Gering's Brooke Satur inks with WNCC soccer

                Gering's Brooke Satur didn't make her college decision a hard one. She knew flat out where she wanted to go and what sport to play.

                On Wednesday, Satur officially inked with Western Nebraska Community College to play soccer.

                "I didn't think about playing softball any place else because I pretty much I thought of playing soccer,” Satur said. “WNCC was my first choice and I have known Todd [Rasnic] since I was little and I love playing soccer. Plus the school is good in what I want to do as I move on in my radiology career."

                WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said Satur is his type of player that because of her coolness on the field and her work rate.

                “First of all she has a good work rate and that is always beneficial when playing college athletics,” he said. “The main reason I looked at Brook is because of her technical abilities. She said the college game is played at a much higher speed, so you need players that are technically efficient.

“She has a lot of experience playing in competitive leagues through the Reccos soccer program and in high school with her team advancing to state through districts. That is invaluable experience that is difficult to teach. She fits the team profiles of the players I like to have. She will come in and fit into the puzzle nicely.”

Gering coach Lisa Freeburg said she is a very coachable player with plenty of soccer savvy.

“Brooke is a great recruit. She is a very coachable girl, she works hard, and she asks questions when she doesn't understand,” Freeburg said. “She made a good choice and like Rasnic said, she is calm and doesn’t freak out and she gets her foot on the ball and gets rid of it. I think she will be a good fit for the program.”

Satur, who is a 3-sport athlete at Gering having played softball, basketball, and soccer, has enjoyed success in the athletic arena. This year’s softball team had one of its best seasons in school history and Satur was named a Star-Herald first team infielder. The basketball team also had a memorable season, playing for a district title.

                But what still stands out for Satur is winning the district soccer championship last spring in the dramatic fashion that the Bulldogs did.

“For me, the first half of the district game was pretty rough in which I gave p a PK,” she said. “That was terrible but I believed in my team and I couldn't have been more happy when Jen scored the tying goal. And then the goal in the last second was a relief so we didn't have to stress anybody else more than we really were.”

                With that district title game still in the team’s mind, the Bulldogs return a host of starters from a year ago. That makes the expectations for this year that much higher. The Gering players are ready to take on those high expectations.

                “Expectations are really high for us,” Satur said. “I think we really should go to state again as long as we play hard in the games that we need to and practice hard. Practices are the biggest thing for us because sometimes we struggle with intensity the whole practice and we just have to keep it up to get to where we want to and that is state.”
                Satur said she is excited for her senior season, which kicks off this weekend in North Platte when they play Kearney Catholic and Holdrege. The Bulldogs will then host North Platte on Tuesday at Memorial Stadium in Gering.

                Satur said she will cherish the memories she has had during the many years with her teammates playing soccer.

                “I will miss the girls I played with since I was little and traveling [to different soccer games and tournament],” she said. “High school is a whole different thing [than college]. it will be a change in college because they are lot more physical than in high school. The players are a lot quicker paced, which I have to get used to.”