Preseason 2010

Posted by Sam Boehm, Senior Captain

We all made it through this year’s preseason and are ready for the season to begin! Preseason was tough and grueling as always, but we have come out a better team. All the practices and sprints are worth it in the long run! We had mainly two practices a day along with two exhibition games and finished the preseason with an intra-squad Blue/Gold Game this past Sunday. Along with the training and games, our team has enjoyed the team dinners that families around Billings have been so gracious to provide us (another plus to preseason!!)

We have another week of training to prepare for our first game against Dixie State. The game is this Friday at 5pm at the COT field. We are excited start the season off and get some games under our belts. We all have high expectations for this season and are ready to show the GNAC what we’ve got. Hope to see you all at our games this weekend!

15th Anniversary Team

Congratulations to the members of the 15th Anniversary Team:

Goalkeeper

* Megan Plank, 2003-2006

Defenders

* Lacey Albrent, 2004-2005 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Abby Bennett, 2004-2007
* Sara Gress, 2005-2008
* Vicky McCarthy, 1999, 2001-2002 (Member of All-Decade Team)

Midfielders

* Melissa Carlson, 2005-2008
* Margot Merrill-Johnson, 2001-2004 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Mandy Ploskonka, 2005-2008
* Brittney Sandau, 2004-2007

Forwards

* Abby Farmer, 1997-2001 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Ally Stroup (Taylor), 2003-2006

Summer Check In

Posted by Kelley Minard, Junior

Preseason is just around the corner, one week away! Time really flew! I know I can speak for everyone when I say how excited we are to be reunited again. I have been counting the days to when I will see my teammates again and to meet the new ones that have joined the MSUB family. It's been nice to train a little with the girls that decided to come back early, and it's interesting to see that we can spend a
whole summer apart and still come together as if we just saw each other yesterday. True family, true teammates, true friends. I look forward to this preseason because it will not only tighten the bond between the upper classmen, but also extend it to the new comers experiencing their first MSUB preseason. I will never forget my first day as a freshman coming into preseason, ten sets of jingle jangles right off the bat. Needless to say, I was a little intimidated.

But days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months finally turned into a couple years. I am a junior this year, heading into my third preseason. I was talking to a couple of my older teammates and we both agreed that even though we have been through it a couple of times, nothing can shake those preseason jitters. Emotions of anticipation, excitement and nervousness flooding in as
time grows nearer, welcoming the thoughts of pre season just around the corner. You just have to love it.

This summer was busy! Between workouts, jobs, and our co-ed team, I was always doing something. I nannied for a family with two boys. They are great kids and I enjoyed spending the summer with them. I also got to travel home a lot which was nice.

It just seems like yesterday all of us were meeting up in Mexico to celebrate the beginning of summer, and now we’re getting ready for preseason. Crazy how fast it flies. Well, I am very excited to see everyone and to conquer another preseason. :] EOP.

Summer Check In

Posted by Jaucelyn Richter, Sophomore

Summer is quickly coming to an end and I know we're all asking ourselves ‘WHERE HAS IT GONE?’ Although we'll all miss the summer months, I think I can speak for most of us that it is pretty exciting to think we'll all be together again (only about one week left!).

My summer went well; I spent most of it in Billings with an occasional trip to my cabin at Canyon Ferry Lake. I also went to the National Folk Festival, which was a very interesting experience! I worked two soccer camps to make some summer money, including our own MSU-B overnight camp, and I am currently working a soccer camp for the Magic City Soccer Club. It is a lot of work, but fun to coach the kids. I also had a small baby-sitting job with Courtney watching Wojtek and Maggie's twin girls. They were such a blast.

Staying in shape has definitely become top priority as pre-season starts to creep up on us. There will be plenty of hard work and some very hot weather, but it will be well worth it to work towards that top spot in the conference!!! :] I'm getting really excited to see how we’ll we do this fall.

See you all soon. EOP.

Summer Check In

Posted by Kari Foreman, Senior

As the summer continues to roll on I find myself one month away from the beginning of the last season of my college career. My summer, thus far, has been filled with workouts and a slew of odd jobs that continue to diversify my resume and pay the rent. I have enjoyed spending time with my family in Denver, but will be happy to return to my teammates and my humble abode in Billings, Montana next week.

Among the many things I have found myself a part of this summer, I have spent the majority of my time taking on the daunting task of figuring out the rest of my life (or at least where I am going to end up post-MSUB). I have always identified myself by the things that I do, and for as long as I can remember that has mainly been soccer. When I first meet someone and they ask me about myself, the first three sentences always include something about my time at MSUB. I am a college athlete and have been for the past three years, but in less than six months I will have BEEN a college athlete and I need to find something else to identify myself with. In a lot of ways, I will need to find out who I really am.

I have learned a lot in my time at MSUB, almost all of which goes beyond the field. I have accomplished many things and have also made many mistakes. I am proud of myself in many ways and there are also some things that I wish I had handled differently, but those things probably taught me the most of all. In my time as a part of this team, I have slowly begun to realize who I am besides a center midfielder, who I want to be as a person and who I don’t. I couldn’t tell any of you exactly who I am, but I can tell you that I am grateful for my team and Don for helping me to find that out, and for being there throughout the journey, good and bad.

So, what’s next? Your guess is as good as mine. I do know that I will give everything I have to my team, my coaches and myself this next fall. I will play hard on the field and I will work hard off. I will study for the GMAT and apply for grad school to receive my professional MBA. I will look for an internship at some of the PR firms in Denver and I will continue to find out who I am. Most importantly though, I will spend time with the team and the friends that have become my second family, because they may be the best way to identify who I was, who I am, and who I’m going to be.

