Hamblin sisters add depth to USU soccer

Sisters Wesley and Maris Hamblin have been playing soccer their entire lives. Both still playing, they are now experiencing something new as they play on the same team this season for Utah State University.

“In high school we didn’t really have to compete that much and we were never on the same team before,” said Maris, the older of the two sisters. ” We never played against each other. I never felt like I was competing against her growing up. I don’t feel like we were competitive with each other. I feel like we are more [competitive] now for sure.”

“I feel like high school was kind of like this but it’s really fun since we’re away from home; we have each other,” said Wesley, the youngest of six children in the Hamblin family. “I’m really glad she’s up here.”

Maris is a junior at Utah State in her third season of USU soccer. As a sophomore she played in all 22 matches and started 5. In 2012 she played in all 22 matches and started 11 as a freshman. Maris has also played in all eight games so far this season.

“It was really weird a first,” Maris said. “My mind would go blank when I came up against her on the field. Now, it’s just like playing anyone else on the team. I was a little standoffish playing her but now I’m a little aggressive with her than with other people.”

Wesley is in her first season at Utah State after attending Lone Peak High School in Alpine, Utah. She has played in all eight matches so far this season.

Utah State is 4-3-1 so far this season heading into conference play which begins at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Sept. 26. Both players bring distinct but different styles to the pitch.

“Neither one of us is more naturally talented,” Maris said. “We’re just a lot different in the way that we play. I’d say I’m more of a technical style, Wesley is a little more aggressive.”

“I knew she was going to say that,” Wesley said. “I think Maris is better at possessing, she keeps the ball and is smarter with the ball. I’m kind of out of control I’ll take chances and I’m really aggressive towards people.”

The Hamblin sisters credit their parents for the chance to play at the collegiate level.

“Our parents have helped a lot,” Wesley said. “They let us be able to play at the highest level of soccer. They always supported us.”

“They come to every single one of our games,” Maris said. “They don’t miss our games. When she [Wesley] was in high school and I was in college they would split up so that they could be at both of our games.”

Coach Heather Cairns enjoys working with both players. She likes having the pair but respects both of them for being their own players.

“It’s fantastic, they’re players that we’ve known for a long time,” Cairns said. “I coached them as youth in the olympic development program so I knew both of them.”

Although Wesley and Maris haven’t played together very much on the field prior to this year, there is already a strong bond developing between the two.

“They have an indescribable chemistry,” Cairns said. “They each bring some important things to the team as well. They have some similarities in that they are super competitive, especially when they go against each other. They seem to have an unspoken bond and know where the other one is going without verbalizing it.”