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player ready...It didn’t take long for teams to get to know Lexi Darnell.
The Boone Grove forward burst onto the scene last season with 35 goals and 19 assists as a freshman. She gives first-year coach Katie Mckinney a dynamic scorer.
Mckinney has come away most impressed with how Darnell — who shows a maturity beyond her age — has carried herself. Mckinney named her team captain.
“I couldn’t believe she was only a sophomore,” Mckinney said. “With our team being as diverse as it is talent-wise, it’s easy for players like her to get frustrated with the girls who aren’t at their level, but she’s never been that way. She’s an outstanding team player and individual player.”
Darnell has picked up where she left off last year with 11 goals in three games for Boone Grove (2-1). She often uses speed to her advantage.
“I know when to use my speed, and (my) defense and I communicate really well,” she said. “They tell me all the time they’ll play me a through ball because they know I can run onto it and get a breakaway.
“Usually I can catch the defense off guard by just exploding by them. Our team really knows how we all play and what works in different situations.”
Darnell confirmed she has had to adjust to teams marking and even double-marking her.
“I never really had to worry about special players being assigned to me specifically before,” Darnell said. “I just have to recognize if teams do that and make sure to communicate when it happens so our team can benefit it from as much as possible.”
The right mentality: Having to sit out her junior year at Clark following a transfer from Bishop Noll, Belen Gonzalez tried to stay the course.
“That was a really hard thing for me to take in, but I didn’t give up,” she said. “I’ve always been strong mentally because I’ve been determined to accomplish my dreams in becoming a better player as well as being the first to graduate from college in my family.”
Gonzalez earned college credits from Purdue Northwest over the summer.
She has scored six goals this season for the Pioneers (2-2). Last week, she had a pair of goals and assists in a win over Hammond. She added a hat trick and two assists in a victory over Morgan Township.
Despite being a first-year player at Clark, Gonzalez still was selected captain.
“It was not only because of her experience, but in greater part due to her attitude and leadership on the field,” Clark coach Mary Eggers said. “She leads by example and that encourages her teammates to work harder as well.”
Playing big: When first-year coach Toby Provins first saw Grace Nestich play for Hobart a few years ago, he thought she looked like the biggest player on the field.
It wasn’t because of her size, being just over 5 feet tall, but her style of play.
“What stands out is her fearless grit,” Provins said. “She has a toughness to her you can’t teach.”
Nestich scored a hat trick in last Monday’s 11-0 win over Hammond and had a goal in last Wednesday’s 3-2 win against Michigan City to even Hobart’s record at 2-2.
She credits that toughness to playing up a division in age when she was younger.
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“I’ve always chosen to work hard despite my size disadvantage,” she said. “Playing against bigger, stronger competition helped me learn to become a player known for her tenacity rather than her height.
“Plus, it’s always more fun being aggressive.”
CJ Peters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.