Celeste Fushimi-Karns and Kelley Zebrowski of the Ohio soccer team have known each other for almost a decade and use their longterm friendship to adjust to new roles.
It's impossible not to notice the chemistry between Celeste Fushimi-Karns and Kelley Zebrowski every time the sophomores line up for the Bobcats.
Their friendship, which started during junior high, began before they started playing together and has only strengthened since they've taken the field together, first at Worthington Kilbourne and now at Ohio University.
"We've always been really close," Zebrowski said. "We met in seventh grade, and we just kind of hit it off and we were always best friends. Then we got to play together when we got to high school, it brought us even closer."
Now they're mainstays in the starting 11 for the Bobcats. After a bumpy first season for both that saw each of them earn sporadic minutes, consistency in the back line will be key.
This is familiar to Fushimi-Karns. Last season she dealt with a fluctuating back line when former captain Gabby Hausfeld sustained an ACL tear two-thirds of the way through the season. In her absence, Fushimi-Karns logged many of the 587 minutes she had that season predominantly as a left back.
Now Fushimi-Karns is playing as a center back — the position she played for her entire grade-school career — while Zebrowski has been installed as a right back instead of a forward.
The move saw the two grow closer as Fushimi-Karns is helping her best friend adjust to her old position. She can also be a constant voice in Zebrowski's ear.
"Last year I got to learn the outside back role, and now that I've moved into center back, I'm still learning our ways, but I'm still able to kind of help her and teach her everything I learned last year," Fushimi-Karns said. "So we just really communicate well together and we talk it out and really work it out and help each other."
Their chemistry becomes increasingly apparent in each match Zebrowski is dispatched on the right. It's visible that her confidence grows with every match in her new role. Of course, she said, having Fushimi-Karns by her side has helped her immensely.
"I've been a forward my entire life so it's a completely different view of the game," Zebrowski said. "I played high school with Celeste as my sweeper so I always had direction from her and I always heard her voice. So she's still right there next to me, so I always have her."
The new defense has definitely had its challenges — having allowed 14 goals in its first seven matches — but there are improvements to be seen, much of which have come from Fushimi-Karns and Zebrowski.
Even through the tough start to the campaign — Ohio is 2-5 — their friendship has never been stronger as they continue to interact like the two young girls who met in middle school. Perhaps they can use that chemistry to help the Bobcats regain the staunch defense that they owned for much of last season. Meanwhile, the two will focus on their friendship off the field.
"I know I can go to (Zebrowski) for anything and she can come to me," Fushimi-Karns said. "We're just always there for each other whenever we need it."
@KellenBecoats
