The following are the quotes from the session.
The Wildcats begin their fifth season on Friday, September 11, as K-State hosts Texas Tech at Buser Family Park.
MIKE DIBBINI, HEAD COACH
On the upcoming year...
"We are excited for the year. It's a new norm, and we are adjusting everyday. Players are excited and anxious and ready to get rolling here, as we have some direction here with our schedule being announced. We are ready to get out there and compete and play against someone other than ourselves, so we are excited about this fall."
On if the overseas players will be joining the team this fall....
"They are back, we got them back. Both Silke (Bowen) and Shannon (Dukes) arrived in the middle of August, and served their quarantine and just got Covid tested and they are back and training this week. We are excited to have their experience and leadership and now we are getting them acclimated, because they haven't seen the seed or felt the seed in a while, but we are excited to have them back."
On the COVID testing…
"So far so good. We had a small setback, but we are still moving forward. We added a couple days of just taking a few days off and monitoring the situation, but I think we are in cruise control now and hopefully we can continue to do that."
On the extra year of eligibility and how it affects the seniors…
"It's a big hot topic right now, but we are scheduling to meet with our group sometime early next week to kind of go over the procedures and policies that we here as a staff have. Obviously it's a roster management situation more than anything else for us, and we just have to sit down together as a staff and admin group and work together collectively to figure out what direction we want to head, but we'll be transparent with the players and I'll be upfront with them about roster management. I'm sure most of them are ready to play this season and move on into the real world, so that's kind of where we are at right now."
On the strengths of the team…
"I would say we are more experienced together. I felt like we had a really good group last year, but I feel like we have more pieces and attack this year that will allow us to create more chances and stretch teams a lot more and be more effective up front. Not saying we weren't effective last year, we had unbelievable players that played multiple roles and did a lot of great things for us, I just think that we have a lot more depth and stretch type players that can get behind defenders."
On the team's morale following the cancellation of games...
"We obviously want to make sure our players are safe and healthy, and thats the priority right now and as we move forward. Whatever is given to us we are going to take, and do the best we can with it. Obviously not having those games at the beginning of the year makes it a challenge for us knowing that we don't have those opportunities to play matches to get battle tested and prepare for the Big 12. So now we are going into a pretty big sprint. Nine matches in the Big 12 without being prepared with a lot of new players and returning players who have been off for six months. That's the challenging part. We were doing really well before Covid, we were on the right track and then we had a major setback. It's not just us, everyones in the same boat. We just have to do what we can and control what we can and we'll move forward and continue to compete."
On replacing Laramie Hall…
"We had a lot of good seniors leave us, and they are always hard to replace. Laramie Hall especially is one of them. You can't replace them but you can do things in other ways, whether it's attacking a different way or defending a different way. She brought a lot to the table, but I feel like we have a lot of pieces that came in and can help contribute collectively. We are on the right track of playing the way we want to play and compete the way we want to compete. Most of all I feel like our group really likes each other on and off the field, and that's really important right now."
On the new players…
"We have had quite a few good players come in at semester. Kyle Goins will come in and impact us, a transfer from Arkansas. She's really good with her back to the goal, has deceptive speed, understands how to break down defenses, gets players involved, so I think she can do really well for us and the style we want to play. We have a lot of freshmen who can come in and help contribute to our strong core of returning players. Maddie Weichel out wide gives us some speed and some deceptive play. She can be very shifty. And in the backline there's Errin Morrissey who will contribute, and then we have some goalkeepers in Peyton (Pearson) and Alaina Werremeyer who can help us and solidify us in challenging and pushing our keepers that we have now. And then we can't forget about the return of Caylee Thornhill, who only saw four or five games last year. She brings some deceptive speed up top, incredible athleticism and a nice left foot that we are excited to watch as we move forward, but a good core of seniors led by Brookelynn Entz, Maddie Souder, Avery Green, who have been around for a long time. It's a good group, so we are excited."
On the game strategy and philosophy for this year…
"We are going to continue to play the way we are capable of playing. We have a lot more depth and players that are more comfortable in certain positions that will allow us to be even more creative and play at a higher tempo than we have in the past. We like our group. We are very dynamic. We are always going to have something to work on, but I feel that we are ahead of the game offensively than we have been in the past, and we have a lot more weapons than we did in the past to create those chances. The area we have to really focus on the most is our transition defense, and defending set pieces. That's the area that kind of got away from us as we were trying to develop our offense the last few years. But when you start a program from scratch, you have to be able to be confident in the fact that in order to try to win games and compete, you have to attack, knowing that it's a poor man's blanket and you are going to be susceptible in certain areas of the field. We are learning that as we keep going. We are shoring those areas up, and this year we are going to plan to prepare both offensively and a lot more defensively to shore things up for the whole team."
