THE FRONT ROW WITH BRUCE BOURQUIN: Friday, Sept. 30, 2016

Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, just north of the U.S. border, 20-year-old North Idaho College sophomore Emily Aspden has a cheery personality, stands 5-foot-2 in soccer cleats, and appears to have an enduring smile.

Oh by the way, she’s also the team captain and leading scorer with four goals and one assist in eight games for the Cardinal women’s soccer team. She’s been a key cog in a machine that’s gone 7-1, 5-0 in the Northwest Athletic Conference, having won six in a row going into Saturday’s game at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wash.

Opposing teams have to mark the right-footed forward-midfielder as a scoring threat, so the player wearing the No. 4 jersey stands tall on the soccer fields at North Idaho College and around the East Region playing Northwest Athletic Conference games for coach Dan Hogan.

Here’s a fun fact — Hogan reminded me that legendary U.S. women’s soccer player Mia Hamm is 5-foot-5. All this shorter-than-average player did was winning two Women’s World Cups, two Olympic gold medals and two NCAA titles.

Aspden uses her quickness and foot speed to get past taller players, much like other shorter players.

“The first step is key,” Aspden said. “Once I know I can go by them, I can get a fast pace, so size isn’t a problem.”

Hogan has seen Aspden’s evolution during the past year-plus as a bona fide goal scorer, as a right-side forward among three forwards in the starting lineup. That doesn’t mean he avoids needling her.

“Emily’s always been someone who creates space,” Hogan said. “The first time I saw her, she had that skill. She crosses the ball and she does a lot of things in how she works on the field and off it. I was going to have her deported if she doesn’t score.”

Hogan saw Aspden play for Lambrick Park Secondary School of Victoria at the FieldTurf Cup last year in Tukwila, Wash., during Thanksgiving weekend. Lambrick Park won provincials in B.C., which is their version of Idaho’s state tournament, plus she won the golden boot award for leading her league in scoring.

“She bent a ball at the top of the 18 (yard mark) into the top far corner,” Hogan said. “It takes a lot of skill to do that.”

Aspden decided to go to accept a scholarship offer with NIC, after checking out the campus. She lives in a rental house with sophomore midfielder Aliea Son, along with two women’s golfers.

“It’s very beautiful here,” Aspden said. “It’s beautiful in Victoria, except there’s an ocean, not a lake. It’s a big city, there’s a little more chaos, there is lots of scenery. I want to continue playing soccer at a four-year school.”

ASPDEN ALSO walked on in softball for coach Don Don Williams’ Cardinal team, which finished last season a solid 35-13 in her freshman year, finished first place in the East Region at 26-6 in the NWAAC, including a 2-2 record in the NWAAC Championships in late May. The one wearing the No. 6 jersey is a slap-hitting, right-handed utility player who split time between starting and coming off the bench and is able to play either infield or the outfield. She said she was converted by NIC from being a right-handed hitter to hitting lefty, in part because she’s a few steps closer to first base.

Last season, Aspden earned second team All-Region honors with a .393 batting average, third on the team, and 12 stolen bases.

“I prefer to play the outfield,” Aspden said. “But I can play all over. I was able to walk on to the team in December. I gave Don Don a heads-up.”

Aspden also has three older sisters — Jessica, 28; Carly, 24; and Shayla, 22 — who played sports.

“I’m the youngest, so they all inspired me,” Aspden said. “They pushed me to be a lot better. We all like to win.”

SHE IS tackling a pretty interesting class schedule this fall semester. She’s taking a course in sign language, was an A-minus grade away from earning a 4.0 grade-point average and had a 3.9 GPA — “darn music class”, she said — and is knocking her general studies stuff out of the way. She’s undecided at this point on which major she wants to choose in the future after she’s done attending and playing for NIC.

“It’s pretty eye-opening,” Aspden said of using a bit of sign language. “We have a girl (in class) who is hard of hearing and it’s heartwarming to see we were all in the same boat (communicating).”

After graduating from high school in 2014, she took a year off before going to NIC and in April of last year, got the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica with her sister Carly, while stepping in for Carly’s friend at the last moment.

So Aspden is a multitalented young player, one to watch for if she plays soccer or softball for a four-year school.

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, via e-mail at [email protected] or via Twitter @bourq25