Joining the girls varsity team as a freshman behind a senior goalie, sophomore Maddie Slayton did not see much of the field. This school year, Slayton is starting goalie, starting every game except for the pre-season games she had to miss due to a foot injury.

“Last year I didn’t have a lot of confidence being a freshman,” said Slayton. “Now as a sophomore I’ve gained more confidence and have improved.”

Last year, Slayton did start one game due to senior goalie Emma Gartner being injured. Playing a remarkable game as a freshman, Slayton helped the Lady Wilcats to defeat the Tigers in the 2012 season, the only time the team has beaten Bentonville.

“I was so nervous before that game but Emma helped me to get ready for it,” said Slayton. “It was the first varsity game I had ever played in and it was an important game against a tough team.”

Slayton started her goalie career at age ten when her coach asked her if she wanted to play goalie. In just six years, Slayton grew to the height of 6’2”, height being an obvious advantage for a goalie making it easier to save those lofting, high shots.

“I went to goalie practices and plenty of goalie camps to get better at keeper,” said Slayton.

Junior center defender Lindsay Will works with Slayton during games being the closest player to the keeper. Will’s and Slayton’s positions require a working relationship on the field in order to produce a positive result.

“Maddie is a very strong keeper. She is intimidating on the field because she is so tall,” said Will. “The best thing about Maddie is that she has good hands and can catch anything with her amazing reaction time.”

The Lady Wildcats have won two of their conference games as a result of a tie breaker of penalty kicks after 90 minutes of regulation play.

“Maddie has really helped in penalty kicks,” said Will. “She’s an awesome teammate and is always supportive on and off the field.”