SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior soccer player Emily Billena has made a verbal commitment to play soccer and attend school at Chico State University this fall.
"When they first reached out it was not a school I was looking at," said Billena. "I decided to give it a look. After I visited the campus, I liked how the team bonded. When I went on a different visit, I could compare and see how much I really liked Chico. It has everything I wanted."
She will play for longtime Wildcat head coach Kim Sutton, who became the winningest coach in school history this fall. Sutton has led the Wildcats to six California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) North Division crowns, 10 trips to the CCAA Championship Tournament (winning the program's first-ever CCAA conference title in 2007) and seven NCAA Championship Tournament appearances in the past 15 seasons.
"She is a very genuine person and the players say she is easy to talk to," said Billena. "I saw a practice and their style of play. It is fast and I liked it. I am excited."
Billena, who also plays for the San Juan soccer club, has played three seasons for the Troubadours and the SF soccer program. She had six goals and six assists as a freshman on the JV team. After being promoted to the varsity as a sophomore, she contributed three goals and five assists in 2017-18. Last year, she had her season sidelined by a concussion in the Rocklin Tournament.
"It was really hard," said Billena of missing the majority of the season. "I wanted to play. Sitting on the bench was great being around all those people and cheering on the team. I loved the feeling."
She hopes to be a major contributor this season and help the team defend their CIF NorCal Championship.
"Winning again," said Billena of her goals for the season. "Last year I was concussed so I did not get to participate as much. I am hoping my senior year I can contribute more."
Head Coach Maryclaire Robinson is excited for her full return.
"Emily is an interesting player - obviously she is crafty on the ball and is clever in that she successfully gets out of pressure well and can score goals," said Robinson. "These are skills you expect from every quality attacking player. What makes Emily interesting is the quality of her off-the-ball runs. She reads the game so well and makes stealthy runs without the ball - some of her finishes (goals) seem simple but she's done the hard work to get herself in that goal scoring position. Sometimes it seems she's more dangerous without the ball - defenders can't find her and by the time she is found, she's putting the ball in the back of the net.
Billena plans to study nursing at Chico State.
"They had me shadow a pre-nursing student and was able to see how it works," said Billena. "They get a lot of help from the faculty and I saw how I can balance soccer and the academics."
She will join current teammate Lindsey Piatanesi at Chico in the fall.
With her senior season ahead, Billena is ready for what is ahead this year and next fall.
"College soccer is it for me and I am excited to continue playing," said Billena.
She will participate in the St. Francis NCAA Signing Day celebration on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.
