Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Jordyne Helinski would be tough enough for opponents to handle just with her skillset alone. But she combines high-end talent with a fearless style, making her one of the Horizon League’s most dynamic women soccer players.
“She can strike the ball with both feet. She’s quick. She’s strong. And she does some things, in the women’s game, that players won’t do. She’s not afraid to go at people,” Wright State coach Pat Ferguson said.
“In the women’s game, it’s a little more unusual to find a player who’s willing to risk losing a ball. In the men’s game, it’s easy because guys think they’re God’s gift to soccer. But for the women, when they pass the ball, they’re really passing the responsibility — where she’s willing to put the responsibility on her shoulders.”
Helinski, who has missed two games with a leg injury, is second in the league in shots with 49 and is tied for fifth in points with 13 on four goals and five assists, and she’s triggered a resurgence on offense that has helped the Raiders climb to 10-3-2 overall and 5-2 and second place in the conference.
The senior forward has twice been named the league offensive player of the week. And while connecting just four times in 49 attempts wouldn’t fly in most sports, Ferguson believes that rate is misleading.
“Sometimes, players feel like they have to (practically) walk the ball into the goal. But we’re encouraging her to shoot from distance with the objective of drawing the defense out so she can have easier shots later in the game,” he said.
