When it comes to penalty kicks, Bearcats goalie Kristie Bowers has seen it all.

“I’ve known some keepers that do some pretty funky stuff,” she said.

One of Bowers’ colleagues, she said, wrapped herself into a little ball in the back of the net, then came out and spread her arms and legs wide to make herself look huge.

Another goalie Bowers encountered would walk up to the shooter and shake her hand right before the shot.

But for Bowers, the basics are what work best.

The fourth-year keeper for the Bearcats, who posted back-to-back shutouts in the America East tournament in 2004, said she learned most of her PK-stopping skills from goalkeeper coach Billy Stravanowski, who now works for Nazareth College.

Bowers gave me some tips on how to try and stop a penalty kick, but warned me not to get too discouraged if it couldn’t be done.

“It’s expected that the striker’s going to score,” she said, adding that she had stopped one of star striker Kim Povill’s shots earlier in the week in practice.

But after last Friday’s game against Fairleigh Dickinson, having Povill stare me down from the penalty spot with only a few spectators was remarkably nerve-wracking, and when she picked a spot and hit it, even with Bowers’ tips, I was dead in the water.

KEYS:

– Don’t pick a side and guess, and don’t move side-to-side pre-shot.

– Remain stationary until the shooter approaches, then take a step forward and prepare to dive.

– Watch the shooter’s hips. If she’s closing her hips as she approaches, the ball is likely to curve inwards (for a right-footed shooter, this would be the goalkeeper’s right). If she’s opening her hips, it’s likely to go to the keeper’s left (assuming a righty shooter).

– Watch the way they strike the ball. Most shooters will shoot with their instep, but beware of a shooter using the outside of their foot to curve the ball away.

– Always dive hands-first.

– “If all else fails, just dive.”

DIFFICULTY RATING:

4/5 Strubs:

I think if you gave me 20 chances to stop Povill’s rocket of a right foot, I could probably stop one, but it would be freaking HARD, and a 5 percent success rate isn’t exactly too good. Writing a piece for a student newspaper is one thing, but having hundreds of fans watching you face a striker with a distinct advantage has to make this task exponentially harder.