On the impact COVID has had on recruiting…
"It's tough. There's a lot of players that we had an eye on and were closing in on, top players, four star recruits, that were on the cusp. It's difficult, we just have to use our Zoom calls and be creative. We have a great coaching staff who's very creative in Coach Kat (Benton-Laezza) and Coach Gabe (Romo) who are extremely well connected and help bridge the gap through Covid. We are on Zooms and phone calls as much as we can during this dead period, and communicating, sending them videos and updates of what's happening here at K-State and what's happening in the near future. We are just making sure we stay in contact."
On what's different about this team…
"They've had four years of Big 12 experience and being in the trenches, and those close games. Learning from what we've said in the past is we can't look past what's in front of us, and that's the next day and understanding that it's one practice at a time and one game at a time and not looking past that. That's the thing we've done in the past, we weren't looking at what was in front of us, we were looking way too far ahead because we all have these goals and one thing we've done this year is to focus on getting better each and every day."
On the best position battle…
"It's just been competitive at every position. You can't just pick one position. From the backline to the midfield line to the front line, we have talent and experience with players who are extremely hungry to get on the field and excited to play. I'm excited about this group, I can't pick one single area, but top to bottom we are pretty solid with a lot more experience and depth than we've had in the past. It's still going to be a challenge, but we have some promise in front of us."
BROOKELYNN ENTZ, SENIOR MIDFIELDER
On playing against Big 12 competition…
"I mean the main problem we've had for the last three years is that we play so well, we compete with these teams and then we just can't finish our opportunities. So that is what we have been focusing on in so much of this season, just getting into that attacking third, and finishing our chances, being really good with our final pass and our final shots, that's what I think is really going to get us over the hum, just finally just putting away our chances because we compete with every team but we just can't figure out how to get the win, and i think that's what's going to take us over the edge."
On the extra year of eligibility and how it affects her…
"Yeah, I've definitely thought a lot about it and I think it's a really exciting opportunity for me if I'll get to stay. Obviously I want to stay and I think for me, wanting to go play pro after this I think it will be good for me to get more games in, get more film I can send to coaches, and honestly it's a huge blessing to have nine games and then another season also."
On losing Katie Cramer and the new youth in the attack…
"Last year I played a lot at the nine, the center forward. Luckily we have a really good transfer Kyler Goins that just came in from Arkansas and she is able to take that position, so I can move back to that number ten role that I'm more comfortable in. I really like it a lot better because I can get the ball going at players and distribute a little bit more, rather than being at the nine and having players at my back and turn not getting the ball as much. I'm really excited for this season and I'm really comfortable at the attacking mid position, and I think that I can create a lot of opportunities for my teammates to get some goals."
On her biggest improvement throughout her career…
"Honestly, I grew so much in being unselfish. In high school it was easy for me to go and dribble through everybody and score. Then coming into college I thought you know maybe I can do the same thing, I don't know why I thought that, but I did. Then I tried that for two years and then I think finally last year it just clicked a little bit. I have players around me that are going to help me and I can set them up in positions to score, and then I think my role changed a little bit to more of a playmaker and trying to dish out assists. I really like to take pride in my distribution and through balls and trying to get others opportunities to score. I think that is something that I have grown in so much, I think it's just helped my play come to a higher level."
On having the confidence to beat Big 12 competition…
"Oh yeah, I think this year more than ever I've seen our mentality change in training, like playing against each other. It's just every day we were coming out with intensity, we're competing, it's really good soccer. That's something I haven't really seen in the past three years that I've been here. I feel like we're very consistent and everybody is kind of at the same level now. We are all competing against each other and it's going to be difficult to find positions on the field, and having that competitiveness at practice just really helps raise the level everywhere on the field."
On the toughest position battle on the roster…
"Center Back, there's like five or six really solid center backs that are just battling it out every single day at practice, and there's only two spots. So that position has been super competitive and I think that is really good, that is what our team needs. We are finally coming into the season where these are all of Dibbini's recruits that have been recruited since freshman, sophomore year of high school. He picked these girls out that mesh well with our program and everyone plays possession, plays actual soccer, and it's been really awesome to have everybody here."
On the comfort of the depth behind her…
"Oh yeah for sure, I trust every single player on the field and i just think that we can all compete at the Big 12 level and I trust every single one of them when they step on the field, and even the game changers that will come off the bench, I think they will raise the level even more."
RACHEL HARRIS, JUNIOR GOALKEEPER
On the mental process of not knowing if the team would play…
"I think we were just super excited that we got the opportunity to be back out there and to be practicing and we knew that the schedule would be released at some point, it was just a matter of time and that we needed to be ready for anything. Now that we know that our first game is in two weeks, I think that makes it a little more exciting for the girls knowing that we do have a game coming up. But we were just happy that we were out there being able to practice."
On the pressure being the most experienced goalkeeper…
"I'd say we have a great group of goalkeepers. Two freshmen that we brought in, they're very good, along with Cammie (Illingworth) returning and it's been really competitive. It's nice to go out there and everyone is pushing each other to be their best every day."
On what's different with this team from last year…
"It's kind of crazy to say, but I feel like we've been playing together for a long time and we only got back and started playing together a month ago. Everybody's sticking together, everything's jelling. It's really exciting to see and we're excited for all of y'all to get to see what we've been doing here soon."
