Former North Allegheny star Lucia Wells is more focused on her place on a soccer field than her location on one.

Wells, NA’s all-time leading goal scorer, has transitioned into a versatile two-way player with multiple starts at forward and defender for Pitt this season.

“Honestly, I’m good playing anywhere,” she said. “I just love to be on the field and help wherever I can.”

Wells, who never played defense prior to arriving at Pitt, has made nine starts at forward and five on defense for the Panthers (5-7-2, 1-5 ACC).

The 5-foot-4 Wells often switches between forward and backline during a match, displaying the speed and tenacity that helped her score a school-record 80 goals at North Allegheny and guide the Tigers to three WPIAL championships in her four seasons.

Wells, a former high school All-American, played strictly forward as a Pitt freshman reserve, but injuries prompted a move to the backline last season. She played in all 18 games, with 14 starts, and “rarely played offense.”

“It was a little different for me because I’d never played defense before,” she said. “They just kind of threw me in there one game, and then I started training there a little bit in practice. The coaches putting me there a lot last year really helped with being able to go anywhere this year.”

Playing in the nation’s top women’s soccer conference, Wells has started every game this season and ranks tied for fifth on the Panthers with 1,091 minutes. She played all 90 minutes against Xavier, Cal-Fullerton and Bucknell. She also never left the field in a 2-1 victory at Boston College on Sept. 18 that snapped a six-game winless streak for Pitt.

She scored the Panthers’ lone goal in a 3-1 loss at No. 19 North Carolina on Oct. 5.

“Lucia has this hard-working, no-nonsense, roll-up-your-sleeves and get-to-work mentality that is infectious in our team,” Pitt coach Ben Waldrum said. “Her versatility and ability to play in multiple different positions is one of her biggest strengths. This ability has magnified her impact on our team and represents the kind of players we want in this program.”

Wells is tied for third on the Panthers with two assists, including one in a 1-0 victory over Ohio on Aug. 21. Three days later, she recorded one in a 3-0 victory at Dayton.

She will never forget her first collegiate goal. It came in a 2-1 victory over Duquesne last season at Highmark Stadium, the site of many great moments for Wells.

She celebrated two WPIAL championships at Highmark, including a 2-1 double-overtime shootout win over Peters Township in 2022, in which she scored a goal and converted a penalty kick in the shootout.

“That was just a very surreal moment,” Wells said of her Pitt goal. “All of the big games that I’ve played were always played at Highmark. Having my first collegiate goal be on the same field that I’ve been playing at for years and years was a really cool moment.”

Wells began playing soccer at age 4 and quickly developed a passion for the sport. By the time she was 10, she was competing with high-level travel clubs and starting to dream of Division I soccer.

“I wasn’t the most skillful,” she said, “but I definitely was one of the fastest, so I think that helped me a lot.”

A 30-goal scorer as a senior at North Allegheny, she never imagined herself playing so far away from the opposing net. While admitting she was nervous at first, she said the transition to defense was “very smooth.”

“I got more comfortable each game,” she said. “Speed does really help, and I think I’m very good at stepping to the ball. If it’s there, even on offense, I will trap back and defend and always go to the ball. I think that’s one of the reasons they put me on defense.”

She often is defending some of college soccer’s best players. The ACC features four of the top six teams in the nation. Pitt plays at No. 1 Virginia on Oct. 26 and hosts No. 2 Notre Dame on Oct. 30 in the regular-season finale.

Wells credits the Pitt coaching staff for much of her development.

“It definitely means a lot that they have so much trust in me,” she said. “It really gives you a sort of confidence that you never thought you’d have. They have helped me grow so much as a player. I would not be where I am today without them.”

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