Of the few things that I can be sure of for my future, I know that together our team will take on the GNAC this fall and all of the challenges that it presents. We will win and lose, suffer in the heat and freeze in the rain, be happy and sad, but we will all come out better people for it. This group is some of the hardest working girls that I have ever met. That is how our program works, and I think we would all agree that we are lucky to be a part of it. I wouldn’t change anything that happened to me here at MSUB, and I want to go out on top. Together, we have all the tools necessary to be successful. We deserve it and we will work for it. Without sounding too much like a Nike commercial, failure is not an option this fall. EOP!

Summer Check In

Posted by Jennifer Larsen, Sophomore

I cannot believe how fast this summer has gone by. Preseason is right around the corner and apporaching quickly! I am so excited to go back to Billings and reunite with the MSUB team and meet the incoming freshman!

At the beginning of summer, I went to Cancun with my family about 2 weeks before the team went and stayed in the same city, Playa Del Carmen. We went kayaking in the clear blue waters, played soccer on the beach, and relaxed by the pool for about a week. After we got back, I went to Regionals in New Mexico with a state team from Arizona and we made it to the quarterfinals! I have also hung out with Kristen Kastelic a few times this summer and had SO much fun! The World Cup occupied the majority of my mornings for that four week period and I am bummed that it is over already.

Jenn Brookshire is coming to my house in three days to see what Arizona is all about. We will be visiting my grandparents’ cabin in Minnesota for about a week where we will do lots of wakeboarding, skiing, tubing and enjoying the nice weather. After we get back, Jenn and I are driving up to Billings to be with the team. It has been an amazing summer for me, but I can't wait to get out of the Arizona heat and back to training with the girls again! Bring on the soccer!

15th Anniversary Team

Posted by Don Trentham, Head Coach

MSUB Women’s Soccer Alumni, Current Players, Former and Current Coaches and Athletic Administration,

This upcoming season we will be celebrating the 15th Anniversary of soccer at MSUB. One of the ways we want to celebrate the occasion is by choosing the “15th Anniversary Team”. This team will be honored on Saturday, October 2nd at halftime of our game versus Saint Martin’s University. Furthermore, we will also have a brunch on Sunday, October 3 to honor the “15th Anniversary Team” which everybody will be invited to.

Listed below is information for voting for the “15th Anniversary Team”, as well as the names of the players who are eligible to be voted in.

To View the MSUB Record Book Visit This Link:

http://www.msubillings.edu/athletics/Womens_Soccer/Womens%20Soccer%20Record%20Book.pdf

Criteria

1. Player must have played at least two seasons for MSUB
2. Player must have completed their eligibility at MSUB
3. Player cannot be a current player (players who are seniors in 2010 are not eligible)
4. Team will consist of 1 GK, 4 Defenders, 4 Midfielders, 2 Forwards (11 players)
5. Eligible to vote – alumni, current players, former and current head/assistant coaches, current Athletic Director, current Senior Women’s Administrator, current SID’s
6. If a player receives votes in more than one position I will transfer their votes to the position that they have received the most votes for (i.e. 7 votes for defender and 3 votes for midfielder ---- would be 10 votes for defender).
7. Elected teams will take place every five years (i.e. 15th, 20th, 25th, etc.) and will be selected the summer before the anniversary season. For example, the 15th Anniversary team will be selected in the summer of 2010, as the Fall 2010 season will be the 15th season for MSUB Women’s Soccer.
8. Players eligible for “15th Anniversary Team” will be members of the All-Decade Team, as well as any player who finished playing between the 2006-2009 seasons.
9. Anniversary Teams will be placed on a plaque listing the team and all the members (to be displayed in the athletic building), as well as on a banner (to be displayed at Yellowjacket Field). Furthermore, they will be honored at halftime of the game during the Futbol Frenzy Weekend of the Anniversary Year (i.e. 2005, 2010, 2015, etc.)
10. Each member will also receive an individual gift honoring their accomplishment, as well as a “Lifetime Soccer Season Pass” so they and their family can attend future MSUB games.

Eligible Players for “15th Anniversary Team” – listed alphabetically by position

Goalkeepers (Pick One)

* Gretchen Kaus, 1999-2000 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Megan Plank, 2003-2006

Defenders (Pick Four)

* Lacey Albrent, 2004-2005 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Abby Bennett, 2004-2007
* Sara Gress, 2005-2008
* Kristen Johnson, 1999-2002 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Janica Larsen, 2004-2007
* Vicky McCarthy, 1999, 2001-2002 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Mandy Reed, 2000-2003 (Member of All-Decade Team)

Midfielders (Pick Four)

* Megan Beckstead, 2003-2004 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Melissa Carlson, 2005-2008
* Candy Cherry, 2001-2004 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Stephanie Clark, 2001-2004 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Caitlin Differding, 2006-2009
* Chelsea Libby, 2005-2009
* Margot Merrill-Johnson, 2001-2004 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Mandy Ploskonka, 2005-2008
* Dani Ritter, 2006-2007 *career cut short due to injury
* Brittney Sandau, 2004-2007
* Amy Stephens, 2004-2007

Forwards (Pick Two)

* Caitlin Differding, 2006-2009
* Abby Farmer, 1997-2001 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Chelsea Libby, 2005-2009
* Jenny Moellendorf, 2003-2006
* Sara Otis, 2000-2003 (Member of All-Decade Team)
* Brittney Sandau, 2004-2007
* Ally Stroup (Taylor), 2003-2006

All votes must be received Monday, August 9th --- please email votes to me at dtrentham@msubillings.edu. Please remember only alumni, current players (with the exception of the 2010 Freshman Class), former and current head/assistant coaches, current Athletic Director, current Senior Women’s Administrator and current SID’s are the only ones allowed to vote.

Please help pass this information on to your former teammates. Hope all is well with everyone and I hope to see you October 2-3 at Futbol Frenzy!