FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Wednesday, October 12, 2016 New Faces: MSUB Women’s Soccer Freshman Kalin Sandow
Asserting herself as a starter in MSUB’s women’s soccer lineup as a true freshman, Kalin Sandow is growing quickly into a key player on the defensive unit in her first season with the Yellowjackets. MSUB SPORTS – Kalin Sandow played her first season of recreational soccer when she was four years old. The path of her early soccer career didn’t follow the traditional trajectory however, as she strayed from the game in her young years before being reintroduced around age 10. “My mom’s friend who was a coach was starting a team, and they needed one more player,” Sandow recalled. “They asked if I would do it, and I have been playing ever since.” Sandow has come a long way since joining the roster as her youth team’s final player, as she has parlayed her soccer skills into a starting role at outside back on the Montana State University Billings women’s soccer team as a true freshman this season. Along for Sandow’s lifelong journey through soccer has been her mother Keli Sandow, whose unique, dual role as parent and coach has come to shape the player her oldest daughter has become. “She inspired me to play, and I knew soccer
would be something that we would have a common interest in since she played when she was younger,” Sandow said. “Through her, I really developed my own interest in the game.” Sandow learned the game under the guidance of her mother, who coached her through her youth years and into her sophomore year at Murrieta High School on the junior varsity team. It was then that Sandow was promoted to her Legends Football Club top team for her age group, which she cites as a key motivational factor in taking the next step with her development. “She is really good at having a third person point of view, and telling the truth about how I’ve been playing,” Sandow said regarding her mother’s position as a coach. “She can watch my game through different perspectives, and look at it from a parent or coach point of view.” By the time her junior year wrapped up, Sandow’s skills were prominent enough to differentiate her at an ID camp with an audience of college coaches. Among the crowd was MSUB head coach Wojtek Krakowiak, who wasn’t initially intending to follow Sandow until he saw her play. “We had plans to watch other players, but she caught our attention right away and we focused on her,” Krakowiak said. “We got a chance to meet her parents and sisters there, and they were great people. Right from the get-go, we got a good vibe from them, and that is important when we are deciding to bring somebody into our program.” Krakowiak knew his defensive unit needed depth, but he couldn’t have foreseen that upon Sandow’s commitment to become a Yellowjacket that he’d have a player who was ready to hit the ground running at the college level. DEFENDER AT HEART “We needed a defender, and I just wanted to play, so they put me back there and I just kept playing there.” – Kalin Sandow on becoming a defender as a youth club player. Ninety minutes into MSUB’s home match against Concordia University on Sept. 24 at Yellowjacket Field, nothing had been decided as the score line read 0-0. Sandow and her fellow defensive unit of center backs Kari Kastelic and Amanda Hemmen, and outside back Courteney Shovlin, had fought through a steady, 35-mile-per-hour wind in their face for the entire second half, locking down the Cavalier attackers and preventing scoring chances from materializing. When the final whistle blew 20 minutes later, the result held up as the team’s first shutout of the season. It was the third game in a string of six that Sandow had played every minute of the match, and to date it was the most rewarding defensive result of the season for the team. “In that game when the whole back line was communicating well, we stayed together and shut them down,” Sandow said. “For a defender, a shutout feels as good as scoring a goal.”
Sandow will earn little credit on the score sheet this season – she’s taken just two shots in 11 games. But in the eyes of her teammates, coaches, and opponents, her contributions to an effective defense speaks to her talent as a player. Known as a goal scorer during her playing days, it was Keli Sandow’s perspective as a forward that initially sparked Kalin’s interest in defending. “She helped me because she has the mind of a forward, and could help me predict what a forward was going to do,” Sandow said. “Defense just intrigued me because it was something different. Everyone wants to be a goal scorer, but being a defender is special because it’s different.” Though she has been a defensive player for her entire soccer career, Sandow frequented the center of the pitch as a holding midfielder and center back through her high school days. Now playing on the right side as an outside back for the ‘Jackets, the transition to the college level has been eased by her relationship with the defensive players around her. “Kari being a senior wants to do her best, and the three of us (freshmen) coming in want to prove something,” Sandow commented referring to the team’s starting back line. “We want to show that we are meant to be here and play the college game, and we all work hard for each other.” One of Sandow’s goals beginning the season was to play in every game, and now that she’s a full-time starter she has her sights set on improving her performance each time she steps on the pitch. Her mature attitude and approach to the game have surprised Coach Krakowiak in a positive way, as she continues to exceed his expectations of a first-year player. “I didn’t anticipate her starting games, but like we tell every recruit it isn’t based on your class but on your abilities and what you bring to the team,” Krakowiak said. “She has earned her position and is fearless on the field.”
GETTING INSIDE YOUR HEAD Sandow can be seen eating meals with her teammates inside Rimrock Café on MSUB’s campus, catching a quick morning bite before making her way to her next class. While she has taken off on the soccer field, her studies have remained at the top of her priorities as her career path begins to take shape.
A passion for helping others struck Sandow as early as her middle school years, and has led to her pursuit of a degree in psychology from MSUB. “The brain and how people behave has always been interesting to me,” Sandow said. “I would like to become a therapist or someone who helps people. It would be fun to work with children or families.” She also credited one of her high-school teachers with influencing her growth into a leader, as her mindset of putting others before herself is one of Sandow’s most prolific character traits. “Mrs. Parsons, my 11th grade English teacher really helped shape me into the person I am now,” Sandow said. “She was my advisor and was just a great role model for me because of the way she treats people.” Krakowiak has been impressed thus far by Sandow’s personality, further reinforcing that she’s on the right track with her path of study in psychology. “Kalin is always smiling and has a positive energy about her,” Krakowiak said. “When you add that to her excellent vision and technique, and high soccer I.Q., she is a player we are lucky to have.” A SOCCER FAMILY Keli, Kirk, Kalin, Kiley, Kenna – The Sandows Murrieta, Calif., was graced with Sandow’s soccer presence leading up to her move to Billings, but the city is far from missing out on her warm personality. Following their older sister’s lead, Kiley and Kenna Sandow have both blossomed into promising soccer players as a sophomore and freshman, respectively. “I think they’re both better players than I was at that age, and I know they’ll keep trying hard and improving their game,” Sandow said. “I know they’ll both be playing college soccer someday.” While Sandow’s sisters continue to look up to her as a role model, she has her sights set on leading the Yellowjackets on a push to the NCAA playoffs. “One of our big group goals for our career is to stick together and get to the NCAA tournament in the next four years,” Sandow said.
Kalin playing alongside her sister Kiley (upper left), with her sisters Kiley and Kenna (upper right, lower left), and with her mother and coach Keli on the Legends FC.
The freshman also added with a smile that she has a long-term goal of taking a page out of her mother’s book and scoring as her career progresses. Her parents Keli and Kirk have already traveled to watch their daughter compete this season, and will undoubtedly look on with pride as one of the youngest Yellowjackets continues to be one of the team’s brightest stars. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--