Nothing Small about her game

HIGHLAND | There's something in the water in Crown Point. At least, there's something in the water in Abi Small's Gatorade bottle.

It's magic, the Bulldogs say.

Small passes the "magic water" around during a pregame ritual that has gotten C.P. to its second-ever semistate and first since 2003. It's just part of the senior's leadership style.

"Being a senior, people respond to me," Small said. "If I work hard, other will work hard for me."

Small said the Bulldogs are more like a family than a team. That's the environment she and the rest of the class of 2012 have tried to foster.

"Abi's been around for four years as a starter, and she's seen all kinds of leaders," coach Chris Mikrut said. "This senior groups is really about the team bonding."

Small has the chops on the pitch, too. She's tied for the team lead with 17 goals. She's also got six assists.

Mikrut realized he had something special during the bus ride home from Culver after the last game of Small's freshman year.

"Everybody was talking about what they were going to do that weekend," Mikrut said. "Abi and a few girls in her class were talking about what they needed to do to get better for next year or for club soccer. That's when I knew this was going to be the group."

Over the years, Mikrut's had the confidence to move Small all over the field as needed. She's been outside, inside, in the middle, up top. And she's never complained.

The task in front of Crown Point is huge. South Bend St. Joseph's beat the Bulldogs 2-1 as the regular season closed. Hamilton Southeastern is ranked No. 2 in the state, and neither it nor Leo has lost yet.

"I told them 'We can't not play our best games of the year,'" Mikrut said. "We're going down there to win soccer games and represent the region."

The key against St. Joe's, both Small and Mikrut say, is to start well, remain aggressive and not give up anything easy. The Bulldogs gave up two early goals during the teams' first meeting, and never recovered.

"We're kind of the underdog," Small said. "Nobody thinks little Crown Point from up north is going to be anything special. But we're special."

Things don't stop there. Small is already talking about being the first girls team in any sport to win a state championship at Crown Point since the 1985 girls basketball squad.

"It think it's amazing. The hype around town, to bring (a trophy) home, would just be amazing," Small said.