Soccer duo leads Pack
Thompson and Montejo truly are leading a record setting friendship
Senior midfielder Jessica Thompson dribbles the ball downfield last season.
Midfielder Jessica Thompson made an aggressive play for the ball last week during practice, and in the process planted her teammate and friend Miranda Montejo firmly on the Mackay Stadium turf.
“We walk on the field and it’s like good job, good battle in there, ‘I was just feisty’… we walk off the field best friends,” Thompson said.
Thompson and Montejo are seniors on the Wolf Pack women’s team searching for consistency under new coach Jaime Frias, who recognizes the talent of both women.
“We’re very proud of their accomplishments and they are very talented individuals, especially on the attacking side of things,” he said.
Thompson owns the all-time record for assists at Nevada with 15 and shares two additional offensive records.
Montejo is the all-time leader in points at Nevada with 44, and if she scores two goals this season she will have 19 for her career, giving her the record in that category as well.
All great duos have some push and some pull, some ying and some yang, and Thompson and Montejo are no different.
Thompson prefers to lead on the field with quiet confidence.
Montejo on the other hand is not against a little vocal encouragement every now and again.
“I might be a leader by example but Miranda is the one who will yell and pick me up; everyone has their own role,” Thompson said.
The women work well together because they have the same understanding of the concept of leadership.
They don’t assume that one person has all the answers; they work as a team, each providing their brand of leadership.
Thompson and Montejo are have played an enormous part of the transformation from a program without much of a tradition to a Western Athletic Conference champion and NCAA Tournament participant in 2006.
“I didn’t have any expectations when I came here…having your name in the books gives you incentive, it gives you something to work for. I want to get those two goals,” Montejo said.
Soccer is a big part of their lives, but Montejo and Thompson cherish their accomplishments on the field even more because of the bond of friendship they share off the field.
“We came in as a team, we changed things as a team and we’re leaving as best friends,” Montejo said about Thompson.
Montejo and Thompson have an unmistakable respect for each other as athletes, but their respect for each other as human beings is inspirationally optimistic.
“On and off the field, I know she is going to have my back,” Thompson said about Montejo.
That kind of trust in one another is what allows this duo to work so well together on the field, the belief that the other person is going to do her job regardless of the situation.
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on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 at 12:46 am and is filed under Football, Soccer, Sports.
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