Scoring goals is the only thing Naperville Central sophomore Malia Shen has in mind when she takes the field.
Which is exactly the mindset that teams want in a center forward, the position Shen has played her entire career. So you can imagine her reaction when Naperville Central coach Troy Adams switched her to defense a couple of weeks ago.
“I was a little surprised because I’ve never really tried it before,” Shen said. “But I’m always willing for a new challenge. The other girls back there — Chloe (Mowry), Lauren (Thorne) and Eleanor (Kane) — are always so good about talking to me. Their help has been very beneficial, so I think I am getting more comfortable.”
Indeed, Shen has played well in her five games at outside back, but she hasn’t relinquished her goal-scoring mentality.
That was evident Tuesday when Shen ripped a 29-yard shot over the head of Neuqua Valley freshman goalkeeper Quinn Sigal midway through the first half of a game in the Class 3A Naperville Central Regional semifinals at Memorial Stadium.
The goal, which tied the game at 1-1, was Shen’s sixth of the season but her first as a defender, and the seventh-seeded Redhawks beat the 10th-seeded Wildcats 3-1 to advance to the regional final to play second-seeded Metea Valley at Knoch Park at 10 a.m. Saturday.
“I saw my defender had gone back, so I did not have as much responsibility, so I decided to utilize that,” Shen said. “I went up, and the ball just kind of found me, and I took a touch and tried to hit it.”
Shen had to hit it hard to score from that far out.
“I always practice those because that’s one thing I’m trying to get better at is shooting from distance,” she said. “So I’m glad to see the work paid off.”
Naperville Central’s Malia Shen (27) moves the ball ahead of Neuqua Valley’s Alexis May during a Class 3A Naperville Central Regional semifinal on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Jon Cunningham / Naperville Sun)
Adams termed the goal a huge momentum-shifter for the Redhawks (11-5-1). Neuqua Valley (6-11-1) had led 1-0 after sophomore midfielder Allessandra Russo scored with 35:18 remaining in the opening half.
But after Shen tied it, the Redhawks controlled the action, allowing only one shot in the second half and four overall. Freshman Emerson Burke gave Central the lead for good when she scored on a 33-yard free kick with 35:08 left in the second half, and junior Emma Russell added her sixth goal of the season five minutes later.
Shen, Burke, Russell and junior Bella Brozek are part of a talented group of forwards. Adams likes to have them all on the field at the same time, hence Shen’s move to the back.
“It’s a nice problem to have when you have too many forwards,” Adams said. “It’s normally the other way around — you don’t have enough.
“The great thing about Malia — and we’ve got a couple girls that are the same way — is that’s she’s versatile. We’ve been moving pieces around to try to find what’s our best mix.”
Shen isn’t the only Naperville Central player in a new position. Thorne is at outside back for the first time, Mowry moved to center back after three years on the outside and Russell has toggled between attacking midfielder and center forward.
Shen was the latest to move, and her learning curve was perhaps the steepest.
“She’s done a phenomenal job being back there, especially because she’s so young,” Russell said. “We were kind of interchangeable center forwards, and then she got moved to outside back, and that’s a completely different position. Your mindset has to completely shift, and I think she’s done an amazing job.”
Naperville Central’s Emma Russell (13) moves the ball ahead of Neuqua Valley’s Mollie McBrayer during a Class 3A Naperville Central Regional semifinal on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Jon Cunningham / Naperville Sun)
But Shen hasn’t shed her offense-first mentality.
“Today, she proved that she can still work her way up the field and score goals,” Russell said. “That’s really beneficial for our team because she’s able to play defense and play forward when we need her.
“It took awhile for us to get our set lineup. I feel like once we got that, that’s when we started getting into the flow of things.”
Shen can get in the flow no matter where she plays. She may start a game on defense, but that doesn’t mean she’ll finish it there.
“If we get in trouble, she can move up top, and we can play a 3-3-4,” Adams said. “She has the ability to do that.”
One suspects Shen prefers to play forward, but she gave a wise reply when asked about that.
“I’ll play wherever the coach wants me to play,” she said.
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
