Missouri State Lady Bears Pursuing Best MVC Finish Ever

The Lady Bear’s wrap up the regular season on Thursday when they host the Illinois State Redbirds at Plaster Stadium. Game time is 1:00 pm and it will be the last time the seniors pictured (Samantha Aguilar, Jessica Smits and Jenna Dobkins) will play in front of the home crowd. The 2009 Missouri Valley Conference women’s soccer regular season also comes to a close Thursday with three matches that will determine five of the six seeds for the State Farm MVC Championship. The Bear’s opponent, Illinois State, is the lone certainty as the Redbirds have claimed the No. 1 seed and regular-season crown. A win or a tie against the leaders ensures the Bear’s of 2nd in the regular season which would be their highest finish ever and offer a bye in the first round of the playoffs which will be held in Des Moines this year, November 6-8.

Samantha, the team’s center midfielder, is in my opinion one of the finest field players to have worn the maroon and white of the Bear’s and is the engine of their success the past two years, with the team winning 10 games now 3 of her 4 years. She’s coming off a pair of games where she scored a game-tying and a game-winning goal against Indiana State and SIUE. Her goal against SIUE was the fifth game-winning goal of her career. Her career has been a joy to watch and if you haven’t had a chance to see her play, take the afternoon off on Thursday and come help the Bear’s reach a new peak.

I think enough of her that I sat down with her yesterday to talk about her career and future plans. I’ve broken the interview up into three pieces. Here is the first interview, I’ll post the next two on Wednesday and Thursday in advance of the game. Enjoy!

Here’s the 2nd video (sorry, need to place it here to show up on the front page)

Watch this video first!

From the Missouri State bio on her career:
2008: Aguilar was a third-year letter winner after being named All-MVC first team. For her academic success, she was named to the academic all-conference honorable mention team. Aguilar led the Bears in goals scored (7), game winning goals (3) and points (17), while starting 14 of the 19 matches she played. She had at least one point in eight of the 19 games and converted the clinching penalty kick in the MVC Tournament quarterfinal win over Creighton. Aguilar scored a career high two goals at UNI (10/10). Her goals at SEMO (8/29) and vs. Indiana State were game winners. She scored the Bears’ lone goal in a 4-1 defeat to No. 18 Kansas (9/12). Her other goals came in victories over UALR (8/24) and Nicholls State (9/19). Aguilar accumulated three assists on the season. She added 43 shots, 18 of which were on goal, second-best only to Caroline Sweeney.

2007: Aguilar was named to the All-MVC honorable mention squad, recording 38 shots and three points. Her lone goal came in the victory over Murray State (9/12). Aguilar posted her assist in the season opening win over Western Michigan (8/31).

2006: Aguilar played in all 21 matches as a freshman, earning 11 starting assignments. She tallied seven points on two goals and three assists. Her goal against Southeast Missouri State (9/3) was the game winner as the Bears won 1-0 against the NCAA Tournament qualifiers. Aguilar also added a goal against UNI (10/1). She had game-winning assists on Caroline Sweeney’s goal in overtime of the Bears’ season-opening 3-2 victory over Arkansas (8/25) and on Kate Blair’s goal in MSU’s first-round MVC Tournament win over Illinois State (10/29). Aguilar became only the second player in school history to earn MVC Freshman of the Year accolades and she was also voted to the MVC All-Freshman team.

Background: Aguilar came to Missouri State from Olathe North High School in Olathe, Kan., where she helped lead her team to a first-place conference finish and a school-best season record of 16-2 during her junior year. Aguilar’s defensive prowess on the Eagle backline helped her team to school records for season shutouts with 14 and fewest goals allowed in a season with nine. Aguilar was named first team all-state, All-Sunflower League, All-Sun County and all-city as a junior and a senior. She was voted co-defensive player of the year for the Sunflower League two consecutive years and co-defensive player of the year for Olathe North in her final year. Aguilar was also a member of her high school’s tennis and volleyball teams.

Personal: Aguilar is the daughter of Patrick and Glenda Aguilar and was born April 1, 1988. She is majoring in speech/language pathology. Her sister, Courtney, played volleyball at Emporia State University and her brother is a soccer player for Baker University.