Wake Forest Athletics
Karli Schilling: The Defensive Leader
10/14/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 14, 1999
By Jay Reddick
Karli Schilling was recruited by Wake Forest as a midfielder with a penchant for finding the net, and she may leave it in exactly the opposite role - as a leader of one of the best defensive units in the country.
Schilling, a senior, is tied for third on the all-time goal-scorers list at Wake Forest with 14 (through Oct. 5) but Deacon coach Tony da Luz decided before this season started that her athleticism and leadership were needed on the back line.
The move has paid off. Schilling has scored just one goal, but more importantly, she's become a better marking back and has helped the Deacons allow just six goals in their first 10 games, eight of them Deacon wins. As of Oct. 4, WFU was breathing the rarified air of first in the ACC and No. 8 in the country.
Schilling admits there have been some growing pains, but you can't argue with results.
"It's a lot different," Schilling said. "It's the first time I've ever played in the back, and about half the time I feel like I don't know what I'm doing, but I kind of like it back there now."
The move was part of da Luz's plan to turn Wake Forest into more of a possession-oriented club. With outside backs like Schilling who are used to handling the ball and coming upfield with it, the Deacs will get more opportunities to stay on the attack.
Da Luz has espoused that style since he arrived in Winston-Salem three years ago, but it hasn't truly taken hold until the current campaign.
"That's the type of game I like to play, and a lot of other people, too," Schilling said. "I think it just took some people a little time to get used to it. The players that he's bringing in fit that type of style, so it's getting easier and easier."
Of course, the move didn't just help da Luz or the team. It also helped Schilling, whose playing time dropped somewhat last season thanks to a crowded midfield.
"I just wanted to be in there," Schilling said. "Coming into my senior year, I didn't care where I was playing, as long as I was on the field."
Schilling grew up in Doylestown, Pa., just outside Philadelphia, and always knew that she wanted to remain in sports of some kind. She tried, in her words, "everything you can think of" as a kid, but eventually focused on soccer as her favorite and best sport.
"Soccer and sports have pretty much always been my life," Schilling said. "I like being active, being outside, and even if I weren't on a college team, I'd still be playing or watching, or doing something. It doesn't matter what it is."
Schilling watched along with the rest of the country as the United States won the Women's World Cup this summer. She says she has enjoyed the added attention her sport has received as a result.
"I look at how much the sport has grown and how many opportunities kids have now, and it's just amazing," Schilling said. "I mean, I thought I had it good growing up, but it just keeps getting bigger. Take that, plus the great fan support we've gotten this year, and soccer's obviously getting more and more attention."
Of course, having a good team doesn't hurt that fan support, and Schilling is working on being a member of the first Wake Forest class to reach four NCAA tournaments.
This year, though, has been even more special. It's a ways off, but there's a chance that Halloween afternoon could be a showdown between ACC undefeateds North Carolina and Wake Forest for the conference regular-season championship.
The 13-time national champs, whom the Deacs have never defeated, look somewhat vulnerable this year, having lost twice.
"A lot of us are thinking about that," Schilling said. "Last year, we played them tough twice. They know. Their coach has said Wake Forest is a team he's scared of, and that excites me. That's been my goal since I got here, to beat them once. That's something I can always remember."
Schilling knows that there's a long road to travel before the Deacs get there. As a senior, she takes it upon herself to make sure the team stays focused on now rather than later.
"I haven't necessarily been told to be a leader, but I've taken it as part of being a senior," Schilling said. "I usually don't give much advice in practice, usually just try to motivate. If this team has a problem with anything, it's usually getting emotionally ready, and I try to help with that."
