MSUB Teegan Koster Feature Story 10/21/15

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Wednesday, October 21, 2015 Koster finishing 4-year career strong with ‘Jackets

A four-year letterwinner for MSUB, Teegan Koster is finishing a strong career with the ‘Jackets as a diverse asset with the ability to adapt to different positions and roles within the team.

MSUB SPORTS – Growing up in Dallas, Texas, Montana State University Billings women’s soccer senior Teegan Koster had no choice but to be active in sports as a child.

Koster’s mother Kris and father Mark encouraged their oldest child to lead her younger sister Jessie and brother Jonathan by example. It was not surprising that Kris Koster pushed sports with her children, herself having been a volleyball player at Carroll College in Helena, Mont., for two seasons.

Little did she know it at the time, but her mother’s connection to Montana would come full circle when Koster eventually elected to attend MSUB. Koster had her hands in a bit of everything, from basketball to softball to cheerleading. But there was one sport that always stood out beyond the rest, as Koster quickly found her own on the soccer pitch.

“For some reason, specifically the teams that I was on always clicked for me,” Koster said of her early soccer playing days. “I loved the physicality of it, and it was one of the sports I was better at.”

Soccer became more than a weekend game for Koster starting in fifth grade, which was the first year she got involved at the club level and began playing competitively.

Guiding the way for Koster as she began to hone her technical soccer skills were her club coaches Jim and Theresa Eamma. Koster credits the duo with teaching her everything she knows about the game, and cited the influence they had beyond the field as being most significant.

“I was still at a young age, but they made the team a family,” Koster said. “It wasn’t just soccer, but they influenced me and the other girls as people. We learned life lessons from them.”

While Koster had her family away from home on the field, she and her sister Jessie were close enough in age to spend time together on the same team. Nowhere was the sibling rivalry Koster with Jim and Theresa Eamma at age more apparent than on the field, with 12. the sisters constantly vying to top each other’s performances. “We are so intensely competitive, whether or not we were playing a sport,” Koster said with a smile. “It was always whose team won more games or who scored more goals. That was a big part of us growing up.”

Looking on as her daughters competed with one another, Kris reflected on the time they spent as rivals on the field and as teammates. “It was really fun being an athlete in college, and so it was great having the girls be so Koster and her sister Jessie clockwise from upper left: competitive,” Kris Koster said. “They started in gymnastics and soccer, and Lacrosse, age 16, cheerleading, age seven, soccer because of their age difference, they played on different teams at first. age 5.

When we moved to Oregon, both played soccer on the same competitive team, and that was really fun. Any time they got to play together it was the best because we could watch them at the same time.”

“Having a former collegiate athlete in the family was really influential,” Koster said. “She was always the parent who, when we got hurt, would say, ‘you’re fine, get back up!’”

Through her age 14 season, Koster learned the ins and outs of the game and prepared herself to hit the ground running with her prep career quickly approaching. But just as the notion of high school soccer became a reality, Koster and her family uprooted and headed for the West Coast.

SHERWOOD BOUND A small city 30 minutes south of Portland, Sherwood, Ore., presents itself as a rich soccer town. Elevated above the city of 12,000 is Snyder Park, the beacon of the soccer community where all ages of players converge on the turf field atop the hill.

Close by is Sherwood High School, where Koster would call home for the next four years and where she ultimately developed into a collegiate-level player.

“It was a bit of a culture shock, and I started my freshman year a week after we moved,” Koster commented on her family’s relocation. “I didn’t know a single person, but my mom had been in contact with the head coach there, Bill Brown. He got me started in a summer league and helped me out a lot.”

While Koster was caught up trying to get used to her new environment, she couldn’t have predicted how well her prep career would mold her for her next step. By her sophomore season, the Bowmen reached the Oregon Class 5A state championship game. The loss was hard for Koster to swallow at the time, but the redemption came two years later as she helped her team claim the state title on penalty kicks and closed her prep career with a bang.

“I had played with so many girls who were going off and playing in college, and I definitely had a love for the sport,” Koster remembered. “I didn’t want it to stop at high school, being in that environment and on such a successful team.”

With the confidence to carry her game on at the college level, Koster drew on her strong foundation from the soccer experts she had learned from. Playing for two seasons with Eastside United, Koster was under the tutelage of Portland State University head coach Laura Schott. Her senior year, it was Mike DePinna who headed the FC Portland squad who played the role of Koster’s final mentor before college.

“My last year right before college was really competitive,” Koster said. “Mike was a really good coach and I learned a lot from him. Playing with other players of such a high caliber solidified that I could definitely play in college.”

WELCOME TO THE GNAC

Koster playing in the 2014 GNAC Championships against Seattle Pacific at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash.

