First in a series.

MSUB SPORTS – "Team, there are 82 minutes left in this game. We have time to turn this around."
 
It didn't seem possible that the Montana State University Billings women's soccer team could be facing a 3-0 deficit just seven minutes into a match at the University of Providence on Tuesday. Nor did it seem feasible that they could come back and win. After all, no team in MSUB history and just one team in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history had ever achieved the feat.
 
Immediately however, freshman forward Cassidy O'Dell turned her head coach's words of encouragement into something her team could realistically believe in. Less than a minute after Stephen Cavallo urged his team to believe they could win, she delivered her first collegiate goal in the eighth minute of the match.
 
"Just hearing him say that we had so much time helped us calm down, and after that we started connecting passes and playing better," said O'Dell. "After he said that, we realized we just had to work together and play our game."

MSUB never looked back after O'Dell's goal, as the Yellowjackets scored three more goals and walked out of Great Falls with an improbable 4-3 triumph. O'Dell also had an assist in the match, and although it was her first official game with a goal she has been hinting that there are many more to come since the Yellowjackets' preseason.
 
"Cassidy has come straight into our team and made a massive impact," said Cavallo. "She has added a lot of creative, dynamic, attacking play for us in the final third. She is simply an attacking player who has one thing in mind: scoring goals."
 
In MSUB's three exhibition games, O'Dell racked up three goals and a pair of assists, headlining a Yellowjacket offense that out-scored its opponents 11-2 in three preseason affairs. Since then, the 'Jackets are off to their best start since the 2015 season, going 3-1-1 through their first five matches. With the team's initial Great Northwest Athletic Conference match on the horizon Saturday at noon at Yellowjacket Field, the Yellowjackets will undoubtedly continue to rely on one of their top freshmen.
 
O'Dell's first sport was basketball, which she played from first grade through her sophomore year at Lynnwood High School in Washington. Her passion for soccer began developing when she started with the sport in fourth grade, and soon the pitch overtook the hardwood as her favorite place to be. The one constant whether she was scoring with her jump shot or her dominant right foot, was that from the beginning O'Dell has been all about offense.
 
"I have always been a forward in soccer, and I have always thought it was more fun to score goals," said O'Dell.
 
A spot on Crossfire ECNL in middle school parlayed into making the Northwest Nationals in high school as O'Dell developed her game with some of the top club teams on the West Coast.
 
While the makings of a college-level player have always been there, setbacks along the way put some doubt into O'Dell's mind that she could continue her career beyond high school. "I broke a bone in my right foot after my freshman year of high school, and then right when I came back sophomore season I broke the same bone in the same place," O'Dell said, adding that the injury required a screw to be placed in her favored foot. "Being away from the game was more frustrating, and the fact that I couldn't work out or play while all my friends were playing was tough."
 
Though her spirits were dampened, O'Dell recovered and got back to her goal scoring ways before too long. After a bout of seven goals in three matches for her high school team, she earned Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Athlete of the Week in September of her senior season in 2017.
 
"Stephen got in touch with my coach in Seattle, and within a few weeks I was on campus for a visit," O'Dell recalled. "I got to practice with the team and I really liked the environment and everything about it."
 
The next thing she knew, O'Dell was back at MSUB for the start of her first collegiate season. She couldn't hide nerves and anticipation going into the first few games, but from what her coaches saw in practice and early on they knew right away that she would be a key contributor. "Technically, she is very solid," Cavallo said. "Over the course of the last month, she has already proven that she can score goals with both feet. She also has the ability to create scoring opportunities off the dribble, and is good at creating the little bit of space needed against a defender to get the shot off." 



Scoring against Rocky Mountain College in her first exhibition match bolstered O'Dell's confidence, and she has also looked up to the experienced teammates surrounding her as she gets acclimated to the collegiate game. O'Dell cites senior captain and fellow forward Jordan Devoto as being a voice of reason that encourages her and pushes her on a daily basis.
 
Another veteran she has looked up to is junior Claire Tevaseu, who has emerged as a major factor in MSUB's offense so far this season. Among O'Dell's team-leading three assists, the most notable one in her eyes came against Black Hills State when she set up Tevaseu's first-career goal. "Claire has been a good friend to me both on and off the field," O'Dell said. "I was really happy I helped her get her first goal the other day."
 
While the upperclassmen are doing their part to bring out the best in O'Dell, an instantaneous chemistry has materialized with fellow freshman Julia Keller in the attacking third. The Munich, Germany, native scored the second goal in the comeback against Providence, receiving an assist from O'Dell after providing the assist on the first goal. The two also each had an assist to one another during the exhibition season, and have become a formidable duo among MSUB's attacking three players.
 
"Julia and I always talk to each other before the game, and we just try to communicate and make runs off the ball to each other," O'Dell commented. "Our runs have just matched up really well together so far."
 
With just one full week of classes at MSUB under her belt, O'Dell already has an idea of her career aspirations as she pursues the field of physical therapy. Her interest in the practice stems from spending time with a physical therapist to deal with back issues during her youth growth spurts. "When I was younger I had stress fractures in my lower back, and I visited a physical therapist a lot," O'Dell said. "Ever since then, I have been really interested in it. It is something I want to do because it is a chance to help people who are injured, which is something I have been through with sports."
 
With time winding down in MSUB's final exhibition match of the year against Yakima Valley College on Aug. 26, the 'Jackets had the game well in hand leading 2-0. A long clearance from MSUB's defensive third in the 89th minute suddenly turned into a breakaway scoring chance, as O'Dell masterfully corralled a high bounce and headed the ball forward to herself with a defender in pursuit. "I was actually going to slow up and try to cut to my right foot to get away from the defender, but I ended up just continuing to run forward," O'Dell said.
 
As she approached the goal box down the left side of the field, her window of opportunity narrowed with each forward step. Her mark had completely shut off her right side, and the Yaks' goalkeeper began coming off her line to close the angle. By the time she entered the goal box, only one realistic option remained available with the upper-left corner at the near post. "It's kind of funny, but I feel like I score almost all of my goals with my left foot," O'Dell said with a smile.
 
Just as the task of overcoming a 3-0 deficit to win on Tuesday seemed improbable, so did the idea of coercing a shot into the smallest of windows.
 
"Attacking talents like Cassidy do not come around every day, and we only hope to continue to push her, help her game expand, and help get the best out of her on and off the field," Cavallo said. "She has laid down a great foundation for herself here at MSUB, and we are really excited to see her continue to progress throughout her time in our program."
 
With no margin for error, O'Dell curled a left-footed strike high enough to get over the charging keeper and low enough to stay under the crossbar. A wide grin – part adrenaline, part disbelief – overtook her face as she turned to celebrate the goal with her teammates.
 
It's a look the Yellowjackets are going to get used to seeing plenty over the next four years.