Career Resume
Stroup holds six Yellowjacket records. She is the program’s all-time leading scorer with 109 points. A four-year starter, Stroup scored 40 goals and had 29 assists during her career, both school records. She also had a school-record 12 game-winning goals.
Stroup was a first-team selection for the Heartland Conference in 2005 and 2006 and also earned All-Region honors in 2003 and 2006. The MSUB Female Athlete of the Year in 2006, she helped MSUB post a 36-15-6 record during her career.
MSUB's Stroup Continues to Rewrite Record Book (By: Joe Kusek/Billings Gazette, 10/10/2006) - Original Publication
Less than 10 minutes. That's all it took for Ally Stroup to offer a hint on her impact for the Montana State-Billings women's soccer program.
Stroup, a freshman playing her first game for the Yellowjackets, scored an unassisted goal in an exhibition game against Laramie County Community College in the first 10 minutes of play.
It would be the first of many highlights.
Stroup's influence on offense coincides with an MSU-B program that has won more 40 games since her arrival from Southern California in the fall of 2003.
"I knew the moment we got her that she was going to be a special player here," said Don Trentham, the Yellowjackets head coach.
After going 6-10-1 Stroup's freshman season, MSU-B has posted records of 12-4-3 and 11-5-2. This year's team is 11-3 and has been ranked nationally in the top 10 and No. 1 for the Midwest Region.
"I was confident I was going to work well with the other players on the team," said Stroup, who has been a starter since Day One.
"You just have to have confidence in yourself when you step out on the field."
Trentham had already seen the 5-foot, 4-inch package of confidence and speed show an innate skill around the net, along with the ability to make others around her better, during the early practices. He didn't hesitate to make her an immediate starter.
She scored her first official collegiate goal a week later, a second-half score in a 2-0 win over East Stroudsburg State.
Almost four years later, Stroup holds every career scoring record - goals, assists, total points - at MSU-B and this weekend will become the new career leader for games played and games started.
"The reason for scoring is to get the team a win," Stroup said. "I don't look at it as a record, I just want to win."
Originally from Ojai, Calif., Stroup was following her mother to the region and started checking into schools around Montana. An aunt and uncle live in Crowley, Wyo.
It was her aunt, Pat Davis, who initiated contact with Trentham, who had just been hired to take over the program. Trentham was still at East Stroudsburg State in Pennsylvania when Davis called about her niece.
"Any time you get a call about a player from Southern California, you follow up," Trentham said. "It turned out to be a pretty good follow-up."
Stroup, then Ally Taylor, came up for a visit and was immediately taken by the camaraderie of the players.
"Coming off a 2-14 season, you wouldn't expect that," said Stroup. "The players had this terrific bond and I wanted to be part of that."
Stroup was second on the team for goals scored as a freshman and the first player in the program's history to earn all-Region honors. She was again second in scoring as a sophomore and last year shared the team scoring title.
This season, Stroup has scored a team-high 14 goals and scored a team-best 34 points. She also has six assists.
An aggressive forward, Stroup finds the extra gear when going one-on-one against an opposing goal keeper.
"I've always had the attacking mentality," she said. "I get into problems when I'm coming up on a goalie and think, 'This is going to be easy.' That's when I miss.
"One season (in high school) I play defender. But I tended to dribble all the way up the field to try and score," Stroup finished with a smile.
Stroup - who married Garret Stroup after her sophomore year - has developed a special on-field chemistry with junior Brittney Sandau. The two have worked the give-and-go to almost perfection this season.
"Brittney and I have always worked well together," Stroup said. "I know where she is going to be and she knows where I'm going to be. It's all about communication."
And when things get tense, the Yellowjackets look to Stroup.
"That was never more evident than in the Sept. 20 game against Rocky Mountain College. Trailing 2-0, Stroup first fed Sara Gress for a goal, then forced overtime on a goal with 50 seconds remaining in regulation. Amy Stephens scored the game-winner in overtime for MSU-B.
"She took over the game," said Trentham. "Ally got us there.
"She's a leader. Ally is a player who leads others on the field. When we need scoring, we go to Ally. She'll step up and make the play."
"I like the ball in pressure situations," said Stroup.
Having put the program in the right direction, Stroup and her teammates have loftier goals this season.
"The first two years, it was all about being a .500 team," she said. "Once we accomplished that, we knew we could take it to the next level. We've all worked hard … during the season, during the indoor season and the spring.
"Our next goal is to make the NCAA tournament.
"It's been a great year. To make the tournament, that would be an ideal senior season."
