To see a video of David Helman’s matchup with LSU goalkeeper Mo Isom, click here.
The penalty kick. It fills players and fans with dread. It turns the world’s most prominent team sport, soccer, into a one-on-one matchup. It can reduce a 90-minute contest to a matter of luck and circumstance.And last week it pitted a 6-foot, All-Southeastern Conference caliber goalie against a 5-foot-6 inch, out of shape sports writer.That’s exactly what happened when The Daily Reveille decided to match yours truly against Mo Isom, LSU’s freshman goalkeeper sensation, in a battle of wills. You may remember Isom’s 93-yard goal in September which made SportsCenter’s top-10 plays. You may also remember her from the time The Daily Reveille decides my stories are cool enough to get pretty pictures next to them.Clash of the titans.At the LSU Soccer Complex last Tuesday, Isom demonstrated how much mind games and guesswork play into soccer’s most dramatic play.”I really like penalty kicks, I really like shootouts,” she said. “I try to get an intimidation factor … It comes down to luck, and some girls are talented in that they don’t even look. Luck plays in, but you can prepare for them too.”Backed by those “encouraging” words, I prepared for battle. When I asked Isom about my odds of winning she didn’t mince words.”You have a good shot to score a couple, but I’m probably going to stop the majority,” she said. “I’m not going to lie. I’m going to beat you.”It’s a funny feeling actually taking the kick. In this situation it wasn’t conference titles on the line, only my dignity. And even then there’s a sense of pressure as you try to decide where and how to shoot the ball all without giving yourself away to the keeper. Needless to say, I whiffed my first attempt.”It went wide left,” Isom said. “It was a nice shot though.”In the spirit of the shootout, I then found out Isom would be taking kicks against me. In addition to being an amazingly good freshman keeper, Isom is the last kick-taker on the Tigers’ shootout list.Standing on the goal line, the reality sets in. I’m about to take a shot from someone that’s played in the NCAA tournament. She can boot the ball 70 yards downfield. This is either going to be really embarrassing or really painful.It turned out to be both. Her shot hit my fingers and hit the back of the net with ease.”You almost blocked that,” Isom said. “Did that hurt your hands?”A bit, Mo, a bit.All told, I lost the shootout 4-2. After the early jitters, I pulled myself together enough to place two shots past Isom and into the net. And despite the fact she took me about as seriously as a cat takes a blind, crippled mouse, a goal is a goal.It serves as a testament to the volatile nature of penalty kicks that I notched any kind of result at all, but when things got close Isom pulled out all that intimidation and preparation she’d alluded to.As I lined up for what would be the tying kick, I looked up to find her staring me down. I tried desperately to remember what little I had learned, but as I closed in for the shot she muttered, “I’m going to save it.”She obviously did. Making a diving save to the left, she knocked away my shot with an effort that let me know I would never have stood a chance if she wasn’t so nice.”I’m happy with the victory,” she said afterward. “I’m very confident. We practice PKs after almost every practice. I like the pressure, and I’m very excited about next season.”So I lost. No surprise there. In a contest between an LSU scholarship athlete and a munchkin sports writer, I’ll take the moral victory.—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]