Ann-Marie Guglieri drove hard to her right and found an open Lindsay Peirson for a shot.

Audrey Latsko dived and batted the ball away with her outstretched arm to collect another save.

In the next series, Brittany Carriero fared no better against Betsy Wagner.

Although the two goaltenders went save-for-save in practice, head coach Kathleen Parker has decided Latsko will likely start the opener against Stanford today at 3 p.m. at Coyne Field. The Orangewomen host New Hampshire tomorrow afternoon at 2.

“Audrey probably (will start) the first game,” Parker said. “(Wagner) had mono and had to sit out a week of training camp. But we’ll see, both have been practicing really well.”

Latsko — a third-team All-American in 2000 – is the incumbent who started the team’s first 12 games last season, guiding it to a 10-2 record. She collected 70 saves — including a career-high 21 in the NCAA quarterfinals against Maryland — and turned away 79.2 percent of shots she faced.

“It doesn’t really matter who starts,” Latsko said. “We’ve both been working really hard, and we’re both playing well.”

Said back Becky Kohler: “You never know who is going to be behind us. No matter which one it is, the team has full confidence in them. We’re in a lucky situation.”

Wagner made her first career appearance last Sept. 27 against Colgate.

“We were up by a few, so coach wanted to put me in to get some experience,” Wagner said.

Three weeks later, Wagner made her first start against Providence. Eager to perform well, she collected nine saves as SU defeated the Friars, 1-0.

“It’s hard not to be nervous,” Wagner said. “Every player on the team, no matter how much they play, should be nervous. It keeps you motivated to play as well as you can.”

Wagner started the next four games and finished the season with a 0.97 GAA and a .875 save percentage.

Toward the end of last season, Parker used the two goaltenders interchangeably. In the final regular-season game against Connecticut, Wagner played the first half and Latsko finished. SU won 4-1.

“It’s a comfort to know that I can call on either goalie,” Parker said, “and know either will get the job done.”

Collectively, Syracuse had the lowest GAA (1.24) in the conference while outscoring its opponents, 49-23.

When the playoffs came, Parker decided to go with experience and used Latsko exclusively.

Latsko responded well, recording her 12th career shutout against Villanova on Nov. 4 in the Big East championship game, stopping six shots to lead the Orangewomen to a 1-0 victory.

Wagner looked on, cheering.

“There hasn’t been any harsh feelings about one playing over the other,” Wagner said. “We push each other on the field and we work well together.”

Published on September 5, 2002 at 12:00 pm