On today’s Lax Goalie Rat Podcast episode, I sit down to chat with the starting goalie from my alma mater, the California Golden Bears, Riley Drullinger.
Riley is heading into her senior season at Cal this year.
The native of Portland, OR is Cal’s active career leader among goalkeepers in nearly all categories with 31 games played, 27 starts, 1491:45 minutes played, 414 goals against, a 16.65 goals against average, 869 shots faced, 65 ground balls and nine caused turnovers.
Drullinger got her start in net in the 5th grade after she decided to give lacrosse a try starting out as an attacker. Riley didn’t think much of goalie until all the running started and thought goaltending would be much more her speed. Her team was looking for another goalie and she decided to give it a try.
Riley learned the position from her coach, Coach Hayes, who a family friend whose daughter had also played goalie recommended. Coach Hayes not only helped Riley develop her fundamentals as a goalie but has also been a huge influence in the mental game for her.
After that Riley began modeling her game after former Syracuse great and current USC assistant coach Asa Goldstock. Riley loved the way that Asa played the game so naturally and not as robotic and has added that into her game in college.
Initially looked over by Cal, Riley had a fantastic and organized plan for her recruiting process that involved using spreadsheets and collecting as much information as she could on the programs she was interested in to keep in touch with potential schools.
But after a month and a half after sending her first email to Cal, Riley received an invite to a Cal winter recruiting camp, took her initial visit and committed to the Golden Bears shortly after.
Drullinger knew Cal was going to be home the second she stepped onto campus. She loved how close she was to the big city while still being in a smaller college town and also being on the west coast.
While Drullinger is known for her leadership and communication skills on the field, she’s also recently stepped out of her comfort zone to become a better leader off the field.
Drullinger is the founder and president of Bears United, a student-athlete group that champions acceptance, diversity and inclusion for the LGBTQIA+ community and beyond.
Riley has also ventured into the coaching field and has her own coaching program for those who might be interested in training with her.
Riley joins the show today to discuss how to handle the recruiting process, using your instinct over technical perfection, coaching goalies and much more!
This is a great episode so I hope you enjoy my interview with Riley!
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