Skylurr Patrick knew Purdue was the place for her after her first visit to West Lafayette, Ind., but Arkansas is still home.
And the Rogers graduate and former girls soccer Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year gets to come home this weekend to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Patrick leads her No. 24 Purdue Boilermakers (15-4-2) against Notre Dame at Razorback Field in Fayetteville in the second round of the tournament at 3:30 p.m. Friday. The Fighting Irish earned a 1-0 win over the Boilermakers during the regular season. The winner of that match will face the No. 7 Arkansas-Virginia Tech winner at 4:30 p.m. Sunday in Fayetteville in the Sweet 16.
Patrick said she can't wait. And she will likely have her own cheering section of family and friends.
"I'm ecstatic. I keep telling people it's going to be a home-field advantage," Patrick said. "I've been contacting everybody whether it's old high school friends, friends, family members. I had an internship this past summer and I've contacted people I worked with, just everybody I can get a hold of."
It hit her not long after the bracket was unveiled 10 days ago that there was a chance she would be playing soccer again in Northwest Arkansas. But first Loyola of Chicago stood in the way. She acknowledged dealing with her emotions as she waited all week for that game wasn't easy.
"It was definitely emotional, but it just increased my motivation," Patrick said. "I was going to do everything in my power not to get scored on whether that's just lay down in front of a ball or anything."
Mission accomplished. Patrick helped the Boilermaker defense notch a shutout, and Purdue advanced with the 1-0 overtime win on Saturday.
Patrick was a goal-scoring machine, racking up 45 goals in leading Rogers to the state title in her senior season. But her calling card has been defense in college. She earned second-team All-Big Ten honors recently and Purdue Coach Drew Roff said Patrick's competitive nature and intensity has set the tone for the entire team.
"She's someone who takes pride in shutting down the opponent, that's a special quality she brings," Roff said. "Her willingness to take physical risks and put her body on the line is something you can't teach.
"She has a mentality and desire to win that you can't teach. That's really what separates her."
Roff said Patrick and the rest of her class have been a key part of the program's resurgence. The Boilermakers are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009 and earned their first tournament win since 2007.
"Skylurr's been part of the group that has helped take us to the NCAA Tournament and helped us become a top 25 program," Roff said. "They are really getting Purdue back on the map."
Something else that makes Patrick different is her willingness to go all-out, all the time.
Roff used an example of a player who might not go all-out in practice and rather save that type of intensity for game time.
That's not Patrick, Roff said.
"Skylurr's one who shows up every single day and gives tremendous effort," Roff said. "She sets an incredible tone for our team. She knows one speed and that's all-out, and she makes everyone better."
SKYLURR PATRICK
SCHOOL Purdue
HOMETOWN Rogers
CLASS Senior
HEIGHT 5-6
POSITION Defender
NOTABLE Earned second-team All-Big Ten honors this season as a defender. … Named to the Academic All-Big Ten team as a junior. … Helped the defense post nine shutouts, Purdue’s most since 2007, as a sophomore. … Lone freshman to start all 18 matches and ranked second on the team in minutes played that season with 1,587 out of 1,714 for the entire season. … Multi-sport athlete at Rogers High School who helped the Lady Mounties soccer team to a state title her senior year. … Named Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior. … Recorded 45 goals and 14 assists as a senior for Rogers. … Part of an indoor track and field state championship team as a junior and also helped her outdoor 1,600-meter relay team win a state title.