Griz star Zajonc to face old team
9/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Two years ago, last year's Big Sky Conference Defensive player of the year, Montana defender McKenzie Zajonc, wasn't even a Grizzly. In fact, she wasn't even in the state of Montana.
She was playing for Santa Clara University, one the most illustrious college soccer teams in the nation and last year's NCAA I-A national champion.
Zajonc started in 16 of the 19 games she played for the Broncos during her sophomore year as the team went 17-6-1 that season, losing 2-1 to Notre Dame in overtime in the NCAA tournament's elite eight of soccer.
This weekend, as the Grizzlies prepare to take on defending national champion Santa Clara, Zajonc is preparing to play against her former teammates, friends and coaches for the first time since she transferred.
So, how did Zajonc, one of the most talented midfielders/defenders the Big Sky Conference has seen in a long time, end up at Montana, a far cry from Santa Clara on the soccer map?
To best answer that question, it is best to start at the beginning of Zajonc's college soccer journey.
Santa Clara had always been Zajonc's dream. Since the sixth grade, she knew she was going to play soccer for the university.
During the summer between her junior and senior years in high school, Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith saw Zajonc play and instantly he knew she would be a great addition to the Broncos.
"She played well and was a wonderful athlete," Smith said. "She had great potential and still does." "She had the leadership skills we looked for in our back players."
Smith recruited Zajonc as a central defender who he thought would work well in their flat back defense.
"I remember she would be warming up, and I would watch her run and think, 'What a stud,'" Smith said. "She's an awesome athlete."
Although Zajonc was playing behind two All-Americans, she still saw playing time as a true freshman during blowout games.
"There were some games I would play 10 minutes or other games I would play the whole second half," Zajonc said. "I was so nervous going in."
Zajonc describes the Santa Clara soccer program as very intense.
"I learned that I could push my body further then I thought I could ever go," Zajonc said.
And she had to in order to play the four-and-a-half-month season that started in mid-August with daily doubles, continued through Thanksgiving and on into December for the national tournament.
"It was such a pressured environment," Zajonc said. "It's 'you perform or you leave.' Maybe that's why they win national championships - because you get the players who perform."
These players included members of the U.S. National Team. Women, Zajonc said, who had incredible mindsets to become even better players every day at practice.
Zajonc started most of the games during her sophomore year at Santa Clara, but she found herself longing for the something more.
She did not enjoy the San Jose and San Francisco Bay area surrounding the school, and she thought the school was too small.
"I just didn't feel like I was at home," Zajonc said. "I was just bringing myself down wondering, 'Why can't I just be happy?' I just didn't know."
As she grew more and more unhappy, Zajonc started to consider transferring. Smith, naturally, discouraged her decision to leave in the beginning.
"She would have helped us had she stayed here," said Smith. "She could play well here and help make a difference." However, Smith is a fan of Griz head coach Betsy Duerksen and knows Zajonc is in a good program with "a terrific coach."
Zajonc felt like she could have gotten through the Santa Clara soccer program if she had liked the school, but she wasn't crazy about either one.
"I was like, 'Soccer's great, but there is something more out there and I can find a balance,'" Zajonc said.
A balance, she said, she has found completely in Montana.
Zajonc's decision to transfer to UM was fast and late in the summer of 2001. In fact, she was sure she was going to take a year off and maybe not play soccer again. But after talking to high school friend and Grizzly teammate Erin Smith, Zajonc came to visit Missoula and the team.
She came in late August, after the team had already started its preseason training of daily doubles, which is like football's two-a-days.
Within that week in August, Zajonc knew Missoula, UM and the Grizzlies were the right fit for her.
"I was looking for a bigger university, more liberal," Zajonc said. "I was looking for a university town where there is a lot going on and a community."
Zajonc told Duerksen she was coming. But whether she played or not was up to the team.
She wondered if the team would accept her, coming in after missing daily doubles, to start practicing and get some playing time. She considered red-shirting and also taking the year off and returning the following season.
