Aug. 25, 2010
MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT
Head Coach Erica Walsh
What did you think of the first game this season?
It was a great effort going down into a pretty hostile environment in Morgantown and we came out from the beginning. We played hard and had an aggressive attack, I liked our mentality.
What stands out about Virginia?
We've got a pretty storied history with UVA and we've enjoyed the rivalry with them over the last few years. I think we have a good idea of what to expect. They've played a traditional three-front and will be dynamic in the attack. They have a few good personality players, certainly Sinead Farrelly, is one to watch going into this season. Thought are backline, led by Krissy Tribbett, was good against West Virginia and I have a few ideas about how to prepare for them.
You beat them earlier in the year last season and lost in the tournament, how have you evaluated the differences between the two games?
We've spent a lot of time in the off-season talking about different situations. We spent a lot of time during the pre-season talking about body language and different challenges you face during different matches. For example, up a goal, down a goal and how you conduct yourself in those situations. Taking each situation as a challenge and being aggressive in each challenge, regardless of the score.
You have William & Mary on Sunday, your school and Coach Daly coming back, what does that game mean to you?
Coach Daly means a lot to Ann and I as our former coach. What he did for us was create an incredible family environment and he still does. It's the same environment that we try to create here at Penn State and pride ourselves on. We welcome him back with open arms and welcome him back to Happy Valley and we're excited to see. He puts together a great team every year and they're always aggressive and a good team to play against.
Coach, one of the biggest things you said you were working on was set pieces. How do you feel you did against West Virginia?
I believe we had 11 corners against West Virginia. Our assistant coaches have broken down those set pieces and are evaluating them. We are going to work on them later today. We felt that we were relatively dangerous, but to be real dangerous, you have to put the ball into the back of the net. It is going to be a main focus of our training today. At the same time, making sure that our organization is there defensively.
Krissy started in goal against West Virginia. How did you think she did? Is she going to remain in goal or are you going to start different players?
She had a good, confident performance and our backline really believes in her. Her kicking game was very good, I would've given her a double assist on Danielle Toney's first goal. I thought she really stepped up and proved herself to be a starter.
Do you have an idea where Carly Niness is best right now, center back or outside back?
It's going to be as it goes, but I think she's done a really good job at center back and it fits her strengths better than outside back. Our backline is very versatile and we can move some players around if we need to.
Sophomore Defender, Lexi Marton (Aurora, Ontario)
Lexi, how do you feel about Virginia?
We're all excited to play, it's going to be a huge game, we're hoping for a big crowd. I think we'll bring a lot of energy and I know our mentality and attitude is good right now. We still have a lot of growing up to do as a team, but I think we're going to come up strong.
You have a lot of speed this year, especially at forward. Talk about that dynamic with your forwards and the asset that it will be this year.
Yeah, we have a lot of speed up front and I think with all that creativity amongst the team. We are starting to work well in our new formation and its definitely coming together. We are getting some good runs, some good plays. We have to also make sure that we have our defensive pieces in place and that we are organized. I think teams will be caught off guard with our speed.
You're trying to get that huge crowd on Friday, how nice would it be to see all of those people?
It would be great, a lot of our friends here are athletes, some play spring sports. We've been telling them to be there and we feel we are going to get a lot of other athletes and students there. Coach pitched our game to international students when she spoke to them. We're hoping to have a lot of people behind us, a big crowd to get a win.
How nice is it to have a big crowd, does it fuel the team?
It's kind of like White Outs for football, just having a lot of people there, knowing they're supporting you. It really gets us fired up and ready to play and wanting to win. It's great to have that support.
How important is it to get two good results out of this weekend, knowing that you're away from Jeffrey Field the next two weekends?
It'll give us some great momentum moving forward if we can get 2 wins this weekend. Regardless, we're going to come out strong and earn our result. But getting 2 wins under our belt would give us great confidence. Hopefully we can get some wins on the road too.
How has Carly Niness adjusted to the backline? How is she handling the change?
She's done an amazing job of coming in and playing a new position. She's learning every single day. I think it helps her to have me beside her, talking to her. She's really athletic and seems like a natural there.
You have a big freshman class, are you happy with what you've seen out of them so far?
Yeah, I've been happy with the freshman. More importantly, I think the upper class has set a great standard for them, we talked a lot with the captains and the upperclassman about what we wanted to accomplish as a team this year. They have set the standard of training and it's trickled down to the younger players. The freshmen have a lot of respect for the upperclassman and they aim to please.
How important is it to establish defensive organization early in the season?
It's something we pride ourselves on. It has to be right before we have the success that we want to have. The coaches have spent a lot of time focusing on the back line and their organization and communication. They did a great job of handling West Virginia's speed and will need to do the same against Virginia.
Senior Defender, Co-Captain Megan Monroig (Northumberland, Pa.)
Is there any added incentive with the Virginia game?
Yeah, we definitely want to get a win out of this game, we all know what happened in the NCAA tournament last year and we're going to go out there and do our best. We want to show that we've improved.
Megan, you and Dani are the only seniors, what does this season mean to you with such a small class?
It means a lot to us knowing that we've made it through all four years, we've lost six people, but it gives us a lot of pride knowing that we've stayed. We've been supported to keep going. We want to win, our goal is the final four, that's what we're focusing on. We want the rest of the team to be on board for that and so far, everyone wants the same thing.
--NITTANY LIONS--