News Story - Idaho State Journal

tflagstad@journalnet.com

POCATELLO - One coach recruited the four seniors on the Idaho State soccer team, but another leader welcomed them when they arrived on campus as freshmen. Two years later, the players faced yet another coach with her own style.

Yes, Jill Christofferson, Maren Eves, Natalie Graham and Michelle Okumura have experienced a lot in their four years in Pocatello.

''It's definitely been a unique experience,'' Okumura said. ''They're all three so different, especially with the completely different system right in the middle. It's weird. Not many people have to do that.''

The first ever, and highly successful, coach of Bengals soccer, Gordon Henderson, wooed the group to Idaho State, but Mark Salisbury took over only two months before the seniors committed to the school.

Two unsuccessful seasons followed for the Bengals, a team that had won three straight Big Sky titles. Passion for the game waned before Allison Gibson came to town and rejuvenated the program.

Through it all, the 2007 senior class stuck it out, enduring the lows while basking in the highs. That group will play its final game at Davis Field today when the Bengals host Weber State at 1 p.m.

Emotions surely will be high.

''It's going to mean a lot of tears, both sad and happy ones,'' Christofferson said. ''It's a huge game. No matter the outcome, I just want it to be the best game of my career and go out with a lot of good memories.''

While Idaho State can no longer qualify for the Big Sky tournament after Eastern Washington beat Montana 2-0 on Friday, Gibson still wants nothing more than to earn a victory for the seniors in their final game at Idaho State.

''It's huge,'' the coach said. ''That would be everything in the world to me as a coach - to be able to send them off with a win.''

After all, the four played a large part in Gibson's adjustment to the Bengals.

The seniors helped teach the new coach some of the program's traditions and who the rivals are. They also helped nine new players get a feel for Idaho State before this season without disrupting the chemistry on a team that won the conference title a year before and returned eight of 11 starters.

''They all brought their own leadership style,'' Gibson said. ''The great thing is the freshman really bought into the way the program is and how the program was to be run because of their leadership.''

On their side, the seniors hope a little bit of that leadership carries over to the future to keep the program strong.

''Even though you're done and you're not part of the team anymore, you developed that program,'' Christofferson said. ''You've set the path for other teams to follow. As long as ISU exists, I'll always be proud of this soccer team and be interested.''

Their senior season didn't produce the results the four would've liked. But each said she'll leave with fond memories of big wins - particularly the Big Sky championship victory last season - road trips and the support of the home crowds.

Undoubtedly, walking off the pitch for the last time today will prove difficult.

''I don't even want to think about it. It's going to be hard,'' Okumura said. ''No matter what else happens in the other games, it's our last game on this field. This field has been in my life the past four years.''

By Tim Flagstad

This document was originally published online on Saturday, November 03, 2007

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