

All three keepers have different styles and approaches to the game. Turano said during a game she concentrates on keeping the team and the defense organized and focuses on the ball the entire time. Dennis is a little more casual.

"I try to think as little as possible," Dennis said. "I watch the game and think about what the team is doing."

Schmidt said a lot of things go through her head. She said she tries to watch where the defenders are.

"After a few years, I think you start to see what is going to happen a few moments from now," she said. "That is a point where all goalkeepers want to be."