When Marianne Flannery took over the Olentangy Liberty field hockey program last winter, she knew she had a pair of talented and experienced goalies in Annie Lorenz and Alayna Bogner.

This season, the goalies have been the backbone of a defense that allowed 13 goals in the first 11 games. The Patriots were 9-2 overall and 5-1 in the COFHL-West Division after losing to Upper Arlington 4-0 in a game that started Sept. 21 and concluded Sept. 29.

Lorenz, a senior, and Bogner, a junior, play behind a defense that includes seniors Paige Barlow, Julianne Corbin, Payton Carrier and Lily Walter and junior Alaina Prall. The goalies had been splitting time equally the past two years, but Flannery has been handling them a little differently this season.

“The thing that makes it special is having two really talented goalies,” said Flannery, who is in her first year back with the Patriots after coaching them from 2012-18, leading them to their only state tournament appearance in 2016. “I’m not going to split (their playing time equally). It’s a competitive team and they deserve better than to just be tied the whole season.

“I told them I wanted them to be competitive so they could push each other and they’re doing a great job of that. And they’re being very positive and supportive of each other. It’s not like there’s a bad decision. No decision is the wrong decision.”

The competitive nature of the position suits Lorenz.

“I really appreciate (the approach) from (Flannery) because sometimes you’re not going to be on your ‘A’ game,” Lorenz said. “(The competition) keeps you working constantly. There’s not a day where we’re not working harder.”

While both have similar attributes, it’s their differences that help determine who plays against an opponent.

“We’re more similar than we think, but we definitely have our own style,” Bogner said. “I like to be very upright, on my toes and on my feet – staying up and moving with the (opposing) player. Annie uses more ground work like sliding and diving.”

Bogner led with 63 saves over nine games and Lorenz had 22 saves in eight games. Bogner had 27 saves in a 3-2 overtime win over Thomas Worthington on Sept. 14, but it was Lorenz who helped the Patriots to a 2-1 overtime victory over Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame in the next game Sept. 17.

“I decided to use Alayna against Thomas (because) I felt like she looked a little stronger going into that game,” Flannery said. “I knew Thomas was going to be really fast. I felt like she was going to be able to handle them and she had a fantastic game against them.”

Makena Harrington, who had seven goals and nine assists through 11 games, scored the winning goal against Thomas.

It was Ella Mohler and Lucy Keeler who scored against Mount Notre Dame. Keeler had 19 goals and seven assists to lead the team, and Lily Weis had six goals.

Lorenz, who has committed to Division II Bentley College in Massachusetts, has grown close to Bogner because of their time together.

“Of course, it’s really competitive and we both really want to be playing, but we’re actually really close as friends, too,” Lorenz said. “We do everything together and I feel like you can’t really be in the position that we’re in without being friends. So, I think it’s really helpful that we’re so close.”

Liberty needed more depth in goal when Lorenz joined the program as a freshman.

“I didn’t play varsity, but I was rostered,” she said. “I started playing goalie my freshman year. I played sweeper, so I was the last defender. I did not want to (switch positions) at all at first. But then I ended up loving it so much because you’re always doing something (in goal). It’s such a rewarding experience when you make a save.”

Bogner, who already was a goalie in lacrosse when she started playing field hockey in the sixth grade, knows the position can be a lonely one.

“You can’t linger on any of your mistakes,” she said. “The game is made of mistakes, but you can’t focus on them. You can look at them later to see what you can improve on. But in the moment, you can’t think about anything that just happened. You just have to keep moving forward.

“When you’re not playing, you’re just the most supportive person you can be because you know how it feels (to be in an) intense game and in the moment. All you want is someone to support you.”