On improvements with Silke Bonnen…
"I think that her being more of a vocal leader will help us out a lot. She was more of a silent leader, which is great, but we need someone to lead that back line, I can do only what I can do from the very back seeing everything but I think she can be the leader of the back line."
On improvements needed playing only the Big 12…
"I think it's just us going over defense constantly and us holding our lines. We've worked a lot on defending set pieces, we gave up a lot of goals off of corner kicks or just set pieces and that hurt us and that would be the 1-0 or we would lose in overtime so we've been focusing on that but we also need to put the ball in the back of the net which I think we will do a better job of this year."
On her role in helping get better against set pieces…
"Just harp on them more, tell them that's not OK and we'll just continue to do it over and over in practice. It's been reiterated constantly, we will not give up a goal on set pieces and I hope we don't. Giving up a goal on that sucks, I'd rather give up a goal in the run of play, I think everyone on our staff would. But set pieces is something that we can control with matchups and I think we need to do a better job with our matchups too. There were some that we got wrong, in that Oklahoma game especially on Kaylee Dao. I think we will be a lot better this year."
SHAE TURNER, SOPHOMORE MIDFIELDER
On expecting a large workload this year…
"Obviously, I would love that if the coaches give me that role but I don't want to expect anything. The team is super competitive. If the coaches give me that role, give me that responsibility, then I'll be ready. But if not, the team is super competitive this year, there's a lot of great freshmen coming in, there's a lot of other really talented girls. So I'm not going to expect anything but obviously, if that's what the coaches want from me, I'll be ready. But if not, I'll just be an encourager and whoever is on the field, I'll just try to encourage them as best as I can."
On the competition at centerback...
"It's definitely been really competitive. Day in and day out, all the practices and scrimmages and stuff. There's a ton of center backs this year and people that can rotate in and out of center back so it's super, super competitive at center back this year."
On the improvement of the team's flow…
"I would say that day-by-day we're getting there. Obviously, not playing for six months has definitely slowed that and kind of set us back a little bit but you can just tell each day it's muscle memory, it's just getting back into it. Making that flow work every day has definitely been on the rise and just getting to know the new girls and just getting to relearn old teammates' habits and where we like the ball and stuff like that. Definitely, every day, it's growing."
On keys to improving set piece defense…
"I think the number one thing, you can obviously practice the tactical and technical bits of getting the ball out of the box but, honestly, it's just your competitive spirit and just wanting the ball more than the other team. I feel like there were definitely times, looking back on film, that the other team wanted it more than us. I think just having a reckless abandon in the box and just going after it no matter what or no matter who you're going to run into. So I feel like having everyone on that same page for defending set pieces just to get the ball out of the box is definitely number one for me."
On getting Caylee Thornhill back…
"It's been really great. I think her first scrimmage back she scored so that was super awesome to see that for her. Honestly, I missed her a lot on the field last year and I love playing those balls forward to her so it's really great to have her back. Being her roommate too, I've seen the behind the scenes struggle that she's been through for the past year just like rehab and all the stuff she's had to go through. It's just super special. Especially since it's her second ACL so coming back from two is even more special that she can come back and play at this level still. Super, super proud of her for sure."
On how playing the Big 12 will be different this year from last…
"I think there is a little bit of a difference. Coming in as a freshman, you don't know what you're up against so you just kind of play like you always play and hope it works and that's kind of what I did last year honestly. Now I know and I'm aware of how physical and how fast it is and stuff like that. I think that watching film from last year and trying to stay calm and composed on the ball and just trying to be a presence whether it be center back or the midfield or whatever that role will be for me. But just being aware of that and going in and giving it my all every single game."
MADDIE SOUDER, SENIOR MIDFIELDER
On where she's seen improvements at midfield...
"There's a lot of improvements I think. Overall, I think, is the chemistry between the three of us, whoever it may be. I think it's kind of even between us, there's no set three starters and then everyone else. I think we're all kind of on the same level. We all have similar playing styles so I think that's one improvement from last year is that everyone is on the same page of how we want to play."
On if she played some of her best soccer last year...
"Yeah. I think especially towards the end of the season I definitely gained some confidence. Especially after Iowa State, that was good to end on that. I think that even going into summer and then these past few weeks of training with coaches has been really good so I'm just trying to build off of last season."
On the improvement of the team's attack...
"I think, overall, personally and as a team we've become more attacking minded. We've always been a defensive team and we're not going to forget those principles but we've definitely been trying to pick up, 'ok, how do we start scoring goals?' because that was kind of a struggle for us in the past. But we've definitely been seeing improvements on that area."
"with" - Google News
August 28, 2020 at 05:58AM
https://ift.tt/3loN5qn
K-State Soccer Meets with the Media on Thursday - Kansas State University Athletics - K-StateSports.com
"with" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3d5QSDO
https://ift.tt/2ycZSIP
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "K-State Soccer Meets with the Media on Thursday - Kansas State University Athletics - K-StateSports.com"
Post a Comment