When Reagan Quigley began her Idaho career as a freshman, the program looked very different. The team struggled to compete in the Western Athletic Conference under head coach Pete Showler.
Four years later, the lone senior on the Idaho soccer team this season has mentored younger teammates and offered valuable experience on the pitch during Idaho’s run to the Big Sky Conference regular season title.
“We’ve continued to trust the process and work really, really hard,” Quigley said. “We’re committed to our core values and obviously it has helped us this year.”
As a recruit from Woodinville High School in Woodinville, Washington, Quigley looked for a university that possessed a dedicated mentality on the soccer field and successful business program in the classroom. She was referred to Idaho by her assistant coach and former Vandal Mandy McAlexander.
“(McAlexander) told me that the team had a tough, hard-working mentality and that really resonated with me as a person,” Quigley said. “I looked into the University of Idaho and found out it had a great business college and figured out that it was a fit for me.”
Quigley initially saw very little playing time as an underclassman, appearing in just seven games for the Vandals during the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Her role became much more prominent during her junior season, when she started 12 games for the Vandals and scored her first career goal against Weber State, adding five shots on goal throughout the year.
Quigley entered the 2015 season as the only Vandal senior, earning the title of captain from both Idaho head coach Derek Pittman and her teammates.
“The number one thing about Reagan is that she is a true Vandal,” Pittman said. “She bleeds silver and gold. She has a hunger and passion to be a great teammate and she is willing to take on whatever role necessary to help the team.”
Although Quigley has seen a limited role this season, she still accumulated over 386 minutes on the pitch for the Vandals and has been a key substitute for Pittman during pivotal moments on the field.
“We know every time that she steps on the field, she brings a tremendous amount of energy,” Pittman said. “She’s going to run defenders as hard as she can and I honestly think that most defenders get worried when she comes on the field.”
In addition to earning the honor of captain of the team, Quigley earned Big Sky All-Academic honors in 2014 and received the Avista Scholarship for earning a grade point average of 3.7 or higher.
The Vandals honored Quigley with a short ceremony before the team’s regular season finale against Eastern Washington last Friday. The university painted the No. 27 near the midfield line as a tribute to Quigley and the influence she has had on the program.
Quigley said despite the touching tribute, Friday’s game was just business as usual.
“I simply enjoyed the sport with my family, my friends and my teammates, who are also my family,” Quigley said. “There wasn’t really a rush of emotions. I knew that we needed to keep a cool mentality. Eastern is always a tough game and you have to keep cool emotions to stay focused on the game.”
Quigley and the Vandals enter the Big Sky Tournament with a first-round bye. They will play Montana in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Friday.
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom