Cabilan, Bengals start 3-game stretch at home with Weber State

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It’s possible to take Vanessa Cabilan, all 5-foot-2-inches of her, and establish a ratio of size to tenacity. When done correctly, Cabilan’s size:tenacity ratio is astronomical.   

The Idaho State sophomore defender describes her game as tenacious, but add on terms like pesky, ornery and annoying.

“I’m that irritating mosquito. If I fall, I’ll get back up,” Cabilan said.

Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, Cabilan started all 20 of Idaho State’s games in 2012. She was a Big Sky Honorable Mention honoree and she made the All-Tournament team after the Bengals won the conference championship.

Cabilan started this season on the bench with a broken collarbone. She returned to the lineup Sept. 13 in a loss to Hawaii and has started every match since Florida Gulf Coast Sept. 15.

She’s small in stature but her effect on the field is pronounced. The Bengals are 3-2-1 since she stepped back into the starting lineup.

“That kid just never gives up,” said ISU head coach Allison Gibson after the Bengals beat Eastern Washington 1-0 Sept. 26. “Sometimes she makes the wrong decisions, but she makes the wrong decisions at 100 miles an hour. And then she recovers at 100 miles an hour.”

Speed is Cabilan’s greatest strength. She’s fast enough that it never matters how tall or beefy an opponent is who stands across from her.

“They’re like, ‘Oh, she’s little. I’ll probably get past her.’ So I try to make my presence known beforehand,” Cabilan said. “I’ll get the first foul on that player so they’ll know I’m there.”

Gibson says Cabilan is a vocal leader, too. She’s never afraid to speak her mind in the locker room.

Her teammate and fellow starter on ISU’s defensive backline, Lia Margolis is, by comparison, a towering 5-foot-4. She understands what it’s like to deal with opposing forwards in the Big Sky Conference that possess a height advantage.

“She kind of reminds me of myself. It’s never fun to be the smaller girl when you have to defend these people when you can barely see over their shoulder,” she said. “But she came in as a freshman and just did so well with us. She’s so consistent. I hate playing against her.”

Margolis and Cabilan help form a defense that’s recorded four shutouts this season, including three in their last five games.

It’s that Idaho State (5-6-1) defense that has helped the Bengals to a 2-1-1 conference record.

And it’s that same defense and a home-field advantage at Davis Field that can catapult the Bengals up the standings in the next week.

Idaho State hosts Weber State today at noon. It’s the start of a three-game home stand with Sacramento State Thursday and Portland State Oct. 19.

The Wildcats (7-3-2, 3-1-0), Hornets (6-5-2, 2-1-1) and Vikings (7-4-1, 4-0) have a combined record of 20-12-5 and they’re 9-2-1 in the Big Sky. They’re all either tied with or above the Bengals in the conference standings.

Good luck finding an ISU player who will talk about any of that, though. The Bengals are fervently focused on Weber State.

“We all just need to take it game by game and just make sure the game we’re playing right now is the most important,” Cabilan said. “We try not to focus on the whole conference itself.”

Concentrating on Weber State isn’t much of an issue. The Wildcats have beaten Utah State and Utah Valley this year, teams who both knocked off Idaho State earlier this season.

WSU averages 1.5 goals per game (second in the conference), 13.92 shots (second) and no team has given up fewer goals.

The last time Idaho State and Weber State played the Bengals prevailed 4-3 in penalty kicks during the Big Sky Tournament.

“It’s a big rivalry. “... And they’re doing well this season, too, so it’s going to be a big game,” Cabilan said. “But playing at home, I mean, it’s an advantage, and I think we’re all really ready to just play a team that we know we can beat.”
   
NOTES: Whitney Peterson broke her nose early in the match against Southern Utah last Sunday. The sophomore hopes to delay surgery and play the rest of this season, if cleared medically. ... Junior Amanda Ellsworth is currently second in goals and points in Idaho State history. She trails Stacey Peterson-Allen (2000-03) by three goals and four points. ... Weber State leads the all-time series with Idaho State 10-6-2.