SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO Montoursville goalkeeper Avery Zales comes out of the box to punch the ball away on a penalty kick in the first half against Milton during a game last season. Zales will be continuing her playing career at Juniata College this fall.

Like any goalie, Avery Zales has let a few goals slip by her over her career at Montoursville. But ever since she first stepped into goal in 2017 as a sophomore, Zales has simply brushed off any that have gotten by her. She’s not one to dwell on what happened.

Zales never lost her composure on the field and kept her cool when she played. She admitted that’s her biggest strength as a player.

“Having the opportunity to play year round with my club team in many games against amazing teams definitely helped with that,” Zales said. “It’s always important to have the same strong mentality no matter the difficulty of the game and I’m proud of my ability to do so.”

After a great career with Montoursville, Zales is taking her talent and skills to the next level. This fall, Zales will be at Juniata College to play for its women’s soccer team and major in politics and economics.

Zales had a friend who played on a tournament team that went to Juniata and that helped open Zales’ eyes to Juniata.

The Eagles are coming off two losing seasons, going 3-12-2 last year and 6-10-1 in 2018. The Eagles last made the postseason in 2017, falling to Albright, 2-1, in the first round of the ECAC tournament.

Zales has been part of a winning tradition at Montoursville, a program that rarely sees a losing season. In her four years with the program, Zales has won 51 games, was part of a district championship in 2016 as a freshman and experienced a postseason berth every year she put on a Montoursville jersey.

“It’s always exciting to be a part of a playoff team. Getting to see the hard work put in by myself and my team during the season pay off is a reward in itself,” Zales said. “We came up against some great competition in the playoffs and I’m just sorry that we did not capture a championship while I was the keeper.”

As a goalie, Zales had big shoes to fill. She took over in 2017 replacing standout Marlene Bassett, who was just the most recent in a string of talented goalies this past decade at Montoursville, which includes Marissa Folk and Audra Larson.

“I grew up going to Montoursville soccer games and looking up to the older goalies. Being able to personally work with Marlene my freshman year is one of my favorite memories of playing at Montoursville,” Zales said. “It’s truly an honor to have been able to learn from them and I am proud to have followed in these amazing goalies’ footsteps.”

As a freshman, Zales studied and absorbed all that she could from Bassett regarding being a goalie. She was a student of the game. Rather than being upset she wasn’t necessarily a starter, she instead just did all that she could to study Bassett and learn from one of the best Montoursville goalies this past decade. It’s something Zales admits was very useful for playing.

“It was extremely beneficial. I was only a freshman, so it was great to see her as a senior and it really gave me a good transition year, so I was very prepared to start my sophomore year,” Zales said.

It immediately paid off.

Zales posted eight shutouts her sophomore year, which was second behind only Loyalsock’s Grace Schreckengast (11) in the area. Last year, Zales had seven shutouts, third most in the area. She ended her career with 18 shutouts.

From sophomore through senior years, Zales continued to improve and get better in goal, and that’s something Zales attributes to training constantly and playing with her club team when the fall season wasn’t in session.

“I think I have improved a lot. My year-round training and tournaments with my club team allowed me to play against some great competition which helped my skills greatly,” Zales said. “Though I know there will always be more room to grow, I’m excited for the opportunity to do that at Juniata.”

The Eagles already have two younger goalies on the roster in junior Gianna Canale and sophomore Cati Besch. Both saw time in goal last year with Besch starting in 13 games and Canale starting in four and playing in eight. Combined, they posted two shutouts and had a .723 save percentage. Zales is looking forward to competing with them throughout offseason workouts.

“It will only make all three of us better in the end by pushing each other in training and competing for playing time will motivate us even further,” Zales said.

Having those goalies push her won’t frustrate her. It’ll only make Zales better at her position. After all, she doesn’t lose her composure or cool on the field. Rather, she embraces any challenge that’s thrown her way.