Kennedy Schomer didn't care for soccer at first.

"I actually hated it," laughs the personable Cowgirl senior from Gillette. "I'd cry when I had to go on the field." 

She was four years old mind you.

"All the kids were playing, so I wanted to play.  But I'd start crying when I had to go on the field. "My dad (Jeff) quickly told me that wasn't going to fly. Just go out there and have fun."

She has ever since.

From leading Campbell County High School to a state championship as an All-State performer to playing 52 matches for the Cowgirls, Schomer has always been a leader, a positive force on some outstanding soccer programs.  In addition to the success at Campbell County, she played ten years of club soccer for the highly-successful Gillette Edge.

Her positive and winning attitude matches perfectly with her new head coach, Colleen Corbin

Kennedy is a Chamber of Commerce for Cowgirl soccer, and for Corbin.  The senior midfielder and her Cowgirl teammates return home this afternoon at 4 p.m. to host Idaho State at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex.

She is loving life these days.

"I always say this, but the experience of playing college soccer is just so awesome.  I have seen places I never would have seen.  I've made the kind of friends and created the kind of relationships that never would have happened without soccer.  And, I've gotten to play the sport I love for the state I love. It's amazing, I want all of my teammates to be in my wedding!"

Spend a little time with Kennedy and you'd want to play for the Cowgirls and Corbin.  The wedding is optional.

"When she (Corbin) was here on her interview, we had the opportunity to meet her.  We all loved her.  You could tell she was special.  Her style is unique. From the beginning she placed a lot of trust in us.  She believes we are capable of great things.  She sets high standards and expects us to meet those standards.  When she makes a big ask, she trusts that we will adjust and do it.

"She has created a space where we all feel comfortable coming to her if we need to.  It's easy to see how much she loves the sport, and how much she loves us."

There's a different vibe within the Cowgirl soccer program these days.

Wyoming was undefeated after three matches to begin the season. But ran into what Kennedy calls a tough learning experience by going 0-2-1 on its first road trip of the season

"It was definitely a learning experience for us," admits Kennedy.  "Obviously we need to be the same team away from Laramie that we are in Laramie.  We have to have the same grit and fight away from home that we have at home.  We need to get that under control.

"We all feel good about where we are going.  We have things to work on, but we are a completely different team than we were in the past."   

Not surprisingly, Kennedy is a team captain as voted by her teammates.  It's a role for which she is a natural, and one that she takes very seriously.

"Believe me I was humbled when the team voted me a captain," she says. "As an upper classman you are naturally looked upon as a leader, but being voted captain is definitely another level.  I see myself as a leader, but that was a confidence boost.  As a captain, you are always aware of your responsibilities wherever you are, on the field, on the bench or away from the field."

Kennedy is a midfielder for the Cowgirls, and she loves that position.  "I've learned a ton from our coaching staff about playing midfield.  Midfielders are gritty.  They must have good vision and awareness.  You always have to be seeing where the next pass is going to be, and you have to win a lot of 50-50 balls.  There's always a lot of people in there which I love. It's my favorite place to be."

Schomer had been coming to the Wyoming soccer camp since she was 12 years old.  "My friends and I would come down each summer.  But In the summer after my sophomore year of high school I told my mom (Christi), I didn't think I would come down.  She thought I really should, and talked me into it.  When the camp was over, one of the Wyoming coaches (Bob Casper) said he needed to talk to me before we left. I wasn't really thinking about college soccer all that much.  We went into his office and he offered me a scholarship.  It was the coolest thing.

"Playing for Wyoming, my home state, is really special." 

Kennedy is a double major, Art Education and Communications.  "I've always wanted to be an art teacher.  But I added communication so that I would have something to fall back on if teaching didn't work out. I'm looking at elementary education.  I want to teach younger kids.  I love kids.  I've run some kids camp and they are so much fun to be around."

When time allows, she loves to paint, especially scenes from nature.  "I don't have a ton of time to do it, but when I do I love to paint nature, flowers, landscapes, scenes like that.  My grandmother (Doris Carlson) loved to paint landscapes, and I think that's where the art came from."

Kennedy has decided to play soccer for a fifth year.  "I was leaning toward this being my last year.  But things have changed for me with Colleen.  I believe there are great things coming for Cowgirl soccer.  We're three weeks into the season, and we are already a completely different team. Sure, we have a lot to work on, but we have something super special going on here, and I want to be a part of it."