2008 Post Register Soccer Players of the Year
Hillcrest's Chloe Ence, left, and Idaho Falls' Jeff Hampton are the Post Register's Soccer Players of the Year for 2008. Nate Chute / Post Register
Girls player of the Year
Chloe Ence, Hillcrest High School
Ever since Chloe Ence arrived at Hillcrest, the Knights haven’t lost a game to a conference opponent. Coincidence? Hardly. The senior has run the midfield of eastern Idaho’s best team with the efficiency a brutal general and turned it into the most potent offense around. For her command of play and the ball, Ence was named the 2008 Post Register Girls Soccer Player of the Year. She sat down with Post Register sports writer Michael Lycklama to talk about the season, her career and her plans for the future.
POST REGISTER: Do you have any plans to play next year in college?
Chloe Ence: I have a couple options. I can play or if I don’t want to, I don’t have to. College of Idaho has offered me a scholarship. I’m kind of talking to BYU-Hawaii. They haven’t offered me anything or told me I can go there yet. They’re interested and if I don’t play anywhere, I’ll probably go to BYU-Provo.
PR: You play basketball and soccer. Would you say you have a favorite?
CE: It depends on what season I am in. During the soccer season, I like soccer more. During the basketball season, I like basketball more. But the more I play, the more I like soccer.
PR: Have you had any options to play basketball somewhere?
CE: I could go to Dixie (State College) and walk on. I can probably play at College of Idaho. I’ve been talking to them a lot and they make it sound like I can go there. But they haven’t offered anything a lot. And Treasure Valley Community College, they’ve told me I can play soccer and basketball there.
PR: You’ve started all four years at Hillcrest. Was that a big deal as a freshman?
CE: I didn’t really know what was going on. It was a big deal and it was exciting to play with all the great girls that were there. Now, I realize how big it was to start as a freshman.
PR: You finished with 17 goals and 17 assists. Do you prefer scoring or setting up others to score?
CE: In the midfield, I’m supposed to assist a lot but I also like to score. Goals get recognized more, but I think at my position it’s more important for me to get assists.
PR: You went two-and-out at state this year for the first time since 2005. Was that a disappointment?
CE: Our first game was a disappointment. (Columbia) scored two early goals on us. We outplayed them the rest of the game, but we just couldn’t put one in. And then in the second game, it was versus Century and they are always a really tough team. We played them pretty well but they got a goal in the last 10 minutes. So our second game, we were happy we didn’t give up and kept playing. We had state title in our head and in our sights, but it didn’t work in a row.
PR: Looking back at your high school career, what’s one thing you’ll remember?
CE: Sophomore year when we went to the state championship and lost in PKs. That was really exciting. I didn’t expect us to get that far. We were really happy with that.
PR: Did you take a PK?
CE: I think I was ninth. There was 11 that went up. I got up there and knew if I missed it we were going to lose but I made it. That was pressure. I’ll definitely remember that.