After making contact with Yellowjacket head coach Wojtek Krakowiak as a junior, Koster wound up at an overnight camp at MSUB as she began to narrow down her college options. Drawing on her history of changing scenery, Koster liked the idea of moving away from home and felt that MSUB would be a good fit. “It was somewhere new, and I had done the whole new student thing before so I wasn’t worried about that,” Koster said. “I met the class of players one year ahead of me, and fit in with them over the summer. There was a good mix team-wise, and the school had everything I was looking for academically.”

Among Koster’s first encounters at MSUB was fellow freshman Katlyn Lokay, who since has grown into her closest friend through four years together with the Yellowjackets. “Teegan was the first girl I met moving into the residence halls, and she was putting up this crazy wallpaper,” Lokay recalled. “That is the first memory I have of her. We have always been pretty close, and we have gone through the same experiences together with soccer, school, and life in general.”

Lokay could not predict that the two of them would endure identical knee injuries following their sophomore seasons, but having each other to work through the rehabilitation together made the setbacks more manageable.

“It was definitely helpful having Katlyn there because she had been through the injury before,” Koster said. “Spring semester we did rehab every day, and it would have been a lot worse if I didn’t go through it with her.”

The mirroring knee injuries are not the only parallel that can be drawn between the two seniors throughout their careers, as both have adapted into various positions throughout their time at MSUB. Listed as a defender on MSUB’s roster, Koster has ultimately played a much more versatile role throughout her career. As of late, she has been part of the Yellowjackets’ offensive attack, starting her last five matches and averaging north of 70 minutes per game.

Teegan Koster (right) and Katlyn Lokay.

“Teegan is a very intelligent player who is able to play different roles and positions on the field,” Krakowiak commented. “As a coach, you always want to recruit players who can play multiple positions. Teegan came from a very good club and had received excellent training and a solid foundation in soccer. That enables her to read the game at a different level. She could very well play holding or attacking midfield, or even an outside back if needed. That says a lot about her soccer I.Q. on the field.”

Thrown into the mix right away as a freshman, Koster played in 14 matches, starting two and recording 628 minutes. Her first career assist was an important one, coming on the first goal in a 2-1 win over Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 4, 2012.

Later that season, Koster got her first taste of action in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Championships, playing 25 minutes in the championship game as the ‘Jackets lost to Western Washington 2-0.

“In general that was one of the most successful seasons I have been a part of,” Koster said of her first year with the ‘Jackets. “We started off 9-0, and you can’t explain to people who haven’t been to the GNAC tournament what it’s like

playing under the lights. There is a lot of pressure, but there is excitement because it is your chance to make the (NCAA) tournament. Beating Seattle Pacific in the semifinals that year is a moment I will never forget.”

So far, Koster has racked up 2,479 minutes over her three-plus seasons, starting 19 games and playing in 51 total throughout her career. Her first-ever goal came in her sophomore season, as she scored against the University of Mary in the 82nd minute on Sept. 16, 2013 at Yellowjacket Field.

“Teegan is always someone who never makes excuses no matter the situation, and who always gives one hundred percent,” Lokay said. “She sets a really good example for the freshmen, and she has always been willing to do what is best for the team. She has played wherever we have needed her to play.”

LASTING IMPACT “I think Teegan will do awesome wherever she ends up after college. In our program, our student-athletes learn the importance of academics, discipline, teamwork, punctuality, excellence, and being proactive. Teegan has definitely developed these skills throughout her time at MSUB, and I don’t doubt that she will do amazing things in her professional career.” – MSUB head coach Wojtek Krakowiak on senior Teegan Koster.

Pursuing her degree in marketing, Koster has aspirations to build a career around event coordination. Starting out as a health and human performance major, Koster credits her current academic advisor Brenda Dockery with helping shift her vision to a career path she is excited about.

“She set me up with an internship to finish my degree, and she has really great experience and valuable knowledge,” Koster said of her advisor. “She helped me solidify that I am definitely going to be doing something in business and marketing.”

Koster has been selected to the GNAC academic all-conference team in each of the last two seasons, an honor given to students who maintain a grade point average of 3.20 or higher while earning a varsity letter.

“We are extremely proud of her hanging in there, playing and giving it her all,” Koster’s mother commented. “For her to do so well, and to keep her grades up the whole time the team was traveling was impressive because they travel so much. Hopefully it will have made her a stronger, better person for the future. To be able to do all the things she’s done and balance them together will help her to be super successful as a young adult.”

With three matches left on the regular season schedule, Koster and the ‘Jackets will fight to reach their third GNAC tournament in her four years at MSUB. Drawing back to her early days learning the game, Koster credits her parents and family for helping shape her into a consistent, steady player that her team relies on every game.

“My parents would never give up on me or let me quit or give up on a situation,” Koster said. “They have given so much time and effort getting me to practices and games, and going out of their way to make sure I’ve been able to do what I love. I definitely wouldn’t be here without their support.”

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