Soccer | 10/1/2020 10:01:00 AM
During her debut season with the Gophers in 2018, forward McKenna Buisman appeared in all 23 games for the Maroon & Gold and played a vital role in the team's 2018 Big Ten Tournament Championship. On Aug. 19 of that year, Buisman scored her first collegiate goal in the form of a game-winner that powered Minnesota to a comeback victory over Utah State.Prior to bringing her talents to the University of Minnesota, Buisman enjoyed a successful prep career at Mankato West High School. As a five-year letterwinner, Buisman was a three-time Minnesota State High School League First Team All-State honoree and a three-time All-Conference selection. In 2017, Buisman was named Class A Ms. Soccer, as well as Section Player of the Year. Buisman holds countless records at Mankato West, including career points (123), goals (81), assists (42) and matches played (102).
Also competing for Mankato United Soccer Club, Fusion Soccer Club and REV Soccer Club, Buisman was a four-time All-City Team member. With REV Soccer Club in 2017, Buisman was a U.S. Club Midwest Regional Champion and a National Cup Qualifier.
Gopher Sports: How did you keep busy during the summer before reporting to camp?
Buisman: "We were fortunate enough to get a lot of packet materials and workouts from our coaches: both strength coaches and our soccer coaches. We were able to keep busy with that. It was really good to build that community with our teammates and connect with seeing how the same workouts were going for other girls and trying to stay in touch with that. Outside of soccer, it was good to have that family time. Being able to connect with them at a time when we're normally not able to, being that we're normally on campus all summer, so that was really fun as well."
GS: Did you pick up any new hobbies or talents during the extended time at home?
MB: "I learned how to cross-stitch, actually. I very randomly learned how to do that, so that's been a hobby. A couple of roommates and I are going to try and make a blanket all ourselves, so that will be interesting. I did try to do more cooking with more time on my hands as well, so that was pretty fun to help my mom out and stuff."
GS: What originally drew you to Minnesota?
MB: "First thing, academically, I wanted to make sure that I was able to go to a school where the soccer piece and the academic piece was there. I decided to pursue my degree in marketing in the Carlson School of Management, which is pretty reputable for business schools, so that was really important to me… Once I was doing my visits, the people became so important to me, and making sure that the family-type environment and culture was there. It was really apparent to me both from the girls and the environment of the team, but also the coaches, that after your four years of Gopher Soccer, you're really going to be much better, not only as a soccer player, but as a person."
GS: What has the pulse been like at fall practices?
MB: "At Minnesota, we're kind of used to being underestimated and having a little bit of a chip on our shoulder. But, I think that was compounded by this last season not going quite the way we wanted it to, so a lot of the energy since then has been doing whatever it takes to move on from that, be better than that and acknowledge what it takes to be better. A lot of our energy has been on making incremental growth every day. Right now, we're in the eight-hour phase, which we only get three practices a week, but we've been very focused on having a singular thing to work on and executing that well throughout the week and bringing that to the following week so that we can continue to build."
GS: What has been head coach Stefanie Golan's message to the team?
MB: "Being able to reframe the situation. Obviously, every team in the country is facing similar circumstances. Some teams have decided to go forth and play, but just acknowledging that if we're all in the same boat, how are we going to use it toward our advantage and what are we going to do that's separating us from everybody else? Beyond that, just recognizing the unique opportunities of being able to get used to each other's style of play because we were gone for so long and now we have a new class of freshmen. Being able to really focus on identifying each other's strengths and building that chemistry on and off the field. That's really going to help us and that's something we've tried to focus on."
GS: Who has impressed you most on the field so far this fall?
MB: "Purely from having new teammates, it's been really exciting to see the freshmen really step into their roles. One girl that I've been excited about has been Sophia Boman. She's going to likely be playing in the midfield and she just didn't shy away from making an impact right away. I think that's really encouraging and something that we'll be able to utilize in our attack – which is something we lacked last year, the executing piece in the final third and putting the ball in the back of the net – so I'm excited to have her as an asset in the attacking part of the field."
GS: How do you feel about the team's leadership heading into the 2020 campaign?
MB: "I think our leadership group is great and specifically thinking about the three senior captains that we have, they've balanced each other out really well. What one may lack, another one is really strong in. I think that between the three of them, we're able to have a strong group that can guide us both by having relationships with our teammates and just the high caliber level that they play at. It allows us to play at a higher standard when we see them lead by example."
GS: What part of your game have you been working on improving for the upcoming season?
MB: "What I'm working on is diversifying what I can do in the attack. I'm normally playing out wide in the flank… but really, trying to be less one-dimensional in my play so I'm able to earn more opportunities for myself and others. That's something we've been focusing on recently, so it's exciting to see things that I want to work on being highlighted in practice and seeing it translate over when we're able to play small-sided."
GS: Walk us through the emotions surrounding your first career college goal.
MB: "That was an exciting game, because it was a Sunday game and I remember it was just blazing hot. With it being a Sunday game, everyone's a little more tired and we're in Utah with the high altitude. There was just a lot of adversity stacked against us and we had gotten off to a pretty slow start in the game. Being that I was normally coming off the bench, it was my personal mission to be the difference-maker and the spark and bring energy off the bench. Just having that goal manifest itself in being a game-winning goal, it was rewarding to see what you want to achieve pay off and actually happen… it just kind of felt right. This is my place and things are really working out."
GS: Thinking back to that magical 2018 run in the B1G Tournament, what sticks out most to you?
MB: "I think about our leadership a lot that year. We had a lot of things going for us on the field, but our relationships off the field were also strong. That's definitely something that sticks out to me about that year. We just had a lot of chemistry that allowed us to click on the field. We were always just having so much fun and that made the soccer piece so much easier. We had the right pieces in the right places to get the job done on a consistent basis. While we were the underdogs again in the Big Ten Tournament, we just had this strong mentality of only we can define what we're capable of, and that allowed us to flourish when it mattered toward the end of the season."
GS: What is your favorite part about being a Gopher?
MB: "It's definitely the people. I have all my best friends on the team and I joke that they're really the only people I hang out with – but it's definitely by choice. There's nobody else that I would rather spend my time with than my teammates, and I think that translates to our coaching staff as well. We're able to bond very well and that makes the difficult parts of being a student-athlete and the grind of being a student-athlete so much easier."
GS: What has newly-hired assistant coach Maya Hayes brought to the team?
MB: "I love Maya. So far, she's been great. Purely looking at her resume before she even got here, it was clear that she was very dominant in her own college career. It's exciting to have someone come in that has so much experience and credibility in executing exactly what we want to do. Being an attacking player, it's exciting to get that hands-on coaching with her. She learned really quickly how each of us respond to feedback and different things, and jumped right into her coaching role."
GS: What resonates with you about the entire Minnesota coaching staff?
MB: "They truly care about us as people and beyond soccer players… When I decided I wanted to accelerate my academic plan and graduate early with my undergrad, they were very supportive even though they knew that soccer might have to take a backseat for a little bit… They want us to grow and thrive as people as well."
GS: How do you think the Gophers will stack up against the Big Ten in 2020?
MB: "I'm excited for the team. I think we always have room to grow, but the starting point from where we are now, even from last fall, I can see the difference. I'm excited to see us finally get to be on the field, hopefully soon, against some competition. I expect us to be very competitive, so I'm looking forward to it."
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