K-State Soccer Hosts Media Day
Aug 03, 2018 | Soccer
MANHATTAN, Kansas - Kansas State women's soccer met with the media on Friday morning at the K-State Soccer Complex. Head coach Mike Dibbini and requested student-athletes were available for interviews and a transcript of some of those interviews is below.
Kansas State will host Minnesota on Wednesday, August 8, at 7 p.m., for its final exhibition tune-up. Tickets are available by calling (800) 221-CATS or by visiting www.kstatesports.com/tickets.
Head Coach Mike Dibbini
On team experience returning this year…
"Yes, we have a lot back so I am very comfortable with our team in the run of play on the field, but we did lose a major piece to the puzzle in our goal, however we have some keepers that are young, trying to gain valuable experience here as the season goes along. So, we have really good, talented, young keepers, but it's how fast they can adapt to the experienced numbers that we see on the field. Miranda [Larkin] made a lot of saves for us last year, can we repeat that, I think so, its just going to be a little bit of time to gain some confidence and work on trust between the backline and the goalkeeping position, that is where it starts."
On who will likely play goalkeeper…
"I think it is [Emma Malsy's] job to lose. She has a bit more experience, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are some challenging moments in the goalkeeping position throughout the season because we have three young, solid, goalkeepers. Having the experience in goal and transferring from the Pac-12, I think that Emma may have the nod right now."
On what it takes to win games in the Big 12…
"I think that we are a lot more hopeful. Our very first year, we weren't sure what was going to happen, there was going to be some attrition that was already happening. Second year, which was our first year in the Big 12, we got a really good taste of it, we had some really close games. I think going into this year we have a lot more chemistry on the field, less desperation on the attack, our defense is back minus the goalkeeper. So, we are more hopeful, we played hard until the very last game last year, if we can replicate that with more experience, I feel good about our situation right now."
On the non-conference schedule this season…
"I think this is our strongest, most competitive schedule that we have put together. If you look at our schedule, we have four or five teams that won their conference or conference tournament last year, besides getting into the Big 12. Our RPI shouldn't be an issue as long as we take care of business."
On close losses last season…
"I think we need to focus a little bit more on the details of the game for longer periods of time and understanding the game of soccer sometimes, unfortunately is focusing on the details and taking care of the ball and making better decisions in crucial moments of the game. If we can fix that with this young team, you will start seeing us getting over the hump."
On being a third-year program…
"We want to say we don't want to have any more excuses, but the fact is that at this level with female soccer players committing their freshman year, we are still waiting on our freshmen class to get here. But with that said, our transfers, our late-blooming freshmen that have come in have done an amazing job of competing at this level and have gone above and beyond my expectations. I am hoping that the valuable experience that we have had the last two or three years will push us over the top this year."
On the freshmen group…
"I think that we are in a situation now that our freshmen group have to put their time in, don't get me wrong, we have some talent. But the seniors and juniors that have gone through the adversity and experience, they have a chip on their shoulder and they are going to come out ready to play a good season."
"We have had great moments with all of the freshmen, there have been a couple of bright spots. Up top, with Chloe Fisher, she has done a nice job of playing up high for us. You can tell she has some experience. Bailey Nemechek in midfield has done a really nice job in terms of playing simple and taking care of the ball. Then the back line, which is full of freshmen in the depth position, coming in to understudy, all of our freshmen on the back line have showed moments of potential."
Senior defender Haley Sutter
On defense last season…
"I think on paper it looked like we weren't a very successful team, but overall I thought we did very well. All those games were super close with the exception of a couple. I think that we were in every game and it was unfortunate that we couldn't get the result, but I think we did as well as we could have for the first year."
On experience of defensive unit…
"We have the most returners and I think our whole back line is the same as last year's, so that is really huge because we did very well defensively last year. We definitely have the upper hand in the fact that we are pretty experienced, and we are only going to get better from here as we get more comfortable with each other."
On being a leader on the team…
"I feel like the girls look up to me just because I have a lot of experience, especially for the new girls coming in, I think it's big to see that. I try to be a leader as much as I can. It's sad because I feel like this season is going to go by quick and I'm not ready to be done, but I think that it will be a good year for us and I am just going to take it one practice at a time and not try to speed up the process too quick."
Sophomore midfielder Brookelynn Entz
On reflecting on last season…
"I try not to focus on the past, I try to get better every single day. I know last year I did pretty well as a freshman, but I think I can definitely improve on that and in my play, so I am just trying to get better every single day."
On the difficulty of playing in the Big 12…
"Last year I played in the Big 12 as an attacking center-mid, and actually the coaching staff made a really good decision and decided to move me over to the left wing/left forward, and I think that really helped the team because I like to go 1v1 and take people on and that can isolate me on the side. We have been working a lot on 1v1's this spring and even a little bit this fall and I have been working hard to get better at that and increase my speed in the weight room and conditioning."
