Aug. 25, 2015
Opening Statement by head coach Erica Walsh
First and foremost I really appreciate you all coming out today, obviously we are coming off a pretty exciting weekend at Jeffrey Field. I was really pleased with the support that we received from the community and from the student body. It was great to see so many freshmen out there, exciting to drive down Park Avenue and see all of East Halls funneling into Jeffrey Field. That is exactly the type of environment that we are trying to create for our student-athletes and I think Britt Eckerstrom can speak for herself, but if I were a Penn State women's soccer player this would have been a really exciting weekend for me.
Q: Is there any added pressure to being the top-ranked team in the Big Ten?
Walsh: In terms of the being the top-ranked team in the Big Ten, it is not something that we spend a whole lot of time thinking about. One of the things we talked about before the weekend started was reputation versus character and talking about what other people think of us. Whether it is in our own community or around the country versus what we are doing on a daily basis and the way we carry ourselves. We are much more concerned about the character of our team than we are about rankings.
Q: What do you think about the new soccer balls that you are using? Any difference from last year?
Eckerstrom: We train with them every day, so we get used to them. I don't think it matters from one year to the next.
Walsh: It is neat to see the technology that Nike and our sponsors are coming up with these days. I think with each passing year the ball gets more technical and it is adapted for the game in this day and age. It is exciting to see how they move now compared to 10 years ago. The quality of the ball gets better and better.
Q: Coach, you have experience with the US National Team, seeing former and current players in the World Cup this summer what does it do for the program? How proud are you?
Walsh: The World Cup was a huge deal, not only for the US National Team, but also for Penn State, having our senior captain Raquel Rodriguez be a part of it. We were so proud of our four alumni representatives, two for the US and two for Canada. It was massive for our program. Every time that Rocky touched the ball I think they said Penn State and just the amount of attention that we received because it seemed like our entire country was watching by that point. Then the extreme pride that came from our program and from her teammates, it was a really exciting time for all of us.
Q: Frannie Crouse was a huge asset to the team last year as a freshman, what do you expect to see out of her in her second collegiate season?
Walsh: Well we are very fortunate this year to have an extremely dangerous attack across the board. I think you look at the opening weekend and goals coming from five different goal scorers and how exciting that was for us. Frannie is off to a great start, she had a great goal on Jeffrey Field this weekend. I think she will continue to be dangerous, but across the board now, having so many different threats and weapons, it creates more opportunities for each and every one of them, because there is no one player that you can really focus on at this point on the 2015 team.
Q: Britt, Coach Walsh talked about it, but when you ran on the field on Friday night with a crowd like that, what was it like from a player's perspective and how does that help the team?
Eckerstrom: It was unbelievable. Jeffrey Field, under the lights, Friday night, nothing is better than that in the fall. To me, my favorite part is when the fans do the "We Are" chant across the field. I am trying to focus on the game, but no matter what, I get goosebumps every time. When that big of a student section on one side and the rest of the fans on the other side are echoing "We Are", that is unbelievable and you just don't get that anywhere else, it means the most. On Sunday we had a great crowd, too, and I am looking forward to the rest of the season at Jeffrey Field.
Q: Coach, what are you going to look for during the next few games?
Walsh: Right now in terms of what we are looking for is all about progress. Early in the season, making sure that we are making steps with each game, making gains in all different areas. We chart a lot of different categories and we look for progress in all these different areas, whether it is blue collar mentality or whether it is the technique or tactics in what we are trying to do in the attack. But holding our team accountable to make improvements each and every day, which is a huge part of working with the team and preparing the team to be successful, come October and November.
Q: In the game against Loyola Marymount, how did Charlotte Williams get so many good looks?
Walsh: Charlotte Williams is an extremely exciting player. She brings a spark; she came off the bench Friday night and we felt she brought an enormous spark, as did all the players that came off the bench for us Friday night and on Sunday. When she picks up the ball you are not quite sure what is going to come of it, but you know something good will. Her ability to pick up the ball and run at a back line is terrifying as far as I am concerned. She seems to be dangerous with every touch and right now we are working on efficiency of touches and helping her continue to be dangerous.
Q: How did the team look to you after the first weekend? Did they seem like a team after the first weekend or were they similar to a team past that point?
Walsh: I think in terms of quality of chances, I would say that we looked a little bit more advanced in that area, but in terms of the common mistakes you see in an opening weekend we had all those mistakes. Whether it is on set pieces or design plays, those types of things, but they are all teaching lessons. We gave up three goals directly after we scored a goal and that is something that we need to focus on and this team is well aware of that. In terms of progress, I was really pleased between Army, Hofstra and Loyola Marymount I thought our attack grew with each game and it continues to be an area of focus for us right now.
Q: What is one word you would choose to best describe the team and why?
Eckerstrom: After the past couple games I would go with dangerous. We have a lot of depth this year and a lot of versatility and different styles we can play and think that is, like Coach Walsh said, terrifying and really fun to watch. I think we are going to be super dangerous in creating a lot of different opportunities. It will be pretty cool to watch this this season.