Pete Rowley can’t remember the last time he missed a penalty kick. It certainly never happened in high school. And it certainly didn’t happen Wednesday night, either.

The 6-foot-4 Syracuse freshman buried a penalty kick into the left-hand corner of the net during the second half of Syracuse’s 2-1 double-overtime loss to St. Bonaventure at Syracuse Soccer Stadium.

‘I was excited to play the game tonight,’ Rowley said. ‘Mainly, as a freshman, I was just trying to get out and help my teammates in any way I could.’

It was Rowley’s first taste of collegiate soccer. It was made even more memorable because of the goal he scored. The physical freshman even set up the attempt by drawing a foul in the box while taking on two St. Bonaventure defenders.

Most freshmen would have backed off after drawing the kick and let a more experienced player take the shot.

Not Rowley. He seized the attempt and didn’t regret it.

‘I was confident,’ Rowley said. ‘As soon as they called the (penalty kick), I kind of said it was my kick. We did (penalty kicks) the other day in practice, and my percentage is pretty high.’

While Rowley grabbed attention for his goal, he wasn’t one of the two freshmen to start the game against the Bonnies.

Brad Peetoom started on defense while James Goodwin started at midfield.

Goodwin had an excellent chance to score with less than 30 minutes to play in the second half when a rebound off a corner bounced right to him. After settling the ball from about 18 yards out, the kick sailed high over the net.

‘Our freshmen have played very good up to this point,’ junior Alejandro Nuno said. ‘Since the first time of preseason when they touched the ball, we could tell they were good players. They were ready to go.’

Nuno said the upperclassmen talked to the eight newcomers and told them what to expect against St. Bonaventure and the rest of the season. They wanted to let the younger guys know how big of a jump college soccer is from high school.

But Rowley pointed out the upperclassmen have gone beyond just preparing them on the field. Almost every night, the older players on the team call the younger ones, asking them to hang out. By making an effort to build a better relationship off the field, it fosters a greater one on the field.

‘Mistakes are going to happen, especially at this level,’ Rowley said. ‘When the upperclassmen have your back on every single play, you don’t feel afraid to make a mistake. Because you know they’re going to make a mistake, too, and if they make a mistake, you pick them up.

‘It’s a very symbiotic relationship. I didn’t expect that coming in.’

Not only did Rowley not expect that type of relationship, he certainly didn’t expect to score a goal in his first game. He simply wanted to contribute and do what his coaches asked him to. The opposing team certainly wasn’t going to go easy on him because he was a freshman.

‘On this field there’s no freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors,’ Rowley said. ‘We’re all soccer players. I just have to step up and make the shot.’

Published on September 1, 2004 at 12:00 pm