The colors of her uniform are different, and her teammates remain a bit of a blur.
Still, Morgan Asmussen feels very much at home.
“It’s a blast representing your community,” she said.
A senior at Lake Forest, Asmussen is one of the best girls soccer players in the state. She signed to play Division I soccer next year at Miami (Fla.).
Prior to this season, Asmussen played exclusively at the club level for Oak Brook-based power Eclipse Select.
Now, she is part of a new wave of first-year players who have infused the Scouts with excitement and flair. Yet she’s not a newcomer in the same sense as the team’s seven freshmen who started in the Scouts’ home 1-0 victory against St. Viator on April 4, which was the team’s first win of the year.
“I think I bring experience from having played club,” Asmussen said. “It is very fun playing with girls I never met before. The quality of play is the same as club, if not better.”
At about 5-foot-5, Asmussen isn’t an especially physical player, but she is quick and uses her speed as a disruptive threat as a heady defender.
Coach Ty Stuckslager is also experimenting with playing her as a midfielder to utilize her unique skill set.
“Her technical ability is just so sound,” Stuckslager said. “In tight situations, even with somebody on her, she can control the ball, protect it well and get out of these situations. She is a great addition.”
Against the Lions, Asmussen brought poise and security to the Scouts’ back line. She has great anticipation and a natural feel for the game.
She ably complements the team’s two most experienced players, senior defender Gwen Walker, a DePaul recruit, and senior midfielder Delaney Williams.
Lake Forest (2-1 as of Tuesday) also beat Glenbard East 3-0 in the opening round of the PepsiCo Showdown on Saturday in Schaumburg.
While Asmussen is a senior playing her first year of high school soccer, freshman Nicole Doucette embodies a different vein, the precocious talent who is quickly assimilating her game to the more physical and faster varsity level of play.
Doucette scored the game-winning goal off a terrific pass from Williams in the first half for her first career goal.
Like Asmussen, she felt immediately at ease in her new surroundings.
“Once I scored that goal, everybody came and hugged me,” Doucette said, “and I just felt a part of (the team).”
Doucette also has the versatility to play multiple positions. A natural defender, she moved up to play midfield against St. Viator.
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“It was a little different, but I feel like I can contribute more with my speed,” Doucette said. “I feel like passing and running up and down the sideline really fits my talents.”
And her coach said that her talent is immense.
“She can run like the wind and has good technical ability,” Stuckslager said. “I have watched Nicole the last three years, and she has always played right back. I see her as a right midfielder.
“The goal she scored was fantastic. Her position was good, and the technique she used to finish, you don’t see that in college.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press