Shinnick a leader on the field for Orange girls soccer

It doesn’t take long to find Becca Shinnick on the field. If her stature and long red pony-tail don’t draw your eye, you’ll certainly hear her.

“She’s definitely a communicator,” said Jackie Mignosa, coach for Orange girls soccer team. “She’ll tell her teammates – in a nice way most of the time – where to be and direct them if they’re not in the right spot.”

The senior midfielder/forward is second on the team with nine goals so far this season, but she does so much more for the Panthers (11-7-1) than score.

She directs the offense like a point guard, guiding teammates with words and passes; each equally effective.

“She is one of our strongest midfielders,” Mignosa said. “She basically can control the field. She’s a great leader on the team, she has a great shot and she’s a scorer.”

Shinnick was always authoritative as far as her playing style, even when she was a freshman, thanks to her size and passing ability. As she’s grown older, though, she’s begun to take on a stronger leadership role for the Panthers.

Mignosa remembers last year seeing her start to step up, and this year she’s one of the team captains. In Mignosa’s first year as the Panthers’ head coach, Shinnick’s experience has proved invaluable. Along with fellow senior Natalie Chandler, the two talked with Mignosa about shifting another forward up in a game against Northwood that was scoreless at halftime.

Mignosa went for it, and Orange scored the game’s lone goal in the second half for the win.

The Panthers hope Shinnick can keep that knack of knowing the right move going as they travel to Jacksonville in Wednesday’s first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A playoffs.

“She’s got a good sense of soccer and a good sense of the field and playing,” Mignosa said. “She’s always been a force to reckon with out there.”

This story was originally published May 9, 2017 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Shinnick a leader on the field for Orange girls soccer."