Wednesday, Oct. 28
SEATTLE -- The injuries during her high school years were beyond her control -- a fractured bone in her left foot, followed shortly thereafter by a fractured pelvis.
Through it all, Kelsey Jenkins never lost her desire to play soccer at the college level.
Jenkins got the chance she wanted. And coach Chuck Sekyra -- who never lost his desire to have the Seattle Pacific be the college-level place where Jenkins played -- got himself a dependable reserve midfielder in 2008 who has blossomed into a full-time starter in 2009 as the Falcons continue their pursuit of a second straight NCAA Division II championship.
“During the most ideal time to get seen (by college recruiters), I was hurt. But Chuck had seen me play before all those injuries,” Jenkins said. “He sort of knew the type of player I was and what role I would fill. Other schools were timid, but Chuck was really positive. When I said I would go here, I was injured at the time with my pelvis. But he said. “Don't even worry about injuries. You're going to rebound.' ”
The Falcons hope to do a bit of rebounding themselves on Wednesday night when they play host to rival Western Washington in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference showdown at Interbay Stadium. The 7 p.m. game will be a chance for SPU to turn around its 3-2 loss to the Vikings in Bellingham from Oct. 3, and also bounce back from Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
“For whatever reason, it's always difficult for us going up there and playing them,” Jenkins said of the first Western game, which ended a 27-game Falcon unbeaten streak and a 1,048-minute streak of not allowing a goal. “The first half, they came at us strong, to their credit. We bounced back in the second half, and we outplayed them in the second half, but just came up short.”
Jenkins certainly hasn't come up short in her performance. After starting eight of the 23 games she played last season, contributing two goals and four assists, the 5-foot-8 sophomore has started all 16 games this fall with four goals (three of them game-winners) and a team-leading six assists (one of them on a game-winning goal).
No surprise to Sekyra, who naturally has no regrets that while other potential college suitors backed away, he looked beyond those injuries to make sure Jenkins dressed up in maroon following her days at Kentwood High School in Covington, southeast of Seattle.
“She's a great kid, and I love having her on the team,” Sekyra said. “She's funny as heck, and I love her personality. So where's the risk? So far, it has paid off.”
IT ALL COUNTS THE SAME
Jenkins doesn't hesitate when asked to define her role: Get the ball to her teammates so they can score.
But she also likes putting one in herself occasionally. And those same teammates are happy to oblige.
“Setting up, playing people through -- that's what I would see as my biggest asset to the team,” Jenkins said. “I think I'm really offensive-minded in a lot of ways. So in addition to looking for assists, I kind of expect that in return. That's why the stats have been what they've been.”
Added Sekyra, “She can put the ball anywhere she wants at times. She has the right ideas.”
Sekyra sees a lot in Jenkins' play that doesn't necessarily show up in the box score. He expects to see even more as this season heads toward crunch time and the next two years loom.
“It's amazing to see what KJ is capable of doing when she's healthy and fit,” Sekyra said. “She's very smart with the ball (she's also smart in class with a near-perfect 3.97 grade-point average as a political science major), she's a very good athlete and she's very, very competitive. The area where I feel she's very improved in is her defending. She has really done a great job with that.”
Jenkins' father, Tom, was a star with the 1970s Sounders of the North American Soccer League, and was a left winger with several English clubs from 1966-75, including a three-season stint with Southampton of the First Division from 1969-72. So soccer was in her destiny.
She also seemed destined to wind up at SPU. Though separated by a couple of decades or so, she and Sekyra attended the same Kent elementary school (Soos Creek), junior high (Meridian) and high school (Kentwood).
“She's the only kid at practice who can wear something different than the team,” Sekyra said with a grin. “Sometimes, she wears something from Kentwood.”
NOW A FALCON THROUGH AND THROUGH
Come game time, though, Jenkins is all Seattle Pacific. In fact, one of her favorite soccer moments was last year's NCAA West Regional championship overtime victory against Western Washington.
“I always knew that I wanted to play in college. I just didn't know I was going to go to a place like SPU that has a reputation of excellence,” Jenkins said.
It's a reputation that Jenkins is bolstering more and more.
“I have high expectations for myself,” Jenkins said, adding that she feels she has reached only 75 to 80 percent of her potential. “Sometimes in my play, I tend to coast. When I do play to my capabilities for the entire game is when I'll be at 100 percent.”
Sekyra is counting on it.
“She's one of those kids we hoped would step up and be the player that she is this year. She has exceeded expectations,” he said.
“I think we're just seeing the start of a great career.”