However, the team accepted her right away.
"I really had an angel on my shoulder coming in," Zajonc said. "I was here so late. I was just really lucky."
Luck really had nothing to do with it though, according to her new coach.
"The team accepted her because of who she is," Duerksen said. "She is one of those people you can't help but like."
Duerksen describes Zajonc as "a coach on field" who, during games, straightens out problems on the field before Duerksen has a chance to.
"That is amazing," Duerksen said. "Her intelligence is communicated well on the field."
Zajonc's teammates respect her not only as a player, but as a person, Duerksen said.
"She's nurturing and conscientious of everyone," Duerksen said. "They don't have to be the best player for her to care about them."
As a Grizzly athlete, Zajonc knows she's also a role model to local kids.
"It is so cool to see them wear their jerseys and run around and ask just the cutest things like, 'Did you always want to be a Griz soccer player?'" Zajonc said. "It just breaks your heart."
Having the young fans is important to Zajonc and reminds her that little eyes are watching and what she does matters.
Her accomplishments on the field speak volumes about her ability. However, her awards from the team last season show her leadership.
"For the team to vote me MVP and captain," she said. "I was just so overwhelmed by their appreciation and just accepting me."
Zajonc still speaks in disbelief recounting how the team accepted her.
"I'm just so thankful that they are just such real people," she said. "There's no grudges. It's just kind of how it is for them."
A new chapter in Zajonc's saga is going to unfold this weekend when she and the Grizzlies travel to Santa Clara.
"It's kind of crazy," Zajonc said. "In the history of Montana soccer, it has never played Santa Clara and here it is my senior year, going to play on that field again, against them."
But Zajonc shows no sign of being intimidated or nervous to face her old team. In fact, she is more excited to see how the team steps it up to face such a powerhouse.
"Everyone keeps saying, 'Come on, we've got to beat Santa Clara for McKenzie.' But I'm like, 'No, we're doing it for us,'" Zajonc said. "I mean I really don't want it to be like this thing where this is my thing because it's not. I'm on this team now, and that's how I want it."
She was playing for Santa Clara University, one the most illustrious college soccer teams in the nation and last year's NCAA I-A national champion.
Zajonc started in 16 of the 19 games she played for the Broncos during her sophomore year as the team went 17-6-1 that season, losing 2-1 to Notre Dame in overtime in the NCAA tournament's elite eight of soccer.
This weekend, as the Grizzlies prepare to take on defending national champion Santa Clara, Zajonc is preparing to play against her former teammates, friends and coaches for the first time since she transferred.
So, how did Zajonc, one of the most talented midfielders/defenders the Big Sky Conference has seen in a long time, end up at Montana, a far cry from Santa Clara on the soccer map?
To best answer that question, it is best to start at the beginning of Zajonc's college soccer journey.
Santa Clara had always been Zajonc's dream. Since the sixth grade, she knew she was going to play soccer for the university.
During the summer between her junior and senior years in high school, Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith saw Zajonc play and instantly he knew she would be a great addition to the Broncos.
"She played well and was a wonderful athlete," Smith said. "She had great potential and still does." "She had the leadership skills we looked for in our back players."
Smith recruited Zajonc as a central defender who he thought would work well in their flat back defense.
"I remember she would be warming up, and I would watch her run and think, 'What a stud,'" Smith said. "She's an awesome athlete."
Although Zajonc was playing behind two All-Americans, she still saw playing time as a true freshman during blowout games.
"There were some games I would play 10 minutes or other games I would play the whole second half," Zajonc said. "I was so nervous going in."
Zajonc describes the Santa Clara soccer program as very intense.
"I learned that I could push my body further then I thought I could ever go," Zajonc said.
And she had to in order to play the four-and-a-half-month season that started in mid-August with daily doubles, continued through Thanksgiving and on into December for the national tournament.
"It was such a pressured environment," Zajonc said. "It's 'you perform or you leave.' Maybe that's why they win national championships - because you get the players who perform."
