Published: November 17, 2009 10:00 pm      

Bulldog soccer player takes Flyer award

In his 14 years of coaching girls’ soccer at Brownsburg High School, Phil Slavens said he’s never had a player as dangerous as Nicole Duncan.

“It’s just like being in a room with a rattlesnake,” he said. “Eventually, the snake will get you.”

Duncan victimized plenty of opponents in her senior season, netting a school-record 25 goals while helping lead the Bulldogs to their third straight regional title.

Her 62 career goals are also a program best.

For her efforts, Duncan has been named the Hendricks County Flyer Female Athlete of the Season.

Duncan’s senior season ended in heartbreak — the Bulldogs fell to Zionsville in the semistate opener — but she still enjoyed a year full of highlights.

To her, no moment was as satisfying as the conclusion of the sectional championship game.

The Bulldogs were playing archrival Avon, and locked in a scoreless battle. But with two minutes remaining, Duncan took the ball on the far left side of the field, weaved through two defenders, and sent a title-clinching shot into the back of the net.

“It was incredible,” Duncan said. “Records and everything just go out the window when we play Avon. It’s just always a really good game.”

Though Duncan certainly did a large part of the Bulldogs’ scoring in 2009, Slavens describes her as a superstar without a superstar persona.

Duncan was put on a three-goal limit — something Slavens said she never protested.

“I didn’t let her run goals up,” Slavens said. “Once she had three, she came out of the game. I never did believe in letting a person humiliate an opponent. Nicole’s more interested in the team’s success.”

Duncan started playing soccer at age four, and looked up to Landon Donovan, who played for the United States men’s national soccer team.

Duncan scored four goals as a freshman at Brownsburg in 2006, but saw that number increase to 17 goals in both her sophomore and junior years.

Duncan attributes her improvement to offseason workouts she describes as “intense, but worth it.”

“She’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever had,” Slavens said. “She was always going as hard as she could in practice and never put it in cruise.”

Teammates have also contributed to Duncan’s development.

Slavens said having all-state defender Casey Strouder in practice definitely helped sharpen Duncan’s offensive skills.

Soccer is in Duncan’s future.

She plans to attend the University of Indianapolis and major in sports marketing.

kevin.leibrock@flyergroup.com