BILLINGS, Mont. – On a brisk November evening in 2012, the lights shone down on Starfire Sports Complex, showcasing one of the premier matchups in NCAA Division II women's soccer, in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships.
 
Located in Tukwila, Wash., the facility is widely considered state-of-the-art among the soccer community in the Pacific Northwest, and for teams like the Montana State University Billings women's soccer squad it is considered the promise land.
 
For then-sophomore Jennifer Johnson, a native of Wenatchee, Wash., Starfire was a brief three hour journey from home and a familiar site. For her teammate Jessie Mancilla, it was a brand new scene and experience, but it was one that she made the most of.
 
Facing Seattle Pacific University in the first round of the tournament, Mancilla put away a goal in the 66th minute that proved to be the game-winner, pushing MSUB through to the championship match with a 1-0 victory.
 
"It is the reason why you work so hard, sometimes just for one game," Johnson said regarding the appearance in the championships. "Jessie and I have a different kind of friendship that makes you want to put one person in front of the other. As much as you want it to be yourself scoring that goal, you couldn't be happier that it was her."
 
The fact that Johnson and Mancilla both played the same position meant they weren't both on the field at the same time as sophomores in the program. The competition for playing time was intense between the two, but the friendship that blossomed out of it has become stronger than either could've ever envisioned.
 
CONVERGING ON BILLINGS
 
Hailing from Aliso Viejo, Calif., Mancilla filling out a recruiting questionnaire on a whim and her neighbors moving to Bozeman, Mont., were the factors that brought her to Billings. "I was slow on the whole process of going to school, but my dad came in one day and gave me this MSUB questionnaire," Mancilla remembered. "He said, 'here, this school is two hours away from where the neighbors moved,' so I filled it out and went from there."
 
For Johnson, the notion of moving to Montana had always been towards the top of her radar, and considering the Division II level was the best fit for her coming out of high school, she chose to become a Yellowjacket as well. "I heard great things about Montana, and I knew I didn't want to try to go D1," said Johnson. "MSUB was the only place I really looked at, and it was an open door for me. It was the one I wanted."
 
Two different scenarios ended up bringing the two together, but the moment they met is an unforgettable one in both of their eyes. "Jenny came into town on a late flight, and looked like the biggest goofball I have ever seen," Mancilla said with a laugh. "She was wearing Birkenstocks."
 
"Jessie had her makeup done, her hair was down and she was in jeans and a nice shirt," Johnson responded. "I could tell she was cool and from Cali, and I thought to myself, 'I don't fit in.'"
 
It didn't take long for the pair to grow together, as competition for a starting job as an outside back heated up as soon as training camp got going. "It was between me and Jess to get a starting spot, and she got it," Johnson said regarding their freshman year in 2011. "We still became close even though we were competing against each other. We each knew what the other was going through, but we each put one person's happiness in front of the other."
 
Johnson and Mancilla pushed one another throughout their freshman campaign, and they credit upperclassmen within the program with providing a strong role model presence. "We had Bigs and Court who were both outside backs, and Jaucelyn Richter too, and now we are too and we kind of resemble that," Mancilla said regarding 2013 MSUB women's soccer alumni Adrienne Biglow and Courtney Harvey. "After being so close on the field, you really develop a connection. In the championships I scored, and Jenny came up to me after the game and we were both crying. She told me she was proud of me."
 
"Jenny and Jessie have grown tremendously throughout their time at MSUB," said head coach Wojtek Krakwoiak. "Watching them grow as people and as players has been a great pleasure for me."
 
ROLE MODELS
 
"My biggest fans have always been my parents, but for different reasons," Mancilla said regarding her mother Charlotte and father Sergio. "My dad is one-of-a-kind, and if it weren't for him I wouldn't be here playing soccer."
 
Mancilla's father juggled duties as a police officer working a graveyard shift and taking his daughter to soccer tournaments so she could enhance her game. "Sometimes he would sleep in the car in between games to catch up on sleep," Mancilla recalled. "Then I would come home and my mom would always be there for me with everything else. She was my best friend growing up, and I definitely wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for both of them."
 
Emerging as the most likely to pursue athletics among a family of five children, Johnson also credits her father with the development of her game. "My dad was always the athletic one in the family, and he was always doing something active," said Johnson regarding her father Jay. "He would go mountain biking after work, come home for dinner, then go on a run. He was the one who wanted me to see how far I could go with soccer."
 
