NATCHITOCHES – Natchitoches' 300-year-old history is often used to recruit prospective students and athletes to Northwestern State.
 
When Patry Carrion was looking to transfer from Texas Christian University, she's probably one of very few who laughed at the town's relatively young age.
 
Carrion is a native of Cartagena, Spain, a town whose roots reach back in history to the Carthaginian empire around 300 BC.
 
"It was funny when they were talking about Natchitoches being 300 years old," said Carrion, a junior. "My city is 2,000-3,000 years old. But Fort Worth, Texas (home of TCU), isn't old at all, so it was nice coming back to an older place.
 
"Everybody has been so friendly here, and that's made the transition easy."
 
Carrion brings a mature perspective to soccer.
 
NSU coach George Van Linder said Carrion plays like an "old person," meant as a compliment because she can anticipate well.
 
That's served Carrion as she unexpectedly switched to the back line from an attacking position, which is what she's played her entire career.
 
"She can read the game and make decisions, and she makes pretty smart decisions most of the time," Van Linder said. "She's smart and cautious in what she does, and that makes life a lot better for us back there."
 
Carrion anchors a back line that's held opponents to 1.46 goals per match, which ranks sixth in the Southland Conference. It's the best average for NSU since 2009 (1.11 goals per match).
 
The Lady Demons (3-7-3, 0-3-2 Southland Conference) will host a Sam Houston State (7-4-1, 4-1 SLC) squad Friday at 7 p.m. that ranks second in the league with one goal allowed per match.
 
With her background as an offensive player, Carrion originally planned to be an attacking midfielder.
 
But Van Linder said he placed Carrion in the center of his backline to give another player a break during a preseason practice, and the rest is history.
 
"She was supposed to play alongside Camila Ardila in the midfield and be a great asset that would help us score," Van Linder said. "I thought that would be an unbelievable combination.
 
"But when she played as a defender in that practice, she looked so comfortable and was reading the game so well. She was light years ahead of anybody else. We said, 'Oh my gosh,' we might have just found our defender."
 
Carrion said she couldn't have excelled on defense without the aid of her fellow defenders and goalkeepers keeping the backline organized.
 
She said she still struggles with certain decisions, but she's finding her way in her new role.
 
"At TCU, the focus was on defense. We worked a lot on (one-on-one) play, so I got some defensive skills from that," Carrion said. "There are still situations when it's hard playing defense.
 
"If we've got a forward coming at us and they might run behind us, sometimes I'm not sure if I should check or drop back. But my teammates talk to me and make it easy."
 
Carrion still scratches her offensive itch occasionally, taking free kicks or rushing forward to help the attack. She's taken 17 shots, most from distance, this season.
 
Not including spending a high school semester in Long Beach, California, Carrion was a member of the U-17 Spanish National team along with participating on other prestigious local and regional teams.
 
"The first thing (Van Linder) said if I played defense is that I could go forward," Carrion said. "I love to do it, but I have to be smart about it.
 
"It's hard because I love scoring goals, and I get frustrated when (the opponent) scores a goal and I know it was my fault. But I like it now."
 
Her fellow defenders are accustomed to Carrion pushing forward at times, but they benefit from her vast knowledge both defensively and offensively.
 
"Communication is a main part of (our success) because we are all new together," said sophomore Allison Palomo, who along with sophomore Amy Renteria and freshman Ysmina Smith, are full-time starters on the back line for the first time, in a recent interview. "We had to talk and get comfortable with how each other plays.
 
 "(Carrion) likes to go up more, so when that happens, we have to pinch in and help her out."
 
 As a prolific scorer in her past, Carrion offers advice to younger attackers who are attempting to break a scoreless streak of more than 270 minutes.
 
 "I tell them not to focus on scoring," Carrion said. "Sometimes goals come when you least expect it.
 
 "Don't try to force the goal. It will come at some point. And when one does come, a bunch of goals will follow."