Minot High senior defender Bianca Cofell signs her letter of intent to play soccer at Minot State in the fall during a press conference at Magic City Campus on Monday, April 27. Mike Kraft/MDN

As a defender, it’s rare to see Bianca Cofell’s name on the stat sheet at the end of matches.

But the Minot High senior captain’s responsibilities aren’t focused on scoring goals, but rather limiting them from her opposition, which she has excelled at during her three full years at the varsity level.

When Cofell is done locking down forwards and midfielders at the high school level at the end of the spring season, she will look to do more of the same at the collegiate level in the fall after signing her letter of intent to play for Minot State on Monday, April 27, at Magic City Campus, surrounded by family, teammates and members of the coaching staff.

“She is one of those kids who is a blue-collar worker,” Minot High soccer coach Matt Pfau said. “She comes in every day and works incredibly hard to get better. A lot of times defenders don’t get a lot of the stats, but she has played outside back for us and continues to get better every single year and it’s rewarding to see that it ends up like this where she has a chance to continue on at the collegiate level.”

Cofell didn’t envision herself playing college soccer when she first started playing at the varsity level, but over the past month or two, she began talking herself into the idea of prolonging her career past high school. On a whim, she reached out to Adam Daley, who is set to take over the Minot State program following the departure of Chris Logan after just one season. Daley was also her club soccer coach prior to her time with Minot High. She asked if there would be a roster spot available in the fall and Daley gave her the invitation to join.

The Beavers are looking to bolster their back line after graduating five defenders from last year’s team that finished 9-5-5 overall and 9-2-4 in conference play. They lost in the NSIC opening round on penalty kicks to Concordia-St. Paul. Minot State only has two returning defenders on the roster in rising senior Elsa Duquesne and rising junior Reese Kuklinski.

“I hope she gets the chance to battle right away in the fall camp and see where it goes from there,” Pfau said. “The biggest thing for her will be to understand that it’s the college level and everyone’s really good in the conference, so it’s going to be one of those things where you want to get bigger, stronger, faster to give yourself a chance to play at the next level, which I think she’ll do.”

In three full seasons with Minot High, Cofell went from a quiet kid to a vocal leader, serving as a team captain in her senior season alongside Kynsli Gillmore, Jayva McKibben and Camdyn Varty. It’s a role she has embraced as the Majettes try and return to the state title match for a seventh consecutive season.

“As I’ve gotten older and had to go into that leadership position, you just have to come out of your shell a little bit more and be able to tell players what they need to improve on and what you need out of them during a game,” Cofell said.

Cofell first began playing soccer at the age of six when she joined the recreation league as part of the Minot Soccer Association. She played with the travel team when she entered middle school.

While others gravitated toward the midfield and forward positions, looking to score goals, Cofell opted at a young age to concentrate on being a defender. She was perfectly fine with others being in the spotlight.

“I didn’t really need to score goals,” Cofell said. “I like being the person who is passing off the ball or getting those assists or making the little runs.”

Cofell got a good look at what a championship defense looked like during her freshman season where she spent the majority with the JV squad, but did log a few minutes here and there at the end of matches at the varsity level. She was on the roster when the Majettes won the state title against Fargo Davies in 2023. Cofell highlighted that memory as her favorite in the sport. That year’s team pitched 12 shutouts and allowed eight goals all season.

When Cofell became a full-time varsity member the following year, the defense didn’t skip a beat. In fact, it became historic, going the entire regular season without conceding a goal. Minot High allowed just three goals that year, all coming at the state tournament. The Majettes shut out 18 opponents and didn’t allow a goal through the first 1,275 minutes of the season.

“She was a solid fit from the beginning,” Pfau said. “She came up with some pretty good players in front of her and played behind them and had her time on the bench watching them play and knew what the expectation was. So when it was her turn to play, she was ready to go.”

Last season, the Majettes notched 13 shutouts and allowed eight goals in 19 matches. Cofell was part of a group that went 70-0-1 in between losses in the 2019 and 2024 state title matches. Since joining as a freshman, Minot High is 57-3-5 overall and 42-1-5 in WDA play with three conference titles.

“We still have to work for it,” Cofell said. “We still have people that get by us and beat us sometimes, but it’s really cool to be part of a defensive line that is that strong and has been for years. Even with seniors leaving, we have people able to step in and still keep that momentum for us.”

Pfau said that wherever Cofell is on the field, he’s confident the other team isn’t going to have any quality scoring opportunities.

“Whoever she’s going to mark up, you never have to worry about that side of the field,” Pfau said. “She’s going to take care of marking up that person and understands the importance of keeping the opposing forward off the scoresheet.”

Cofell said that Mandan, Davies, Jamestown and Bismarck Century are among her favorite teams to defend against.

Cofell’s name hasn’t shown up on many scoresheets over her career, but it has happened. She has one goal and three assists with the Majettes. She assisted on the team’s first goal of the season this year against Williston. But the memorable moment came during her junior year against Bismarck Legacy on April 8, 2025, when she scored off a corner kick in the 64th minute of a 6-0 victory.

“I don’t really care about the scoring, but it is really cool when I do,” Cofell said. “It becomes such a highlight of the season. I was really excited. I made a late run on a corner and was able to get one in.”

Cofell has eight regular season matches and potentially three postseason matches remaining in her high school career before joining Minot State. She won’t be going alone, as this year’s recruiting class also features Cofell’s teammate Jayva McKibben, who signed in November.

“I’m very excited that she’s also coming with me,” Cofell said. “We have good chemistry and I hope to keep building on that as we go throughout college and as freshmen being able to lean on each other.”

Cofell will take the field for the first time as an official collegiate commit when Minot High travels to play Jamestown on Tuesday, April 28.