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In the last installment of our series on potential prospects for the Chicago Fire, we took a look at possible Homegrown player, Chris Ritter. This time around we are going to take a look at MAC Hermann Trophy Finalist, Harrison Shipp from Notre Dame.
To view other posts in the series, head on over to our story stream here.
Basic Stats
Name: Harrison Shipp
College: Notre Dame
Height/Weight: 5'9"/145 lbs.
Age: 23?
Position: Forward
Appearances: 84
Goals/Assists: 23/24
Player Background
2013 was a breakout year for the Lake Forrest native. Travis Clark sort of summed up Shipps' college career in an article following the NCAA College Cup Final:
For the three years prior to his stellar senior season, Shipp was nothing more than a super sub for the Irish, entering this campaign with just four career starts in 60 appearances. Of course, he scored six goals and had six assists, and played more than 1500 minutes as a junior, clearly seeing the field for long stretches and making an impact.
Mr. Clark does refer to Shipp as "nothing more than a super sub" but then aknowledges that SHipp was still getting a lot of minutes as a junior. For as few starts as Shipp had in his first three years, he did accumulate 3,570 playing minutes , which is roughly 60 minutes per appearance. He might not have been starting, but he was definitely getting a large chunk of playing time.
In 2013, Shipp started 23 of 24 games and logged 2,211 minutes, which was just over a 40% increase in playing time from 2012. On top of that, Shipp doubled his career goal total by finishing the season with 12 goals and had a career high number of assists with 10.
Player Film
While Shipp is listed as a forward, he plays as a withdrawn forward and can play like an attacking midfielder who can create chances for his teammates. Out of the four goals Notre Dame scored during the College Cup weekend, Shipp assisted three of them.
Rom watching the highlight video below, one of the most promising aspects about Shipp is his decision making. He seems to be thinking a step ahead as he plays.
Will The Fire Sign Him?
Yea
How often does a team have an opportunity to claim a Homegrown Player, who could win the Heisman Trophy of Men's College Soccer? From what I could find, it's never happened. Shipp is so highly rated that other team(s) in the league attempt to block Chicago from claiming Shipp as a Homegrown Player. This is about as close to a slam dunk as one could get.
Nay
As with Ritter, nothing in this world is guaranteed, but if the Fire do not sign Shipp, the Front Office would need to offer an explanation.
