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Growing in the game

Brooke grad Cheyenne Hudson learning, earning more time on soccer field for Pitt

Cheyenne Hudson - Pitt soccer (Photo courtesy Pitt Athletic Department)

PITTSBURGH — There was a time when Cheyenne Hudson was on the other side of the table.

“I remember I was a ball girl once and they signed my shirt,” she said. “So, it’s weird now being the person to sign the shirts.”

The 2016 Brooke High School graduate is a true freshmen on the University of Pittsburgh women’s soccer team and, after its 2-0 loss to No. 4 Duke Sunday at Ambrose Urbanic Field, Hudson was in the long line of Panthers signing paraphernalia on Fan Appreciation Day.

“It just seems weird,” she said with a laugh.

A year ago, she was playing her final game for the Bruins at Parkersburg High School.

A year later, she played a season-high 71 minutes against the Blue Devils.

“It was a really hard transition, but it’s been fun,” Hudson said. “The speed of play is so much faster. The girls are so much bigger and stronger. It’s been exciting. It’s been hard. But, it’s been really good.”

She did not play in the opener at Michigan Aug. 19, but has seen the field in every game since. The fewest minutes Hudson has received is 13 against Colorado College on Aug. 25.

“She hasn’t really surprised us,” head coach Greg Miller said. “Everything we saw in her as a youth player, she has shown up in her freshman season — that is both her strengths and her weaknesses.”

Her first start was Sept. 9 at Kansas, when she played 35 minutes.

“I was scared, literally freaking out,” she said. “I was nervous. I touched the ball and passed it off really quickly — I still get like that sometimes. I was terrified.”

Hudson has started in five of the last six Panthers game and has averaged 60 minutes per contest (college matches are 90 minutes).

“It’s been surprising,” Hudson said about the amount of playing time she has received. “I didn’t expect to start. I didn’t expect to get that many minutes.

“I didn’t expect to hold my own as much as I have been able to. That’s been surprising.”

The transition from high school collegiate sports is not easy on any level.

But, going to a Division I program is at another level.

“I expected it to be a tough transition and, like I said, I didn’t expect to get as much playing time as I am getting,” Hudson admitted. “I thought I would be the sub for someone who is dying out there.

“The fitness here is at another level. Plus, it’s a whole other game up here. You’re in transition and on the go, and the next thing you know is the ball’s on your end and you have to get back. It goes so quick.”

Hudson has also learned how to play a different style of game.

“In high school I was used to staying up top, don’t come back (on defense) and wait for the ball to come,” she said. “Up here, you switch left-to-right, up-and-down. If your girl is dying, you switch with her and play defense for maybe 10 minutes.

“It was tough at first because I wasn’t paying attention. Going from playing defense on the ball to quickly going on offense was also new. I’m still getting used to trying to get up there as fast as I can.”

She is playing sideline-to-sideline and goal line-to-goal line.

Just as tough as a transition physically is mentally, and that is something Hudson has had to figure out also.

She has gone from being the best player on the field to being on the field with every “best player.”

“That is weird,” Hudson admitted. “But, I don’t mind it. I’ve wanted competition and to learn from others and I get that here.

“My confidence has gotten better. It’s probably at medium height right now.”

She admitted it’s been tough at times gaining confidence in herself.

“I worried. It’s Division I soccer,” Hudson said. “It’s hard to think you are going to go in and still be good.

“Once you are in, you start thinking, ‘Wow, I’m not terrible. I came here for a reason.’

Said Miller, “As she has learned more about the game at a higher level and her role within the team, it has helped her confidence.”

After sitting Game 1, Hudson averaged 31 minutes during the next five contests.

“It was nerves early,” she said. “Then you go through a couple of practices, do some good things and the coaches tell you that you’re doing well. That gives you confidence. Then you mess up, but you see other girls mess up.

“Plus, I realized the girls on the team are super nice and that helped me relax.”

Hudson averaged 41 minutes in Pitt’s next five games, including that first start.

“The technical ability of everyone has been the toughest thing for me,” she said. “They touch the ball and it’s gone. I get juked out a lot.”

But, she said, it’s been better as of late.

“If coach is starting me, then I am doing things right, or I worked hard in practice and they noticed,” she said.

Hudson said she also has tried to learn more patience on the field — something she witnessed playing against Duke.

“They possessed the ball and you have to be really patient against them,” she said. “And, I’m so bad at being patient.”

Pitt is 2-14-1 overall and 1-8 in the rugged Atlantic Coast Conference. The Panthers have played five Top-25 teams and all in conference play.

“You play a hard game and think the next one might be easier, and it’s even harder,” said Hudson, who has six shots on goal and has yet to score. “And, the next game’s even harder. And, you’re sore.

“It’s been good. Our team has gotten better throughout the season.

“Losing is tough, but we’re young (16 of the 26 players are freshmen or sophomores). We played really well against Florida State (No. 2 in the nation). We just couldn’t score.

“It’s hard to lose, of course, in athletics.”

Hudson admitted she started feeling comfortable about midway through the season.

“Finally, it was ‘Cheyenne, you need to just calm down and play. I chose this. They chose me. We’re here.

“I’ve learned a lot about the game and how it moves. There’s a point of pressure up here. There’s a playbook. I’ve learned how to keep possession, don’t force and play it back.”

There’s also that school thing.

“School has been kind of hard because we’re not here half the time,” she said. “I like school. I like class. It’s different academically. But, it hasn’t been that bad.”

Hudson knows what’s in store during the offseason.

“I’m still developing my technical skills. That’s my spring project,” she said.

Miller agreed.

“Technique, technique, technique,” he said. “She has to develop her technique.  She is years behind in a lot of areas and that takes a tremendous commitment to add that into her game.

“She gives her all in everything she does. Knowing at times she’ll make mistakes, but she just perseveres.

“Love that about her.”

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