BILLINGS — Despite playing only one home match, Rocky Mountain College’s soccer women are off to a strong — and determined — start.
"I think our ranking in the Cascade (Collegiate Conference) is going to drive us. We're the underdogs yet again, which is what I love," senior captain Emma Lensing told MTN Sports after a recent win.
The forward loved it Friday, scoring one goal and assisting on another en route to a league-opening 3-2 victory over rival Carroll College.
Hear from the Battlin' Bears on why their best soccer may be ahead:
"Beating all the teams ahead of us, except for (CCC top-ranked) College of Idaho, that gets under our skin a little bit," Lensing continued.
And they say polls don’t matter.
"Carroll is ranked above us and that's a little bit of a chip on our shoulder because — you know what? — we deserve more than that," added junior forward Mya Maack.
Last month, Cascade coaches picked Rocky sixth out of 13 in the preseason. Yes, it’s a bit like throwing darts in the dark, but these Battlin' Bears are reloading after their strongest finish in years.
"There's a positive energy about the group," said Rocky coach Richard Duffy. They play for each other; they fight for each other.”
They also celebrate with each other, like they did when Lensing connected with Maack for what turned out to be Friday’s game-winner against Carroll, good for a 3-0 Rocky lead in the second half.
"Emma had a great shot in the box and it came to my foot," Maack said. " ... and when I felt it on my foot, I knew it was going in. You just have those goals sometimes, those moments."
The Bears will play in Seattle this weekend facing Northwest University on Friday and The Evergreen State College on Saturday. Both matches are at 1:30 p.m. Mountain time.
Duffy said he notices only a thin difference in this year's team.
"It's a little different than last year. I was trying to tell these kids, ‘We need to be better in this area, we need to be better in this area,'" he recalled. “This year, I'm telling them they're good. They're good at everything they do."
Lensing is especially good right now, already delivering a hat trick in one match and totaling six goals during Rocky’s 3-1 start.
"It's been a long four years, but also it's gone so quickly that I'm just ready to leave it all out there," she said with a determined smile.
