Playing attacking midfielder now comes as second nature to Riley Garcia, but it wasn’t always the case for the Wheeler sophomore.
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When she began playing as a little kid, Garcia lined up as a defender. In the intervening years, she held down various spots. As she entered high school, she had become established as a defensive midfielder.
But when she joined the Bearcats as a freshman last season, she shifted to a more offensive-minded role.
“I was always a holding mid, and that got me to develop being able to see the field and make passes to the forwards,” Garcia said. “When I was learning how to play forward, in the beginning, it was frustrating.
“I had to learn how to make all the runs and how to time them well and how to run onto the ball. But after all the practice the last two years, since last summer, I’m a lot more comfortable.”
Garcia experienced growing pains last season, even as she posted 13 goals and six assists.
But this season, she has 23 goals and 14 assists as top-ranked Wheeler (21-0) plays No. 4 Evansville Mater Dei (12-6-4) at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium for the Class A state championship.
Garcia has formed a dangerous trio with forward Lyric Green (44 goals, 13 assists) and right midfielder Claudia Philips (18 goals, 20 assists), both juniors, as the Bearcats’ primary offensive threats.
Wheeler coach Bryan Murray has seen Garcia’s strides.
“The switch we made with her from holding mid to attacking mid, last year when she was trying to learn how to play with her back to the goal and try to recycle some runs and find angles in on the defense, it was different for her,” Murray said. “She’s a very good passer and she understood the angles on the ball, but when we first started getting going, it was, like, ‘Am I supposed to go here, am I supposed to go there?’
“It’s that creativity of being an attacking player. She’s always played that defensive game, she can spring people. But now she had to give those people playing her the ball the option of where she wanted it to be played. The big thing, the growth has continued there.”
Garcia appreciates being on the field at any position.
She broke her collarbone in seventh grade. She missed two weeks last season with a concussion. In February at a club practice, she sprained a ligament in her right foot, on the inside of her ankle, sidelining her for three months.
That recovery process included crutches, a walking boot and physical therapy.
“I don’t take the minutes for granted,” Garcia said. “In the blink of an eye, it can be gone.”
Murray is happy the Bearcats, making their first state finals appearance, will have Garcia against Mater Dei, which also was the Class A state runner-up in 2014 and 2015.
“She’s a very competitive individual,” Murray said of Garcia. “She’s technically gifted and athletic.
“Her goal production is up, but she’s still able to distribute the ball. Even though she’s an attacking mid, she’s very good at coming back to find the ball and then working with people like Claudia and Lyric as well.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff
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