While her father pushed her towards becoming a college athlete, Johnson credits her trainer Blaine Davidson as another influence when she reached the Division II level. "Once I got to college, I had a trainer when I'd go home," said Johnson. "He was a huge influence on how good I could be, and even after getting to college he's the one that made me work hard and get even better. He saw so much more potential for me to grow over four years, and I did because of his help."
 
While college soccer turned out to be one of the most important parts of Mancilla's life, there was a time during her youth where she had thoughts of abandoning athletics all together. "When I was 13 or 14 I actually didn't want to play sports at all," Mancilla said. "My parents both told me that one day it would be really helpful to me in terms of growing up, so I stuck with it. After playing for so many years you don't really know anything else, and it is a part of your life that you don't want to give up until you have to."
 
STARFIRE QUALITY
 
After a taste of the top level of soccer across Division II in 2012, the Yellowjackets fell short of the tournament a season ago with a fifth-place finish in the GNAC. For both Mancilla and Johnson, a return to the top stage in the conference is what continues to drive them to become better players every day.
 
"You know what it's like and the feeling of going into a huge game," Mancilla said regarding playing in the tournament. "You try to think of it like it's any other game but it's not. It was definitely the best soccer moment of my life, just because of the atmosphere and the group of girls that we had that year."
 
Now both starting as outside backs for the 'Jackets, the notion of returning to Starfire is one that the duo has their sights set on. "We want to win, and we want to be people that our teammates can look up to," Johnson said. "Sometimes there are moments that seem bad, but in the end you don't remember those, and it is worth all of the hardships."
 
"We really want to emphasize after last year that we want to be a family through the ups and the downs, and always find a positive," said Mancilla. "We definitely want to leave a mark of having stayed here for the entire four years, and even though it gets hard sometimes you can't let that get to you."
 
The leadership qualities that Johnson and Mancilla have developed have become a staple for the 'Jackets this season, as the two help anchor MSUB's back line and set an example for the younger players. "They are great leaders on and off the field and they play a huge part in our team's success," said Krakowiak. "Jenny's work ethic is endless. She worked very hard to become the player she is, and she kept getting better each year and never gave up. I really respect that as a coach."
 
For Mancilla, the spark of talent was there from her freshman year, and she has displayed moments of heroics along the way such as her goal in the GNAC Championships. "Jessie is excellent in reading the game and is very calm on the ball," Krakowiak said. "She is not afraid to push forward and score goals as she did against SPU in the GNAC semifinals in 2012. Her decisions on the ball are very intelligent."
 
THE YELLOWJACKET EXPERIENCE
 
Through the incredibly intense lifestyle of being a student-athlete, Johnson and Mancilla have both witnessed noticeable growth in their lives both on and off the field. Entering a new scene as a college freshman is often times difficult, but both agree that sticking with MSUB turned out for the best.
 
"Coming here was the hardest decision I have ever made, but I think it's the best one I've ever made," said Mancilla. "Everything I went through, the good and the bad, has all been worth it. Chelsea Shuman and Jenny have become my closest friends here, and I couldn't have gone through these four years without them."
 
"It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but it makes you grow up so fast," Johnson said regarding moving to Billings and becoming a student-athlete. "You learn lessons so quickly, and the people I have met through soccer that I never knew I'd meet have become my best friends. It really brings you close with a lot of different people that you never would've gotten the chance to know would be like you."
 
Now as seniors, Johnson and Mancilla are fearlessly attacking their final season as student-athletes together, and with the confidence of the entire program behind them. "The expectations here are always high, but I am very confident that they will both live up to them," Krakowiak said. "I am positive that they will guide us to a successful season and will set an excellent example for the younger players. So far, they have been playing the best soccer that I have seen and fulfilling their roles as seniors."
 
With GNAC play already underway this season, the Yellowjackets face a pair of tough opponents in their home opener this weekend. On Thursday, MSUB welcomes in Central Washington, and on Saturday, Seattle Pacific comes to town.
 
While the game on Saturday at Yellowjacket Field against the Falcons won't feature a stadium atmosphere or the dramatic effect of lights, the memory of the teams' encounter in 2012 will certainly be looming in the seniors' minds. "We were sophomores that season, and there was a lot of pride riding on that game," Johnson said. "It showed us how far we could go in years to come, and seeing Jessie score that goal showed us how exciting soccer can be."