Looking Forward: Shade Pratt Moves to Front Lines for Senior Season
9/19/2014 10:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – As Shade Pratt moves the ball up the field it seems hundreds of things are happening at once; a defender swoops in, a teammate yells out, but the distractions don't take her focus off the goal.
“I like to play fast,” she said. “And when I get the ball at my feet and start dribbling I try not to think so much and just have fun.”
Pratt, a senior on the University of Maryland women's soccer team, may have been a fixture on defense for the Terps the past three years, but her new role as a forward isn't a far stretch. She played as a midfielder or forward since she started at age 7 until signing with the Terrapins.
Head coach Jonathan Morgan originally planned on moving Pratt to the wide midfield position this year until injuries to the team's starters, including senior forward Cory Ryan, left a gap on the front lines.
He needed a player with quick feet, stamina and ball-handling skills, as well as a tough competitor who wasn't afraid to confront her opponents one on one. Pratt, he said, fit the bill.
“She's got those physical qualities that you just can't teach,” he said. “She's got that mentality. She wants to take players on.”
Both Morgan and her teammates said Pratt's drive has been a key part of her successful transition.
“Shade's clearly one of the hardest workers on our team and undoubtedly the fastest,” junior forward Alex Doody said. “Every practice she gives 100 percent and you know she's working to get better every day.”
Switching positions this late in the game takes work from both sides of the team. Pratt had to work on her ball skills and learn her teammates' tendencies as they adjusted to working with her in return.
It's a learning process on both sides, Doody said, but one that will make the team stronger.
“I have a lot more freedom with the ball,” Pratt said of the transition. “If I don't make mistakes I'm not doing my job to make opportunities happen.”
Morgan said Pratt's speed and agility fit well into the team's offensive plan going into Friday's match against Michigan and Sunday's game against Michigan State.
Both teams play defensively with nine or 10 players positioned behind the ball, according to Morgan. Pratt's speed allows her to string out the opposition's defense while she's on offense without preventing her from sprinting back to defend a quick turnover.
The Michigan teams are characteristic of a Big Ten playing style, which favors physicality and aggressiveness.
Pratt said she's looking forward to taking players on in the new conference, but she's most excited for a different reason. Her family lives in Minnesota and the team's away game at Minneapolis in October will be her first true home game in years.
“My family will be able to see me play which is cool,” she said. “There'll be a lot of extended family there like aunts and uncles.”
When they watch they'll see a player who works hard and stays focused despite her changing circumstances. Soon, Morgan said, it'll all pay off.
“She's certainly working hard enough that she's creating the opportunities. Now she just needs to reward herself with more goals.”
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Catherine Sheffo, a junior journalism major at the University of Maryland, is a contributing writer to umterps.com. |
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