What happens after a two-time All-Area first-team forward scores 27 goals as a sophomore?

For Century’s Courtney Handlen, it preceded a move to defender.

The switch turned out OK.

Handlen showed that a seemingly puzzling decision made in 2016 was a no-brainer. The two-year defender finished her high school career as the 2017 Idaho State Journal All-Area Girls Soccer Player of the Year and, more importantly, Century reached great success following the move that was in the best interest of the team. The Diamondbacks’ foundation was its defense and she laid it.

“She hit the ball left and right really well,” said Century coach Jamshid Roomiany, explaining the decision. “She was an extremely physical player. She had fairly good speed. She was a complete player and the rest of the defenders respected her. The goalkeeper respected her. And she was calm, and we could just rely on her. Did not whiff, didn’t make mistakes, was a very good, mature player.”

Handlen said she understood the decision, but did not love it. The then-junior had not been a defender since she first started playing soccer in the second grade. She was assigned the position at Century when she took the pitch for the first time late in her junior season after recovering from foot surgery. The defense immediately went from solid to suffocating, not allowing a goal in the 2016 district tournament.

“I’ll do whatever to help the team out,” Handlen said. “I would have much preferred to stay at forward, but I felt like I found my place at center back.”

The 4A all-state player had to look at the game through a different prism and developed an appreciation for the role. The most difficult part at the beginning was not accidentally leaving her fellow defenders stranded and moving too far up the field like she was a forward.

When Century's forwards were moving up the field, Handlen said she had to know where the opposing forwards were, anticipate the direction of a counter attack and react if one did happen.

After Handlen helped guide Century to a 4A District 5-6 title in 2016, she led the Diamondbacks to an undefeated regular season in 2017 and the third district title of her career with a defense that allowed .67 goals per game and gave up more than one goal once.

Her scoring ability was not untapped. The senior scored multiple goals in multiple matchups, with a hat trick against Idaho Falls and two-goal games against Pocatello, Blackfoot and Burley.

On top of her offensive and defensive prowess, Handlen deployed her most eye-catching skill - the front-flip throw-ins that were as good as a corner kick. Handlen said she learned how to do them in the sixth grade.

“I was determined to teach myself how to do that,” Handlen said. “I ended up setting a soccer ball in front of an air mattress and just started flipping over it until I got close to landing on my feet and worked up the guts to trying it outside. Been doing it ever since then.”

Between her front flips and skills on both sides of the field, Handlen brought a complete game in her final season with Century. The four-year starter’s transformation from freshman forward, who averaged four goals a game, to an all-around player who could also be a backline barrier was all witnessed by Roomiany.

“She was just a young kid that wanted to score. That’s all she cared about,” said Roomiany, who added that by her senior year “she wanted to improve Century soccer."

"She thought of it as her possession," Roomiany said. "It became her team, not a team that she just played for.”

Courtney Handlen video highlights