‘I just have to embrace it’: Worthington Kilbourne goalie Marissa Dolciato stands on her head
Thursday, April 4, 2024
By Michael Rich
mrich@cbussports.com
Worthington Kilbourne’s Marissa Dolciato is last season’s Division I state Goalkeeper of the Year. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Marissa Dolciato was a little confused at the advice she received as a freshman during a timeout from the late Bill Wolford. The Worthington Kilbourne girls lacrosse team was in a close battle with rival Dublin Scioto and the numbers were against them.
But the advice has stuck with her over the years and it’s part of what has turned her into one of the area’s top goalies.
“We were three (players) down and it was a really close game,” said Dolciato, now a senior, who is committed to play at Cincinnati. “He told me to stand on my head. I was so confused – I was like, ‘What does that mean?’ He said, ‘No time – get on the field.’
“I literally just exploded to every ball and just chucked myself (into every play). I literally just stepped to the ball and punched just as hard as I could.”
Dolciato recalls Wolford coming up to her after the game and saying, “That’s standing on your head.”
Wolford started the boys program at Kilbourne when the school opened in 1991 and then served as an assistant with the girls program from 2008 until he passed away in November 2021.
“We just got along really well, and he supported me so much,” Dolciato said. “He told me I’d go D-I. Freshman year – he told me I could do it. I wish he could see that. He had such a big heart and he made me a better person. He was such a good coach and always had inspiring words. At halftime, he’d always bring us up even if we were losing … which is something I miss.”
Dolciato had 10 saves in a 10-8 victory over Dublin Coffman on April 4, giving her 377 for her career. Her performance against the Shamrocks moved her to second all-time, passing 1994 graduate Jaime Bauer (373). Katie Ewing, a 2003 graduate, holds the program record with 410.
Worthington Kilbourne goalkeeper Marissa Dolciato awaits the action to come her way during a game earlier this season. Photo: John Hulkenberg
The three-time OCC-Capital Division Player of the Year and reigning Division I state Goalkeeper of the Year is fearless.
“I feel like the pain isn’t that bad because you don’t know it’s coming,” Dolciato said. “If you just throw your body there … it feels better to make the save. Who cares about the bruise you’re going to have the next day.
“Practice is harder because I know how the girls shoot, so I do get a little. In a game, I guess I do have no fear because I know I’m going to get hit. I just have to embrace it.”
The Wolves, who are 3-1 overall, open OCC-Capital play at Big Walnut on April 9 as it tries for its fourth consecutive league title and sixth overall.
“She has some of the quickest hands I’ve ever seen,” coach Doug Troutner said. “Being short (she’s 5-foot-2) – she does not look at that as a disadvantage. She considers it an advantage. She starts a little bit lower, and she can explode through the shots.
“The biggest attribute, though, is the way she is never scared of a shot. A lot of goalies – when you’re lining up for an 8-meter shot – thoughts are running through their heads – ‘I’m scared of this shot’ or ‘I’m afraid I’m going to miss it.’ She looks at it as an opportunity.”
Dolciato didn’t like playing lacrosse when she tried it for the first time as a first grader. But her sister, Adriana, needed a practice buddy and she got better at it before trying again in the fifth grade. Adriana played at Kilbourne before graduating in 2022.
Worthington Kilbourne’s Marissa Dolciato, a three-time OCC-Capital Division Player of the Year, is a University of Cincinnati commit. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Both her parents, Bob and Bice, played lacrosse in college.
“My sister was really good,” Marissa said. “She would ask me to pass with her (outside at home), and I was like, ‘No, I don’t want to play.’ I kept practicing and I started just getting in the hang of it more. Both my parents played lacrosse in college, so they kind of influenced me to play again. I’m just glad I did.”
Marissa also competed in gymnastics, which is what led her into becoming a goalie.
“I pulled my hamstring in gymnastics and so I couldn’t run for (a little while),” she said.
So, they stuck her in goal, and she found she had a knack for the position.
It didn’t take long for Troutner to see her play and decide that she was a goalie.
“When she came to us as a freshman, she was like, ‘I really don’t know what (position) I want to play. I don’t mind goalie, but I’d really like to be on the field also,’” he said. “After we saw her in goal, we were like, ‘No, you need to play goalie.’ She said, ‘Is there any way I could split time?’ and I said, ‘You really need to play goalie.’ She’s really embraced that.”
So, how did Dolciato become such a good goalie?
“Honestly, just reps – over and over again,” she said. “I don’t really go overboard with my training. I feel like I play very reactionary. My reaction time is pretty quick. I watch other goalies play and see what they do and try to mimic that the best I can. But I’d say it’s just practicing with my team and getting shots every day.”
Marissa Dolciato, a senior for the Worthington Kilbourne Wolves, looks forward to OCC-Capital play after a good start. Photo: John Hulkenberg