Defending The St. Jean Goucher Soccer Legacy

When Goucher College women's soccer freshman Belle St. Jean steps on the soccer field for the first time, she will be carrying a family legacy of soccer players that donned the Blue and Gold.

Belle's father, Jim, is a 1996 graduate of Goucher College, and Jim's younger brother, Dave, is a 1999 graduate of the college. Jim earned All-Capital Conference (CAC) first-team honors in 1995, and Dave was a second-team performer in 1996 and 1997 as part of the Gophers men's soccer defense. 

Belle, who is also a defender, understands her family connection to Goucher and is ready for the challenge.

"I feel like because of my connection with my dad and uncle both playing at Goucher is going to make me even more excited the first time that I get to play at Goucher because I will get to carry on their legacy," said Belle. "I have probably put extra pressure on myself because I want to do well, but at the same time, I know that my family will be proud of me no matter what."

The St. Jean brothers are proud Goucher alumni, but like a lot of college graduates, have not made many returns to campus since graduation. When Jim brought Belle for a recruiting trip, it was the first time he was on the Goucher's campus in a long time.

"I took Belle for a visit with the Women's Soccer Head Coach Stephanie Ricketts when she was a junior in high school, and it was the first I could remember being on campus for an extended time," said Jim. "While much was surprisingly familiar (roaming the old dorms and Van Meter, while recalling the time spent in the Julia Rogers Library), so much has changed for the better. The facilities and student housing improvements left me envious from my time there, and it's clear the student experience is outstanding."

That recruiting trip to Goucher might not have had the same significance if he did not decide to come to Baltimore in the spring of his senior year of high school.

"I originally didn't plan to attend Goucher until the spring of my senior year," said Jim. "I happened to have a chance to meet the soccer coach Steve Hornish at the time and have a chance to visit the campus. Once I visited – and I recall that visit vividly, it felt like the 'right' fit and a place where I knew I would be very successful both academically and athletically. I immediately drew to the intimate campus and atmosphere." 

Jim joined the men's soccer team in the fourth year in program history, and the team registered its best season in team history in his freshman year with a 13-5-1 mark. The Gophers advanced to the CAC Semifinals three times before leaving for the Landmark Conference in 2007, including two occasions in Jim's first two seasons in Baltimore. The Gophers played in an epic 2-1 four-overtime loss to St. Mary's in 1992. However, it wasn't a result that Jim recalls as his favorite athletic moment, but his growth as a player.

"While I came to Goucher as a goalkeeper, the coaching staff witnessed me playing in the field during informal practices and transitioned me first to midfield and then defense," said Jim. "During my sophomore year, I worked hard to contribute as an outside midfielder and felt I grew as a player in my ability to distribute the ball and set up our attacking players. My senior year was very memorable as I took a clear leadership role on defense, and we had a very competitive team."

Jim had plenty of proud moments as a student and used a lot of his Goucher experiences to shape him into the person that he is today.

"Being awarded the Sarah T. Hughes award for academic achievement in Political Science was a great moment at Goucher," said Jim. "I did not originally plan to major in Political Science, but loved the program at Goucher and felt it contributed to my academic success. While I did not subsequently go into a political career, the skills I learned at Goucher contributed to my subsequent career success – specifically providing me a foundation of critical thought/analysis, problem-solving, and writing and communication skills. I also learned to deal and thrive within a very diverse environment."

Jim and Dave are three years apart in age. They also have a brother that is in between them in age, but Jim and Dave were the two brothers that shared the love for sports.

"I'd say it was like any other sibling rivalry," said Jim. "We are separated by three school years, so while we didn't play organized sports together we did frequently compete in practices and unorganized activities. We're also very different personality-wise, with me being much more introverted, but we generally had the same interests and had each other's back."

"Jim and I would go out for two to three hours a day on the soccer field. Jim was a goalie, and I would go out there and rifle shots at Jim for hours on end," said Dave. "We did that a lot. It's the way we passed the summers. It was a healthy competition."

