Lauren Anderson
Words cannot describe how I felt after the selection show! In the classroom where all 24 of us held hands in anticipation of the announcement of the tournament where we were surrounded by our coaches, the athletic administration, KULR 8 news crew, and members of the community. When we heard Montana State University Billings was announced, tears of joy came to my eyes. The room erupted in screams!
This has been the best senior year any of us could have ever dreamed of. Not only has this team worked hard to get where we are today, but a program of 15 years of players worked hard to help us get to the moment in the classroom where the NCAA committee told us that we get play one more game of soccer. With that being said, I cannot wait for one more road trip with these amazing girls. And I can say we are ALL going to bring our best game against Cal State LA Thursday. Seattle, here we come!!!
Sam Boehm
Life at MSUB has been one giant one rollercoaster ride with many ups and downs over the years. As everyone knows I tore my ACL my sophomore year, and although at the time I thought it was a curse, it has somehow changed into a blessing in disguise. I am SO happy I was given the opportunity to play with this 2010 MSUB women’s soccer team. I have loved every minute of it. One game that stands out the most was when we played Western Washington at home. It was a game we had to win, and as we put the goal in the back of the net everyone wearing a yellow jersey was celebrating. I could hear our bench shouting over the other teams’ as we won balls out of the air or a tackle. I hadn’t felt that kind of chemistry or bond in our team in years (yes, because I literally have been here for years!). During that game I knew we had an amazing team not only because of what we had accomplished on the field, but the unity and family we have off of it. I would not trade that feeling for anything, not even a knee with no scars on it.
Now to top it all off we have made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time! As I sat with my team all holding hands, I could not have been more nervous. This was something we have all wanted for the longest time, and to reach this point together is BEYOND amazing! I want to replay the moment when they said our team’s name and we all jumped up screaming/hugging each other. This is something I will forever remember. I love this team more than words can describe and I cannot wait to take the tournament by storm! EOP EOP!!
Jordan Fenwick
I cannot be more thrilled to be in Seattle and having the chance to play in the NCAA tournament. Everyone, including myself, laughs that we are the Yellowjackets and think it’s kind of a funny mascot. The other day I Googled facts about Yellowjackets and found out a little about them. A Yellowjackets is smaller than most type of bees, and is commonly confused with the bumble bee. A Yellowjackets is different from many bees though because it can sting repeatedly without dying.
I think about this and how this relates to our team in a few ways. We will be smaller than the teams coming up and people may over look us as just an ordinary team. What they do not know is that we are different than any team, and that we can sting many times. We can put goals away and won’t stop fighting until the game is done. When I read these facts about what a Yellowjackets I realized that I love being one!
Kari Foreman
When I first went through the calendar at the first meeting of my last season, I remember thinking, on November 8th my season, my career might be over. And the other day, for 45 minutes in a small conference room, surrounded by all the wonderful people who have made our season, our program what it is, I prayed that it wasn’t. I did what I have for four plus years. I kept my EOP! EOP! EOP!
EOP stands for “Eyes on the Prize,” but it’s more than that. EOP is blood sweat and tears. It is emotions that you never knew existed. The grand enjoyment of victory, and the sheer pain of defeat. It’s about being so happy you cry, and being so sad that you can’t stop crying. It’s 14 years of trying to make a name for yourself and always falling short, but having the courage to return to the pitch every season, because you want it that badly. EOP is never giving up. It’s dropping to your knees in exhaustion after the 75th game of your career, and then getting up and doing it again because you NEED to do it again. It’s about pushing until that clock hits zero because you know if you don’t, you’ll never forgive yourself. It’s about doing what no one ever expected you to do. It’s that dream we all have where we win that big game and the crowd storms the field. It’s about winning and losing, and never looking back because as athletes, we will go insane over thinking about the shoulda, woulda, coulda. It’s waking up early to run jangles, and staying up late to do homework. It’s that first smile that you crack in the hotel room the night after a tough loss, in spite of the fact that the game doesn’t always treat you like it should. EOP is a deep need within us, to succeed, to rise above, to triumph, to win. EOP is being a Yellowjacket, on the good days and the bad. It’s about pride and loyalty, by all of us, until we reach the ultimate goal, the chance of a lifetime. Because if you really got your EOP you can’t just be a Yellowjacket on the days where your press clippings are worth hanging on the fridge, you gotta wear that jersey, or that navy t-shirt, or that “Soccer Dad” hat, on the seasons your team goes 2-18-0, on the Thursday nights that end in disappointment. And if you do that, you’ll understand EOP on the November 8th that some guy on the Division II selection show web broadcast extends your season, or career, and confirms everything you knew deep inside you about your passionate commitment to your tumultuous relationship with Yellowacket soccer: One day it would love you back!!!
I don’t know how long I have left, but I do know this: I’m #18 on one of the top 48 Division II women’s soccer programs in the country, I’ve worked really hard to get here, and I didn’t do it alone. I have played in 75 college games, but I got a few left in me. I am a Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket, and I am damn proud of it!!!
Sami Sandau
This season has been all that I could ever wish for as a senior playing my final year of college soccer. There are many things that I would like to say about this season, but I will keep it short. What will I remember about MSUB Women’s Soccer? I will remember the people that I have met along the way, and how they will forever be a part of my life. I will remember both the good and bad times that I have played through, and the sweat, the heartache, the gratification, and the overall amazing experience that I got from being a Montana State University Billings YellowJacket. AND….I will not forget November 8, 2010 when our team made history for our program by making it to the NCAA tournament.
There have been 15 years of dedication and hard work put in to this program, and now finally our team can represent this program at the NCAA tournament. I am SOOOOO proud of all the people that have put energy in to this program and I would like to thank EVERY single person that has given time to make this program and team the way we are today! And more than anything, being a senior on this team, I could not be happier with my teammates! I am so proud of every single player on this team and we actually did it! I cannot imagine not playing with these girls next year, and I am so happy that we get to play together again ---- IN THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT !!!
EOP EOP EOP, I LOVE YOU ALL...xoxoxo
Carly Valentine
This has been the best soccer team I've ever played on, and I mean this in two ways. The actual soccer is great (hence us making it to the tournament :-)), but these are the greatest people I've ever played with as well. Each one of us has an extremely unique personality, but I couldn't ask for a different set of 24. Each and every girl has made this the perfect senior season. I wouldn't want celebrate the wins or go through the losses with anyone else either.
As you all know, we made it to the tournament! What an amazing feeling. I can't really describe the emotions I was having. I am SO happy my final season is being extended. So happy actually that I wanted to cry, scream, dance, run and at times...throw up (you all know what I'm talking about!). Now that we are going, I wouldn't want to take on this challenge with anyone else. I love each and every girl, and I know were ready to demolish Cal State LA. Thanks girls for making this the perfect senior year already, I love you all soooo much!! BRIIIIINGGG ON WASSHINNGGTOOON BABAAAYYY.
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