These players included members of the U.S. National Team. Women, Zajonc said, who had incredible mindsets to become even better players every day at practice.
Zajonc started most of the games during her sophomore year at Santa Clara, but she found herself longing for the something more.
She did not enjoy the San Jose and San Francisco Bay area surrounding the school, and she thought the school was too small.
"I just didn't feel like I was at home," Zajonc said. "I was just bringing myself down wondering, 'Why can't I just be happy?' I just didn't know."
As she grew more and more unhappy, Zajonc started to consider transferring. Smith, naturally, discouraged her decision to leave in the beginning.
"She would have helped us had she stayed here," said Smith. "She could play well here and help make a difference." However, Smith is a fan of Griz head coach Betsy Duerksen and knows Zajonc is in a good program with "a terrific coach."
Zajonc felt like she could have gotten through the Santa Clara soccer program if she had liked the school, but she wasn't crazy about either one.
"I was like, 'Soccer's great, but there is something more out there and I can find a balance,'" Zajonc said.
A balance, she said, she has found completely in Montana.
Zajonc's decision to transfer to UM was fast and late in the summer of 2001. In fact, she was sure she was going to take a year off and maybe not play soccer again. But after talking to high school friend and Grizzly teammate Erin Smith, Zajonc came to visit Missoula and the team.
She came in late August, after the team had already started its preseason training of daily doubles, which is like football's two-a-days.
Within that week in August, Zajonc knew Missoula, UM and the Grizzlies were the right fit for her.
"I was looking for a bigger university, more liberal," Zajonc said. "I was looking for a university town where there is a lot going on and a community."
Zajonc told Duerksen she was coming. But whether she played or not was up to the team.
She wondered if the team would accept her, coming in after missing daily doubles, to start practicing and get some playing time. She considered red-shirting and also taking the year off and returning the following season.
However, the team accepted her right away.
"I really had an angel on my shoulder coming in," Zajonc said. "I was here so late. I was just really lucky."
Luck really had nothing to do with it though, according to her new coach.
"The team accepted her because of who she is," Duerksen said. "She is one of those people you can't help but like."
Duerksen describes Zajonc as "a coach on field" who, during games, straightens out problems on the field before Duerksen has a chance to.
"That is amazing," Duerksen said. "Her intelligence is communicated well on the field."
Zajonc's teammates respect her not only as a player, but as a person, Duerksen said.
"She's nurturing and conscientious of everyone," Duerksen said. "They don't have to be the best player for her to care about them."
As a Grizzly athlete, Zajonc knows she's also a role model to local kids.
"It is so cool to see them wear their jerseys and run around and ask just the cutest things like, 'Did you always want to be a Griz soccer player?'" Zajonc said. "It just breaks your heart."
Having the young fans is important to Zajonc and reminds her that little eyes are watching and what she does matters.
Her accomplishments on the field speak volumes about her ability. However, her awards from the team last season show her leadership.
"For the team to vote me MVP and captain," she said. "I was just so overwhelmed by their appreciation and just accepting me."
Zajonc still speaks in disbelief recounting how the team accepted her.
"I'm just so thankful that they are just such real people," she said. "There's no grudges. It's just kind of how it is for them."
A new chapter in Zajonc's saga is going to unfold this weekend when she and the Grizzlies travel to Santa Clara.
"It's kind of crazy," Zajonc said. "In the history of Montana soccer, it has never played Santa Clara and here it is my senior year, going to play on that field again, against them."
But Zajonc shows no sign of being intimidated or nervous to face her old team. In fact, she is more excited to see how the team steps it up to face such a powerhouse.
"Everyone keeps saying, 'Come on, we've got to beat Santa Clara for McKenzie.' But I'm like, 'No, we're doing it for us,'" Zajonc said. "I mean I really don't want it to be like this thing where this is my thing because it's not. I'm on this team now, and that's how I want it."
Thursday, June 04
Friday, May 01
Friday, May 01
Friday, May 01
