Senior goalie connects art and field hockey

Whether Chloe Johnson is in the Tyler School of Art or playing field hockey for Temple University, she thinks the same way.

The senior goalkeeper, who is an art minor, often uses pen and ink when creating pieces of art. Working with paper and pen leaves no room for mistakes, and being the last line of defense in field hockey does the same, she said.

Johnson said she is able to limit mistakes on the field, and with her pen, by staying calm in any situation.  

“I definitely realized that having a creative outlet is key to being balanced overall,” Johnson said. “I feel like there’s a lot of similarities between creative work and sports that people don’t necessarily see.”

“Chloe is so laid-back it’s actually ridiculous,” said her twin sister Mollie Johnson, who plays ice hockey at Neumann University in Aston, Pennsylvania. “She’s like, ‘Whatever happens, happens,’ and that’s the good thing about Chloe.”

Being an artist belies a natural confidence that she shows on the field.

Chloe Johnson has started eight games this season, one more start than last year. Her save percentage is .771 this season, 8 percent higher than her average in her first three seasons as an Owl. 

She averages 10.1 saves per game, which is second in all of Division I, and recorded double-digits in saves in four of Temple’s (2-6, 0-1 Big East Conference) seven games this season. In a 4-0 loss to Penn State on Aug. 31, she made 19 saves on 26 shots on goal.

“I think one of the assets I have, and it’s been a change for me, is the way I carry myself on the field,” Chloe Johnson said. “I’m more confident and more in control defensively. I’m thinking more tactically, and not just within the goal. I’m thinking about where defenders should be too.” 

Both Chloe Johnson’s twin sister and her coach attribute her success to her calm mindset.

“She’s never anxious about things,” Mollie Johnson said. “She just goes out there and does it.” 

“She’s not overly confident, she’s not arrogant,” coach Marybeth Freeman said. “It’s a, ‘I know what my job is and I’m going to do it.’”

Often, doing what needs to be done means diving across the cage or challenging a lone offensive player.

On Sept. 9 against Kent State University, she dropped low to make a sliding save on the left side. She later blocked a penalty stroke by diving to knock the ball away from the left corner.

Against Providence College on Friday, she dove to the right post to stop a shot, then used her stick to sweep the ball away while she was still on the ground.

“[Freeman] and I had a meeting and she said, ‘I don’t know what it is, but you look so chill when you play. I’m not used to that because normally goalkeepers are really intense,”” Chloe Johnson said. “But I was watching film, and I’m laughing during the replays. I’m just really having fun with it.”