First Line of Defense: Ostrem among fifth years guiding success

It’s easier for a student-athlete to talk about loving a school and an athletic program than it is making a life decision that leaves no doubt as to where they stand.

Abby Ostrem, a fifth-year senior defender for the University of South Dakota soccer team, had the option to move on with a degree in hand last spring with law school or professional soccer possible next steps.

Instead, she stayed. She stayed with her teammates, stayed with her Coyotes, her school and what had become her town. In the end it was an easy decision.

Ostrem is a four-year starter for the Coyotes whose presence in the lineup may not be fully appreciated until she’s gone, her coach said. It’s the price you pay for combining a consistently high level of performance with a low level of maintenance.

She is one of four players remaining on the roster who were Coyotes before Coach Michael Thomas took over the program in December of 2017. As such, she and her fellow fifth-year players – Maddison Sullivan, Emma Harkleroad and Alexis Mitchell – have been partners in an impressive ascent that took them from 4-13 in 2017 to a berth in the four-team Summit League tournament in 2020.

These are hardy friendships, then. They’re able to withstand a difficult game occasionally without signs of unraveling. 

The benefit of this has been a terrific start for the Coyotes, who can count a win over Iowa State – their first over a Power 5 school – among their highlights so far this season.

For Ostrem personally, she’s part of a position group where evidence of their effectiveness is often measured by the level of success – or in this case, the lack of it – that is shown by the opponent.

“I think our resilience on the road at the beginning of the season has been a good tone-setter for us,” Ostrem said. “We may not have gotten the results we wanted every time but as a team we were able to go out and put some really good soccer together.”

So how did a defender from Texas end up in South Dakota? Ostrem, a veteran of club teams growing up, wanted to go to a program where she was going to get on the field, she said. Plus, though a Texan, both her mother and father grew up in Iowa and she had relatives in the area. She wouldn’t be alone in Vermillion, a place she’d never been prior to a visit that began memorably.

“That wind, the first time I felt it, almost kept me from coming here,” she said, laughing. “It was February for my unofficial visit. I got out of the car and the door almost came off the hinges. Seriously. I was like ‘Mom, I don’t know if I can do this.’ But Vermillion really grew on me. I think it grows on everyone who comes here. 

“Honestly part of the reason I stayed for this season was that I wasn’t ready to leave. I wasn’t ready for the school and my friends to not be part of my life anymore.”

Ostrem is known for a competitiveness that manifests itself in dependability at her left back position. Thomas has written her name into the starting lineup at that spot since he was hired.

“She’s gone out every time and held her own as part of the program as it’s grown,” Thomas said. “She plays a tricky position. It’s somewhat the equivalent to putting someone out on the corner in football. For the past five years we’ve been able to put her out there and let her do it without a lot of help.”

Spring soccer doesn’t really officially count for anything, though when a new coach is in place, as Thomas was in the spring of 2018, there is plenty to figure out. During a game at Minnesota -– the Coyotes fought to a 0-0 tie – the coach had the opportunity to gain insight into the kind of players he was going to have when the games counted the next fall.

“We found out in that game who was up for it,” Thomas said. “I’m not saying Abby went out and won every battle or was a finished product at that time but it was pretty clear she was going to be up for it. She was going to be up for the battles. And she’s taken that same attitude since I’ve been here. She’s been up for every fight.”

The Coyotes, who take on St. Thomas on Friday in Vermillion and Western Illinois on Sunday, have won four consecutive games. Defense has been a huge part of that with goalie Harkleroad fourth in goals-against average and third in save percentage in the nation. They’re impressive numbers a goalie doesn’t approach without a defense that limits scoring opportunities. 

“The coaching staff has set us up for success,” Ostrem said. “We have the tools and the guidance we need to be able to go out on the field and put it together as a unit.”