Lundberg a workhorse in goal for Dutchwomen

by Ryan Fay

When a goalie makes as many saves as Union's Shenae Lundberg has, it's understandable if a specific one isn't easily remembered.

Even if it's one that broke a program record.

With her first stop in Friday's 3-2 overtime loss at Princeton, the senior recorded her 2,263rd career save. It snapped a tie with Lundy Day and gave her sole possession of the program's career saves record.

"I'm not too certain," Lundberg said when asked to describe the record-setting stop. "There were quite a few shots."

Here's how it happened: Princeton's Molly Contini unleashed a shot from just outside the crease, but Lundberg denied it with a chest save.

Lundberg keeps an eye on things at RIT on Oct 3.
photo credit: Omar Phillips

"I wasn't even thinking about the record," Lundberg said. "I've heard nothing but great things about Lundy Day, so to be able to do better than somebody that's so well known and has done great things for the program means we're going in the right direction."

The former Deerfield Academy standout finished the game with 34 saves, but she piled up even more the next night when she turned aside a career-best 58 shots in a 5-0 setback at fifth-ranked Quinnipiac.

"She was great," said Union head coach Claudia Asano Barcomb. "She was our best player on the ice, and she was confident in everything she did. She stopped the puck and had to make a lot of second and third saves that she shouldn't have had to make."

Last weekend was a microcosm of sorts for Lundberg, who has a 2.90 goals-against average and a personal best .921 save percentage this season. She's been called upon to make stop after stop all season long. Through 13 games, she's been peppered with 479 shots, 96 more than any other women's goalie in the country. Her 441 saves lead the country by 90.

Staying busy between the pipes is just fine with her.

"I've watched some other teams and they only have like seven shots. It's like they're standing there," Lundberg explained. "What's the point of working hard and training all your life to stand in the net for five, six shots? It's fun. You get to do a lot of work, it's good exercise and you get to enjoy playing the sport."

Part of the reason why Lundberg has seen so many shots is that Union has allowed 37 per game, the third-highest average in the country. Another reason is that she's seen 787:25 of ice time, more than any other women's goalie. She's been the only netminder used by the Dutchwomen so far this season and she's on pace to set a new career-high in minutes played.

Despite the heavy all-around workload so far this season, Lundberg isn't concerned about wearing down later on.

"We've been pretty smart about it," she said. "I've been talking with the coaches and trainers about how to eat right and be healthy. Knowing when to take a break during practice and when to step out of the net will make the difference in the long haul."

Barcomb would still like to reduce the number of shots that get through to her starting netminder.

"We need to reduce the shots against us," she said. "We have to block more shots. We've had some injuries that have left us shorthanded on defense. We only had four defensemen in one game, so playing 30 minutes as opposed to 20 leads to more fatigue. We're back up to five defesnsemen, but having six would be helpful."

Lundberg, who also owns program records for career wins and career shutouts, accomplished the feats despite not starting regularly until her sophomore season. As a freshman, she served as the primary backup to then-senior Kate Gallagher.

Barcomb said it was evident early on in Lundberg's career that she had the chance to rewrite the program's record books.

"She works really hard," Barcomb said. "She wants to be good, but she wants to be perfect, too. She's looking to be better every single day."

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