Offense? Crown Point’s Ryann Adzia doesn’t need offense.
The junior defender is much more focused on preventing goals than scoring them.
“I just feel like, for my whole life, I’ve been better at defending than attacking,” she said. “It’s just easier for me. I tell myself to try to win every battle, to not let them do anything back there.”
In her second season as a varsity starter, Adzia has flourished in her outside role on defense, helping the Bulldogs return to the Class 3A semistate round. Crown Point will play Noblesville in Kokomo on Saturday.
Adzia helped Crown Point (18-2-1) shut out Northridge 2-0 in the Penn Regional final, providing the stellar defense that has become the trademark of her career, according to coach David Bock.
“Most of the time, she just takes their best player out of the game,” Bock said. “It simplifies the way we defend, and that allows us to not have to worry about putting an extra girl back there so we can attack the way we want to.”
Bock said Adzia’s defensive prowess has been an important part of Crown Point’s success in recent seasons, even if Adzia won’t say that herself.
“She’s not one of our louder girls,” Bock said with a laugh. “She just does her job, and we never have to give it a second thought.”
It’s not just Adzia, of course. Senior Sofia Oliva is another part of a strong defense that has surrendered just three goals in four postseason games. Like Adzia, Oliva often finds herself defending on the outside, where mistakes in one-on-one situations can result in goals. Their dedication to summer workouts helped build the foundation for the wins that have come in the months since.
“We know that on the outside we’re going to be dealing with players who have a lot of technical footwork and a lot of speed,” Oliva said. “So it’s just putting in the extra conditioning because you have to get up and down the field a lot.”
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Although defense remains the most essential part of their game, Oliva has five goals and three assists this season, and Adzia has two goals and two assists. Contributing in offensive situations is a newer development for Adzia, according to Bock.
“Her biggest jump is in how much she’s been able to help us in the attack,” Bock said. “She takes a lot of free kicks, and it’s been a real good ball every time. And whenever the ball gets out wide to her, she’s been able to serve it in well.”
Playing left back or right back — Bock said Adzia and Oliva are “interchangeable” at those positions — is what Adzia expected to do when she arrived at Crown Point. During her first high school season, she realized there were going to be opportunities available soon.
“I just remembered watching those girls on varsity, and I knew that I was going to have to step up the next year because they were all graduating,” she said.
Bock said the coaching staff didn’t keep that possibility a secret.
“We started to get her ready for the reality that this was going to be the case since her freshman year,” Bock said. “She has a quiet confidence about her.
“Athletically, she can deal with the girls who are stronger or are faster because her instincts are really good. She understands the game well, so she never gets out of position or takes bad angles. She’s always in the right spot.”
There’s a tough test awaiting Adzia and her teammates on Saturday: Noblesville junior forward Meredith Tippner, who has 22 goals and scored four times against Crown Point at semistate last year.
Adzia, whose older brother Drew was a basketball standout for Crown Point, knows she’ll be a key part of the effort to contain Tippner but also believes the best defense may be an effective offense.
“We just have to talk with each other, connect on all of our passes and try to keep the ball up there,” Adzia said. “We’ll be watching their film and seeing everything they can do so we can try to shut them down.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.