tflagstad@journalnet.com

Allison Gibson avoided using the phrase as long as possible.

Even with a roster minus seven players who started at some point the year before, the Idaho State soccer coach wasn't ready to label 2008 a rebuilding year when the season opened in August.

As the year progressed, though, it became apparent that Gibson's third year guiding the Bengals would be exactly that.

Of the 209 possible starting positions for Idaho State in its 19 matches, 123 - or 58.9 percent of them - went to sophomores and freshmen. The inexperienced team struggled to a 3-12-4 record, the program's worst mark since its maiden season in 1998.

Late in the campaign - after Idaho State endured a program-worst 14-match winless skid and dropped out of contention for a Big Sky tournament berth - Gibson started turning more of the focus to building for next season. Rather than worrying so much about winning matches, Gibson had the players focus on earning small victories within a contest, such as not conceding an early goal and outshooting an opponent.

"There was a time when eight of my 11 were young kids. To me, I didn't go at it saying it was a rebuilding year, for a lot of reasons," Gibson said. "Looking back on it, I don't know if it would've been easier and relieved some of the pressures on them. They could get their feet wet and build together. Maybe that was the answer."

Perhaps that was the most frustrating thing for Gibson and the team. There was no obvious solution that would've put Idaho State on the winning side.

In all but four games, Gibson estimates, the Bengals played well enough to win, or at least compete until the final minutes. However, in most matches, a brief lapse in concentration by Idaho State would lead to a soft - but back-breaking - goal.

When an opponent made a similar error, the Bengals seldom would capitalize.

"We've been asking each other that question all season: What's different between this season and last season?" said sophomore Lauren Hough. "I don't know."

A team that allowed a minuscule 15 goals in 18 matches during the 2007 season surrendered 38 in 2008, and Gibson attributes a lot of that to constant shuffling of personnel on the back line.

"In the past, if you look at the back lines, they don't change for my teams," she said. "Maybe one player here or there, but that's your back four. Period. That's your keeper. Period. So they have tons and tons of time to work together and get to know each other. … That's definitely one of the first things we'll get back to this spring."

Toss out the four matches in which Idaho State was completely overmatched - a pair of 6-0 losses at San Diego and Pepperdine, a 6-2 defeat at Northern Colorado and 2-0 loss at BYU - though, and the Bengals allowed only 1.2 goals a match. The defense certainly can't be on the hook for all the team's struggles.

The offense only generated 13 goals, and for the second season in a row, the Bengals struggled to finish even when creating far more shots than their opponent. In the 1-0 home loss to Portland State, for example, Idaho State had 16 shots to the Vikings' four.

"I know that we all tried so hard and worked so hard during practice, outside practice, during games," Hough said. "Giving so much and not getting everything in return, that was the hardest part."

Injuries didn't help.

Senior keeper Maren Eves-Williams, who petitioned to get a fifth year of eligibility from the NCAA, broke her left thumb the first week of practice defending a corner kick.

She missed the first nine matches of the season, and even when she returned, she couldn't match the form that allowed her to finish with a school-record 0.77 goals-against average the year before.

Junior captain Jana Boehler injured her knee in the season-opening contest against Utah State, and the Bengals' leading scorer in 2007 missed eight matches and was limited in others.

Rarely, though, did the players allow their level of intensity to slip. Throughout the disappointing campaign, they kept their spirits up and continued to give maximum effort.

"That was tremendous," Gibson said. "Maybe there were two times where I ever addressed the word effort or passion. Other than that, these kids inspired me all year. It was amazing how they continued to fight, and it spoke volumes of their character and their class."

The Bengals will have to replace their unquestioned leader, Kilee Quigley, who started all but one match in her four-year career and earned all-Big Sky honors three times. The team also loses Katie Miller, who started every match in 2008 on the defensive side, and Eves-Williams.

Boehler may or may not be back. While she maintains a year of eligibility, she's set to graduate in December and wants to move on to graduate school. Whether that's at Idaho State is uncertain.

Despite the setbacks of 2008 and the personnel losses, Idaho State players and coaches are eager to start work for 2009.

"We're so fired up to fix it," Hough said. "We all want to do it together."

That work started two days after the team's final match, a 2-0 loss at Weber State. No longer required to practice, several players still ventured to Davis Field to train on their own.

When the spring season opens in a few months, Gibson, who agreed to a three-year contract extension in early November, promised the team will be more focused and more committed.

"We're gonna treat it very seriously and treat it almost like a fall season," Gibson said. "We're gonna raise fitness standards; we're gonna raise weight standards, academic standards. Really just raise the standard of this program and hold everyone accountable for getting there."

With a full offseason for the young nucleus to work on individual technique and the experience everyone gained during the past season, no matter how frustrating it was at times, the Bengals fully expect to be more competitive in 2009.

"These kids are hungry, and they want to taste success," Gibson said. "It's definitely gonna go up from here. We'll definitely get back to the top of the conference."

Look back at 2008

Team MVP

This honor unquestionably belongs to senior Kilee Quigley. Aside from her obvious skill, her upbeat attitude, ingratiating personality and competitive nature kept the Bengals going all season. She tied for second on the team with five points, including two goals, and was always around the ball from her midfield position. "It's not gonna be the same without her next year," sophomore Lauren Hough said of Quigley following Idaho State's 1-0 loss to Portland State on senior day. "She's the heart and soul of this team. My inspiration comes from her, and it's gonna be hard."

Best moment

Unfortunately for the Bengals, this came in their first match of the year. With 16 seconds to play in double overtime, freshmen Alex Hansen and Ashley Askwig teamed up to score the game-winning goal against Utah State. The victory ended a long string of overtime frustration for Idaho State. In 2007, the Bengals played eight overtime matches, two of which ended in losses. The other six wound up tied, three more than the previous school record set in 1999 and matched in 2004. At the time, the victory over the Aggies looked like it would provide Idaho State with a lot of momentum going forward in the season. Instead, the thrilling win proved to be the high point of the year.

Worst moment

In their last nonconference road trip of the season, the Bengals weren't close to being competitive against two of the West's top teams, Pepperdine and San Diego. Idaho State kept the Waves off the scoreboard for the first 42 minutes of the weekend's opening match, but after that, the Bengals surrendered 12 goals in the next 138 minutes while scoring zero.

Look ahead to 2009

Player to watch

After quietly excelling for three seasons, Annamarie Hofstetter will assume more of a leadership role in her senior season. Gibson has already named the Boise product one of the team's co-captains for next season. Hofstetter already has the program record for career assists with 20, but she has yet to score a goal with Idaho State. The Bengals will need her to be more attack-minded next season and look for goals, which she has the ability to do.

Outlook

The Big Sky is wide open every year, so there's no reason the Bengals can't return to the top of the league. They have the talent, and with another offseason of work and with the freshmen now knowing what to expect at the Division I level, Idaho State should have the pieces to contend.