POCATELLO, Idaho – Maria Sanchez has no doubt been one of the best individual soccer players to step onto the pitch at Davis Field. In just two seasons, she ranks among the top five in ISU history in goals, goals per game, assists, assists per game, points, points per game and shots on goal. In 2015, she led the conference in multiple categories, earned first-team all-Big Sky honors and the Big Sky Golden Boot award in addition to ranking nationally in goals scored.
But circumstances change, and for Sanchez the commitment to her family and the Mexican national team have started to take on a greater role in her life and consequently greater responsibilities. Therefore, suiting up as a Bengal for the remainder of her college career was no longer an option.
"Maria was a wonderful addition to our team," Head Coach
Allison Gibson said. "She raised the level of our play; several of our players emulated her style of play and are better for it. Maria informed us [Wednesday] that she is stepping away from college soccer to assist her family during a difficult time and to focus on her Mexican national team commitments. We wish Maria and her family the very best now and in the future."
It seems that the Bengals have been prepared for this day for quite some time. Elite players, such as Sanchez, often take a unique route through college athletics given outside commitments to national teams, looming professional contracts and all the obligations that come with those endeavors. Prior to deciding to step away completely from college soccer, Sanchez was planning on redshirting the 2016 season to focus on her studies and the Mexican national team. So in a way, the Bengals soccer program was already prepping for life after Maria.
"I think there was that initial concern that our offense has really been quite one-dimensional the last couple of years with players like Maria and like Amanda Ellsworth," Gibson said. "In that absence, with Amanda graduating in 2015 and Maria departing this year, the challenge was set. The team knew that Maria was going to redshirt in the fall anyway, so the focus of the spring was developing a different style of play. We've adapted from a very direct style of play to more possession oriented. They knew that our style was going to change. They knew that our formation was going to change. Again, the challenge was set."
The Bengals stepped up to that challenge as several players saw their role expand and adapt in the absence of Sanchez.
Meaghan Bare, Gibson said, became a huge impact player for the Bengals this spring to the point where she couldn't be taken off the field.
Nikolina Musto and
Tristen Spooner continue to show strength in the midfield.
Ka'imi Morreira has become a resounding voice in the locker room and quite frankly the glue that keeps the new squad together. Jenny McCaw has transformed and
Shawna Hennings, Gibson said, was simply unbelievable in goal this spring.
"One of the things that both Amanda Ellsworth and
Maria Sanchez have provided to the program over the last few years is that go-to player that our team relied on quite a bit, which can be a positive," Gibson said. "But at the same time, Maria's departure earlier this spring for the Mexican national team allowed the opportunity for other players to step into a more offensive goal-scoring role. We developed more as a whole team this spring. In the fall, it was play it to Maria, let her score and hope to keep it out of the back of the net. Now, in the absence of that, we've had to share the ball, move it around and utilize every single player on the field…That's kind of where we're going in the future. The players that stepped up this spring for us and expanded their roles within the team were so critical to our development, and we needed them to do it. The fact that they stepped up and the way in which they stepped up just set the tone for the future with us."
Katherine Roberts and
Cassidy Kaumeyer, the Bengals' two captains, are two more players who have stepped up in ways Gibson has never seen before, and they are fueling the movement to change the culture of the Bengal soccer program.
"We talked a lot about changing the culture of the team this spring," Gibson said. "Changing it from what it was to a more competitive environment, to push the envelope, to be at the edge of your game every single day. Between
Cassidy Kaumeyer and
Katherine Roberts, our two captains, their vocal presence and respect from their teammates were apparent every day. It was awesome seeing the culture change…In our meetings [this spring], they said, 'Everything is different. The way people look at each other is different, the way people talk in the locker room or on a throw in or corner kick…everything is different about who we are now.' It took the challenges put in front of us to change, and I know in the long run that this is going to be a good thing.
"There's no doubt that this team has a huge hill to climb," Gibson said. "We're coming in with the right attitude and setting the tone as a staff; we're going to get back to the nuts and bolts, work hard on the system, players' roles within the system and the competition. We've talked about it all spring: if you're not bought in, if you're just 98 percent in, it's not good enough. There can be no wavering when it comes to investing and committing to this program."
This Is Our Time
