STARKVILLE — Rhylee DeCrane is finding her voice.
Although DeCrane has practiced with some of her teammates for years, game action is different. That’s why you can hear the cracks in DeCrane’s voice because she has been working to make sure she is heard.
“I have always had a problem of talking too fast,” DeCrane said. “Some people describe it as sounding like a little bird, chirping, chirping in your ear. I definitely have tried to put emphasis into the words and to use one word and be confidence in so they will feed off the confidence in your words.”
Through two matches, it has been easy to hear the confidence in DeCrane’s voice. The 5-foot-6 redshirt senior from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, posted the first two shutouts of her career in a 3-0 victory against Southern Mississippi on Aug. 16 and a 3-0 victory against Stephen F. Austin on Sunday.
MSU (2-0) will try to get off to a 3-0 start for the second-straight season when it takes on Memphis (2-0) at Thursday in Memphis, Tennessee.
The action was DeCrane’s first since 2015. Last season, she redshirted behind All-America goalkeeper Catalina Perez. DeCrane saw action in two matches as a sophomore in 2015. She made 12 starts and appeared in 16 matches as a freshman in 2014.
DeCrane said she has been using words like “drop,” “push up,” “close,” “pressure,” “keep wide,” and “tackle” to keep the Bulldogs connected. She acknowledged Tuesday morning that her voice was kind of bad due to all of the screaming she has done lately.
Freshman defender Miranda Carrasco doesn’t mind because she said DeCrane has been working hard to communicate and to lead the back line. She said DeCrane isn’t the only one who has to continue to talk to make the defense play to its potential.
“I really believe we are a good family back there on the back line,” Carrasco said. “We have learned a lot together and been through a lot together. We have grown a lot together.”
Carrasco said DeCrane is “funny, smart, demanding, and persistent.” She said DeCrane also will “acknowledge her faults” and “make sure everybody gets to be where they need to be.”
“She plays her role very effectively,” Carrasco said. “We’re lucky to have her back there.”
MSU coach Tom Anagnost said the Bulldogs defend as a team, so everyone deserves credit for the first two shutouts. He said the Bulldogs can rely on DeCrane because she continues to grow and to improve. One area of improvement is communication. Anagnost said DeCrane is learning how to speak more confidently and succinctly.
“There has been progress made,” Anagnost said. “I think it has been evident there has been a learning curve, just the precision of her words, and she can still get better at it. There has been a slow and steady evolution, but just like everything, we’re not there yet. I think she will continue to get better.”
DeCrane planned to use the offseason to get better. She said she trained with a men’s team at home and pushed herself just as hard as she had when she was on Starkville. DeCrane said she took a break and worked in the office of a local veterinarian before going back out and doing an hour of running and sprints every day. She said she also did more weightlifting, which is why she feels stronger.
Even though she was called on to make only one save in each of the first two matches, DeCrane feels she and the defense worked together to limit shots.
“The defense has been doing amazing,” DeCrane said. “We’re all talking to each other and we’re all keeping focused.”
DeCrane is building that trust with the back line by learning how to communicate, even if her voice has cracked at times and made her sound like she was going through puberty again.
“I just make sure it is confident, not scared,” DeCrane said. “They feed off how you feel. Even if I do get scored on, I have to shake it off because I know my team will help and get us back where we need to be.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.