In Jim's first three years of college, Dave would visit the campus, and that might have played a role in the recruitment of Dave to Goucher.

"I was looking around at school, and I think for me at the time, I wanted a smaller school," said Dave. "I was intimidated by the bigger schools. My high school wasn't that big. Goucher had about 1,200 students at the time, and that appealed to me plus it was familiar."

"I don't believe I had a direct impact, but he did visit occasionally," said Jim. "I believe he drew to Goucher for the same reasons that I was when I chose the school. 

The three-year age difference meant they were battling against each other in their spare time, but they never had the chance to play together in organized competition until Dave reached the Goucher campus in the fall of 1995.

"It was a good experience," said Jim. "During my senior year, we both played defense, with both us mostly playing defense together. At our size, we created a rather imposing backline, and we were able to play off each other very well."

"By the time I showed up in 1995, Jim was a rising senior, and it was the chance to play soccer with Jim," said Dave. "Keep in mind that we had never been on the same team because the age difference was big enough that we were never playing competitively together or against each other. It was the first time that we got to play together, which was fun."

Dave had the family connection in Jim when he came to Goucher, but he also met the person he would end up spending the for the rest of his life with at the start of his freshman year. 

Unlike Dave, Cherie Alcaraz came to Goucher alone and without even seeing the campus in the fall of 1995.

"I grew up in San Diego. I didn't have a great home life growing up, and I wanted to get away, and Goucher is about as far away from San Diego as you can get," said Cherie. "Looked at some bigger schools, but thought that if I was going that far away from home that a smaller school would be a better choice, so I went sight unseen. I had never seen the campus till the first day I walked on to start classes. It was a good fit for me."

Cherie met Dave in one of their first classes as college students, and one could say, got lucky with her federal work-study assignment.

She worked closely with the men's soccer team along with the men's lacrosse program with statistics, and she was referred to by those teams as "stat girl." They have been together ever since, and Cherie is another connection to Belle and Goucher as her aunt.

"The first day we officially met was an 8:30 am calculus class on day one of classes," said Dave. "I met Cherie right around the time that I started playing soccer at Goucher, and we have been together ever since. It was good to have her around for those long bus rides."

"Our first official date was at the Blind Date Ball," said Cherie. "It was where your friends would hook you up with a blind date, and I was matched with another soccer player. I found out later that Dave may have traded for me, so that was our first official date."

Both Dave and Cherie look back on their time with the men's soccer team with fondness about the bus rides and the team camaraderie.

"Traveling to and from to the games and hanging out on the bus," said Cherie. "As a team, they did get along. Being in such a small school, you didn't see your teammates only on the field. I was in some of my classes with the soccer players. It was more of a family."

After graduating, the St. Jean family went in different directions. Jim has worked in various locations on the East Coast from Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey. After working for the United States government, he started working with Lockheed Martin in 1999 and is currently Vice President, Contracts for the Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) Business Area. Jim has four daughters, including Belle.

After graduation, Dave and Cherie moved to Philadelphia where he received a Ph. D. in organic chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and then moved to Thousand Oaks, California. They recently relocated back to the East Coast to Boston, Massachusetts. The couple has a son and a daughter. Cherie is a high school math teacher, and Dave is the Vice President of Chemistry at Scorpion Therapeutics where he helps to discover new, improved cancer therapeutics.

Both Dave and Cherie look back and some great moments at Goucher and believe that they would not be where they are at today without their time in Baltimore.

"We had some amazing professors," said Cherie. "Math was always a difficult subject even though I majored in it. I was self-aware to go to a small school that I needed that attention. As difficult as the material was, it taught me perseverance and pushing through difficult subject matter, and putting your best foot forward. I pass that onto my students now. You don't have to get an A, but you have to show that you are working hard, and that counts for a lot."

