Freshman phenoms: Yellowjackets' next generation already making an impact

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Wednesday, November 4, 2015 Freshman phenoms: Yellowjackets’ next generation already making impact

Bringing in a robust freshman class, MSUB women’s soccer coaches Wojtek Krakowiak and Stephen Cavallo are already excited about the potential of the next generation of Yellowjackets, which continues to have an impact into Thursday’s playoff match.

BURNABY, B.C. – At halftime during the final game of the regular season, the scoreline between host Montana State University Billings and Central Washington University sat at 0-0, with the final berth into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships hanging in the balance.

As the teams conferred during the 15-minute break at Yellowjacket Field, MSUB assistant coach Stephen Cavallo posed a simple question to his team. “Who is going to be the hero today?” he asked.

Within five minutes, Cavallo and the Yellowjackets had their answer, as freshman forward Alycia Wright added yet another goal to her long list of outstanding finishes on the season. The Arvada, Colo., native found the net for the sixth time of her first collegiate campaign, and when the final whistle sounded the goal also counted as her GNAC-leading fourth game-winner of the year.

Among a cast of experienced veterans, like seniors Katlyn Lokay, Teegan Koster, and Ashely Marra who will each be making their third trip to the GNAC championship tournament this week, it was Wright who stole headlines.

“Alycia is the definition of a gamer, and she comes ready to play,” Cavallo said. “That was a big game for us, and we knew we only needed one moment. I was basically asking who was going to be the one to relish that chance. Alycia was the one who scored that but I would say that we had 20 heroes on the field that day.”

Looking down to the other end of the field, freshman goalkeeper Chloe Hopps had secured her fifth shutout of the year, quickly establishing herself as one of the top goalkeepers in the conference in her first season.

Freshman Alycia Wright.

The results supplied by MSUB’s dynamic freshmen may raise eyebrows to onlookers, but to Cavallo the maturity beyond their years is not surprising. “Alycia has shown at a young age that she has a knack for scoring big goals for us, and that just speaks to her confidence and abilities as a player,” said Cavallo, who is the team’s primary goalkeepers coach. “Chloe is mature well past her age in goal, and the thing that sticks out about Chloe is her consistency. That is difficult for a freshman playing any position, especially goalkeeper.”

Hopps has totaled 48 saves on the season, with her highest total in a single game sitting at eight. While the saves Hopps has made and minutes she has accumulated credit her on the stat sheet, they come far from telling the full story of her value between the posts for MSUB. It is a combination of her confidence and strength, judgment on balls in the air, and ability to communicate beyond the back line and with the entire team that set her apart as a rising star and leadership figure for the ‘Jackets.

“Her I.Q., ability to read the game, and see things before they happen stand out the most,” Cavallo said. “She asks questions, wants to learn and get better, and she has exceeded even her own expectations I’m sure.”

Just as Hopps has shown rare maturity in her role as starting goalkeeper, Wright has displayed composure and vision on the ball that is uncommon for a player in her first year at the college level. Finishes like her first-half goal at Northwest Nazarene, where she took one touch on a through ball and tucked a perfect, low shot just inside the far post, support the claim by Krakowiak that the ‘Jackets have a special player on their hands.

Freshman Chloe Hopps.

“They have adjusted very well to the college game, which is very different from club and high school,” commented MSUB head coach Wojtek Krakowiak on Wright and Hopps. “They definitely aren’t playing like freshmen, and it is good to see that they are both very comfortable.”

Replacing a senior – Krystal Daniels – who played every single minute in goal during 2014 and allowed just 12 goals, there was a sense among the team that some level of drop-off at the crucial position would be expected for the 2015 season. Not only has Hopps silenced notions of a drop in level, she has established herself as one of the building blocks for the Yellowjackets’ future. She was picked as an honorable mention all-GNAC selection on Tuesday.

Just as Daniels left a significant hole upon her graduation, the ‘Jackets needed to find a solution at the two outside back positions with the departure of 2014 seniors Jessie Mancilla and Jennifer Johnson. Stepping in without missing a beat, freshmen Kienna Ogden and Sarah Coghlan have each emerged into starters and carried heavy loads in a rotation with junior Lindsay Lucore.

“Kienna and Sarah are doing great, and they are getting a lot of minutes,” Krakowiak said. “They are definitely playing physical, and they are tough to beat. Kienna made an awesome tackle against Central Washington, and we call that the tackle of the game.”

Wright’s breakout season leading the team in goals has stood out, and complementing her on the Yellowjackets’ offensive front has been fellow freshman Bailey Griglio who has three goals. The nine goals between the two have accounted for almost half of the team’s scoring total of 19.

Griglio has followed Wright’s lead, with a flair for the spectacular goal throughout the season. At home against Saint Martin’s on Oct. 17, Griglio fired a long shot from the right side that dipped down and kicked off of the crossbar before winding up in the back of the net. The strike came less than five minutes after a goal by Wright, as the two freshmen supplied all of the offense in the 2-0 victory.

“Bailey has scored some very crucial goals for us, and definitely reads the game very well,” Krakowiak said. “She is a smart player and is very good on the ball. She sees a lot on the field, and we are definitely very happy with her as well.”

While Wright and Griglio have led the offensive charge among the freshmen, Dariann Oaks and Jordan Devoto present MSUB with two more weapons up top who have the ability to supply a boost in the attack. Emerging late in the season and earning minutes as the conference schedule wore on, Oaks earned her first career point on an assist to Brittney Greenback against Western Oregon on Oct. 24 in Monmouth, Ore. Freshman Bailey Griglio.

Hopps has had similar support behind her in goal, with freshmen Lili Delgadillo and Kaylee Praska showing promise in goal as well. Delgadillo earned a pair of starts early on in the season, and collected her first career shutout in a scoreless overtime draw at the University of Mary on Sept. 5 in Bismarck, N.D. On the cusp of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, the Montana State University Billings women’s soccer team is set to challenge top-seeded Western Washington on Thursday in the first round. To extend its season beyond the game, it will take a concerted effort and an upset of the No. 2 team in the NCAA. More likely than not, the Yellowjackets’ freshman phenoms will have a say in the heroics, as Cavallo and Krakowiak witness the future of their program emerging into stars right before their eyes.

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