Fast start for Harrison, Bulldogs

With speed, senior forward scores goal as Crown Point races past Munster

Speed is the calling card for Crown Point senior forward Erin Harrison.

Over the past two seasons, Harrison, who also runs track, has been learning how to use it efficiently.

“People know about her speed,” Crown Point coach Chris Mikrut said. “That speed becomes a concern for other teams, and while watching for Erin, that can leave Zoey (Wells) open because a team is overplaying to one side. As a freshman and sophomore, she was really direct and had to get a ball behind the defense, and now she can get a ball and take someone on every once in a while.”

Harrison had a goal in Crown Point’s 4-0 win over Munster as the Bulldogs scored three times in the first 15 minutes in what was a possible sectional preview.

“It was a good ball in from Emma (Adams), and it was basically just good timing for me,” Harrison said. “The goalie was slow to come out, and I got it by her.

“We’re a lot better as a team when we’re connecting with each other, especially whoever’s in at the two forward spots. We’ve been practicing different plays, and we’ve been doing better playing together and not being as dependent on midfielders to send us up passes.”

Adams and Wells each had a goal and an assist for the Bulldogs (7-4-1), and Abbey Chidsey scored on a corner kick that went directly into the net against the Mustangs (4-4-1).

Mikrut said Harrison has made strides not only in using her speed, but also in adding to her skills.

“It’s been nice for her because I think she’s been able to make a name for herself because of that speed,” Mikrut said. “At the same time, she’s put in a lot of time and has worked really hard on the skill part. She’s used to being able to run by kids, and she’s learning better how to get a good angle, drag the player out and make them harder to get her.”

Harrison was quick to admit it was hard figuring out when she needs to slow down.

“It took me awhile to not just run through people,” Harrison said. “It’s been a lot of ball control, just knowing what I’m going to do with the ball. Controlling the ball with little touches — that really comes in handy because you can get yourself around the defender on through to the net.”

“We changed formation a little bit and want our center midfielders to be higher,” Mikrut said. “We want to get those kids involved because against good teams, we’re not getting enough kids in the box. We’ve moved some kids, and it’s coming along.”

For Harrison, she believes the formation switch has proved beneficial to her.

“It can be frustrating not being able to just run by everyone, but with this formation this year, it’s not just me in a footrace all the time,” Harrison said. “Defenders at a higher level and good teams know how to shut it down when it’s just us sending it over and trying to run for it. How we’re playing now with those little through balls, those are working a lot better and have definitely helped me out.”