"Dave Horn was the chemistry professor at Goucher, and we still chat to this day through Facebook," said Dave. "That was the guy that started everything for me. By the time I finished at Goucher, I was ready to go to an elite school and do chemistry at a high level. The professor that I did my Ph.D. with looks for kids from small liberal arts schools because they can't hide."

Goucher was the last time that Jim and Dave lived in the same city. It was hard to see each other when Dave and Cherie lived on the West Coast, but since moving to Boston, they try to get together when they can.

"Goucher was the last time that we had been in the same place at the same time," said Dave. "Competitiveness decreases with age, but we naturally went in a different direction. We try and keep in touch. We are all diehard Eagles fans, and we try and get together for a game once a year."

Belle did not see her uncle often growing up because Dave and Cherie lived so far away. When Dave found out about Belle's college decision, he was thrilled.

"When I heard Belle was going to Goucher, I was excited," said Dave. "I think I heard the news from my mother, and I texted Jim to say how super excited I was for her. I was able to visit her, and we talked about some things that she wants to do and her values, and I think that Goucher is a great fit for her!"

Belle knew that she had family ties to Goucher, but she never visited Goucher until she was in high school.

"My dad never talked to me about their time at Goucher when I was growing up, but when my dad and I visited Goucher together last year, he told me about his experiences on campus and playing soccer," said Belle. "It was fun to hear about his experiences and about how the campus has changed since he had last been there. 

As a parent, Jim did not try to sway his daughter to attend his alma mater.

"I never pushed Belle in any direction and didn't give any particular thought to her attending Goucher," said Jim. "She's like me in many respects, so I did encourage her to go to a camp and have a chance to build a relationship with Coach Ricketts and see the campus. From that visit forward, Belle knew Goucher was the right fit, and she never seriously considered any other school. Goucher was always No. 1 on her list, and from what I recalled from my experience and knowing Belle, I was never surprised."

Belle has a special connection to Goucher thanks to the family connection, but she has her reasons for attending Goucher.

"I chose Goucher because I loved the location, and it has a good Psychology program," said Belle. "I also really loved the soccer team and could see myself fitting in well. I also thought that it was cool that I would be playing at the same school my dad and uncle played."

Belle could be the start of the second run of St. Jeans at Goucher. She has two younger sisters, while Dave and Cherie think that at least one of the children will come to Goucher. Dave jokingly said that his children are already enrolled to attend Goucher.

The "new normal" has changed a lot of things this year, and for Dave and Cherie, it was going to be the year they thought about showing their children Goucher. Every year the family travels somewhere between Christmas and New Year, and they believed it was time to show their 10- and 13-year old children their alma mater and the city of Baltimore. The "new normal" probably has canceled the trip for this year.

For Jim and Belle, the "new normal" has put a momentary stop to the start of her collegiate soccer career and the chance for Belle to enjoy the full college experience.

"As much as I never want Belle to leave home, having a good freshman year is so important, and I think she'll be incredibly successful and enjoy her experience," said Jim. "I'm also hoping she gets a chance to get on the field this year with her teammates and begin her real experience as a student-athlete."

While Belle's collegiate soccer career is on pause at the moment, Jim is proud of her accomplishments and looks forward to her wearing the Gophers' Blue and Gold colors. 

"I'll be extremely proud of Belle," said Jim. "She's worked hard, and I'm looking forward to watching her on the field. I'm sure there will be some extra emotions. I'm very proud of the young woman she's become."

Dave said that one of the best things about Goucher is that you cannot hide. He pointed to having a class with only four people in it, and if you were not in class, people noticed. Belle does not hide from the people that came before her and is ready to embrace her Goucher heritage to continue the legacy when she finally plays on Beldon Field.

"I feel like because of my connection - with my dad and uncle both playing at Goucher - is going to make me even more excited the first time that I get to play because I will get to carry on their legacy of playing for Goucher," said Belle. "I will also be happy to finally get to play a game at Goucher because I have been looking forward to it for a while."