Freshman fills key role

David Prall knew he wouldn't play last season.\nHe knew, as a freshman soccer player from Bloomington High School South, he'd redshirt his first season for coach Jerry Yeagley and have to fight like mad for playing time the next.\nThat's what he knew.\nHere's what he couldn't have predicted.\nPrall found himself starting as a marking back two games into this season.\nHe came to IU as a redshirt midfielder. Neither he nor Yeagley thought he'd start as a defender two games into his first season of eligibility.\n"They like to change people around here," Prall said. "Everybody's either a center mid or a forward coming in. You've got to switch. I just said I wanted to be anywhere on the field.\n"They were like, 'Well, work on your defense.' I did that throughout the summer. I came in, and they said to be ready to play anywhere from outside mid, to sweeper, to marking back."\nPrall's position might be more surprising than his playing time.\nYeagley said he expected to use Prall somewhere, and he said he thought that somewhere would be in the midfield.\nA couple of injuries and a position change later, Yeagley needed a marking back.\nFreshmen Kellen Kalso and Matt Ahumada suffered injuries before the season began, and junior Tyler Hawley switched from the back to the midfield.\nSo Yeagley turned to Prall. And not because of physical attributes.\n"The activities that he did as a redshirt...he'd find a way to win," Yeagley said. "He's got those qualities. He's a scrapper. He doesn't look flashy, and he's not that big, he's not that fast. But he's effective.\n"He's the kind of player that just kind of has a positive effect on the team. When he's up against forwards, even if they're faster, and bigger and stronger, he finds a way."\nAt 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds, Prall's way isn't a conventional one. He doesn't beat attackers in the air or outrun them. He fights them off.\n"I just keep grabbing shirts and fouling people more than anything," he said. "I came in last year, I was probably about 15 pounds lighter. They told me I needed to gain weight. So I gained a lot of weight and still need to put more on, obviously. This year, it's been hard, but you just keep fighting, keep on working."\nPrall's scrappiness and work ethic have helped him gel with junior defenders John Swann and Josh Rife. \nRife said Prall's fight helps him against bigger opponents.\n"He's just real tenacious," Rife said. "He doesn't give up on anything. He's just always there. Again, he's not the biggest guy out there, but it doesn't matter. He's just on you, fighting with you and making you work hard."\nPrall's tenacity has paid dividends for the Hoosiers attack as well as its defense.\nIn 15 games, he has scored three goals -- the fourth most on the team. He leads all IU defenders in scoring.\nEach of Prall's goals came in the penalty area, and two could be considered garbage goals -- the type of goal a scrappy player tends to score.\nAgainst Michigan, Prall scored on a chest-ball from inside the six-yard box. He scored from the same distance against Northwestern, collecting a deflected ball and placing it inside the near post.\nPrall's first goal came off a corner kick against Virginia, when IU upset the then-No. 1 Cavaliers 2-1 in overtime. His ability to score under pressure in that game, as well as his play in other big games, has impressed Yeagley.\n"He has nerves of steel," Yeagley said. "Big games, he doesn't get the anxiety legs. He (has freshman eligibility), and in the big games, he goes out there and plays steady. Things don't seem to bother him."\nPrall admitted he doesn't get nervous. Big games bring pressure, he said, but that disappears when the whistle blows.\nBesides, Prall doesn't have time to feel pressure. He's just happy to be playing.\n"I've been watching (IU) all my life," Prall said. "It's been a dream of mine. It's always been a big dream. I didn't come out highly recruited, and they didn't think I could play here. A lot of people said I couldn't. But coach just gave me a shot. It's just a dream come true just to be out on the field, wearing the jersey."\nEven earlier -- and more often -- than he expected.