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Mackenzie Rastatter is like a Swiss Army knife on the soccer pitch for Grambling State University.
The Soquel High graduate serves a variety of functions for the historically black university in Louisiana: As a defensive center midfielder, Rastatter’s primary role is to prevent opponents from taking shots on goal. She does this in a manner reminiscent of a linebacker in football, according to Grambling State coach Justin Wagar: Any opposing player who has the ball or anticipates receiving it in Rastatter’s vicinity should brace for a collision because the hard-charging senior will swoop in and place herself in her opponent’s path in order to prevent scoring opportunities.
“She wins a lot of headers and puts a body on people,” Wagar said.
The header, in fact, is Rastatter’s signature move.
“It’s something my coaches think I’m good at,” she said. “They have me do it a lot.”
While defense is her priority, Rastatter plays key roles on offense, too. Not only does the Tigers’ co-captain orchestrate her team’s attack from the back row, she’s a long-range scoring threat who’s tasked with taking free kicks whenever they’re awarded to Grambling State.
It’s a big reason why Rastatter ranks fifth on the Tigers in total shots and fourth in shots on goal.
“I have one of the biggest kicks on our team,” Rastatter said. “I’m always on the free kick. Whenever we have to take a shot from 30 yards out, coach lets me have at it.”
Rastatter has taken 18 shots this season – one more than she took during the abbreviated 2020-21 spring season and 10 more than she attempted last fall. Twelve of those shots have been on goal.
“She takes a lot of set pieces,” Wagar said. “She’s got a strong leg – whenever we need someone to shoot from 30 yards out or 40 yards out or whenever we have a free kick, we give her the opportunity (to shoot). She’s dangerous.”
For all the opportunities she’s had to blast shots at opposing goalkeepers, Rastatter’s success rate has been low – she’s only scored twice in three-plus seasons. One of those goals came last Sunday against Alabama A&M: Rastatter scored in the 48th minute off a feed from teammate Imogen Fowler, snapping a scoreless tie and lifting Grambling State to a 2-0 victory.
Her other goal was even bigger: Rastatter converted a second-half insurance goal in the quarterfinals of the spring 2021 Southwest Athletic Conference Tournament, securing a 2-0 victory for the Tigers against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Although she didn’t take as many shots last season as she has this fall, Rastatter’s efforts on defense helped Grambling State come within one victory of reaching the NCAA Division I tournament. The three-year starter is determined to get to college soccer’s big stage this year, though, because even though she’s got an extra year of eligibility due the COVID-19 pandemic, she doesn’t plan on using it.
A kinesiology major with a concentration in sports management, Rastatter is gaining valuable experience in her area of study as an intern in Grambling State’s NCAA compliance office. Her duties include approving the practice logs that the NCAA requires coaches to submit each week and ensuring that coaches do not exceed their daily or weekly practice-hour limits.
“I read the bylaws,” Rastatter said. “I know most of them by heart, and if not, I can look them up quick.”
Rastatter is currently debating between pursuing a career in a pro soccer team’s front office or becoming a firefighter.
That’s doesn’t mean she’s quite done playing, however: She’s planning on suiting up for the San Francisco Nighthawks of the Women’s Premier Soccer League, one rung below the United States’ top pro league, the National Women’s Soccer League. Rastatter played for the Nighthawks’ summer-league team for elite college players last year.
“I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to play at the Division I level for the past three, almost four years,” Rastatter said. “I’m looking forward to what’s next after graduation.”
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