You name it, Sharon Kuntz has played it.
The junior Kuntz has become the utility player for the field hockey team, and she has displayed the versatility to play wherever she is needed.
Where Kuntz will appear next is a mystery. She played midfield last weekend, and played strong defensively and offensively.
Kuntz is still not sure where she will fit into the everchanging lineup when the Lady Lions face West Chester at 7 tonight on the turf adjacent to Holuba Hall.
“I really don’t know where I’ll play if I play,” Kuntz said, “but wherever it is, I will do my best to help the team.”
Her help can only benefit the Lady Lion’s effort against unranked West Chester.
Coach Char Morett feels the game will be tough despite West Chester’s poor record.
“I don’t feel their record reflects their talent,” she said. “We have to keep things spread out like we did last weekend.”
Kuntz was a large factor in keeping the action spread out in the Lady Lions’ victories against Michigan State and Northwestern.
“She was reading the field really well,” Kirt Benedict said. “I always thought of her as a defensive player, then last weekend I saw her up with us taking shots on goal. I was impressed.”
For the most part, Kuntz has been a defensive player, but she has proved her self worthy at any position.
“She started the season as sweeper,” Morett said, “but since she has played back, left wing, middie, but her main focus is defense.”
Morett started the season experimenting with new field systems. She used one system in particular, which utilized a position new to the field hockey team — sweeper. Kuntz was the perfect person for the position and as a part of the ongoing experiment, Morett decided that field system was not optimal for the Lady Lions. She eliminated it, and subsequently the sweeper position.
So, Kuntz, who was a starting defensive back last season, was without a position. Kuntz needed to work her way back into the starting line up.
During the week of practice, prior to the second Iowa game, junior defender Becca Main dislocated her shoulder. Kuntz was her replacement for the big game.
“I want to be the first to commend her,” senior co-captain Amy Stairs said. “She came back real strong. A lot of people don’t come out strong after being out for a while. Sharon snapped right back, and even a step up.”
Stairs said she felt the time off for Kuntz was to her benefit, and may even have served as an eye opener to help her re-assess her goals.
Since that time, Kuntz has become a big play producer for the team. Unfortunately for her, the stats don’t show who starts the big plays, but who finishes them. Kuntz, unfazed by this, said she will do what is best for the team, and try to have fun in the process.
“You’ve got to be relaxed when you are out there,” Kuntz said. “If you think too much it isn’t fun anymore, and that is what sports are about.”