On the incoming freshmen class…
"They've already made an impact on the program in terms of raising the level of play during practice and making it more competitive every single day, so I think they have done a great job of coming in and making it more competitive by using their skill.s I am thankful for Coach Dibbini for bringing them in."
Senior forward Tatum Wagner
On goals for this season…
"This year we are trying to make it to the Big 12 tournament, that was the goal last year too, but this year I think it is more realistic because we are older now. Last year, everyone was young and now we have a lot more experience."
On the depth at forward…
"There's a lot of girls that came in that are really good, and there are still the girls that have been here and are getting better too, so I think we have some good depth."
Kansas State will host Minnesota on Wednesday, August 8, at 7 p.m., for its final exhibition tune-up. Tickets are available by calling (800) 221-CATS or by visiting www.kstatesports.com/tickets.
Head Coach Mike Dibbini
On team experience returning this year…
"Yes, we have a lot back so I am very comfortable with our team in the run of play on the field, but we did lose a major piece to the puzzle in our goal, however we have some keepers that are young, trying to gain valuable experience here as the season goes along. So, we have really good, talented, young keepers, but it's how fast they can adapt to the experienced numbers that we see on the field. Miranda [Larkin] made a lot of saves for us last year, can we repeat that, I think so, its just going to be a little bit of time to gain some confidence and work on trust between the backline and the goalkeeping position, that is where it starts."
On who will likely play goalkeeper…
"I think it is [Emma Malsy's] job to lose. She has a bit more experience, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are some challenging moments in the goalkeeping position throughout the season because we have three young, solid, goalkeepers. Having the experience in goal and transferring from the Pac-12, I think that Emma may have the nod right now."
On what it takes to win games in the Big 12…
"I think that we are a lot more hopeful. Our very first year, we weren't sure what was going to happen, there was going to be some attrition that was already happening. Second year, which was our first year in the Big 12, we got a really good taste of it, we had some really close games. I think going into this year we have a lot more chemistry on the field, less desperation on the attack, our defense is back minus the goalkeeper. So, we are more hopeful, we played hard until the very last game last year, if we can replicate that with more experience, I feel good about our situation right now."
On the non-conference schedule this season…
"I think this is our strongest, most competitive schedule that we have put together. If you look at our schedule, we have four or five teams that won their conference or conference tournament last year, besides getting into the Big 12. Our RPI shouldn't be an issue as long as we take care of business."
On close losses last season…
"I think we need to focus a little bit more on the details of the game for longer periods of time and understanding the game of soccer sometimes, unfortunately is focusing on the details and taking care of the ball and making better decisions in crucial moments of the game. If we can fix that with this young team, you will start seeing us getting over the hump."
On being a third-year program…
"We want to say we don't want to have any more excuses, but the fact is that at this level with female soccer players committing their freshman year, we are still waiting on our freshmen class to get here. But with that said, our transfers, our late-blooming freshmen that have come in have done an amazing job of competing at this level and have gone above and beyond my expectations. I am hoping that the valuable experience that we have had the last two or three years will push us over the top this year."
On the freshmen group…
"I think that we are in a situation now that our freshmen group have to put their time in, don't get me wrong, we have some talent. But the seniors and juniors that have gone through the adversity and experience, they have a chip on their shoulder and they are going to come out ready to play a good season."
"We have had great moments with all of the freshmen, there have been a couple of bright spots. Up top, with Chloe Fisher, she has done a nice job of playing up high for us. You can tell she has some experience. Bailey Nemechek in midfield has done a really nice job in terms of playing simple and taking care of the ball. Then the back line, which is full of freshmen in the depth position, coming in to understudy, all of our freshmen on the back line have showed moments of potential."
Senior defender Haley Sutter
On defense last season…
"I think on paper it looked like we weren't a very successful team, but overall I thought we did very well. All those games were super close with the exception of a couple. I think that we were in every game and it was unfortunate that we couldn't get the result, but I think we did as well as we could have for the first year."
On experience of defensive unit…
"We have the most returners and I think our whole back line is the same as last year's, so that is really huge because we did very well defensively last year. We definitely have the upper hand in the fact that we are pretty experienced, and we are only going to get better from here as we get more comfortable with each other."
On being a leader on the team…
"I feel like the girls look up to me just because I have a lot of experience, especially for the new girls coming in, I think it's big to see that. I try to be a leader as much as I can. It's sad because I feel like this season is going to go by quick and I'm not ready to be done, but I think that it will be a good year for us and I am just going to take it one practice at a time and not try to speed up the process too quick."
Sophomore midfielder Brookelynn Entz
On reflecting on last season…
"I try not to focus on the past, I try to get better every single day. I know last year I did pretty well as a freshman, but I think I can definitely improve on that and in my play, so I am just trying to get better every single day."
On the difficulty of playing in the Big 12…
"Last year I played in the Big 12 as an attacking center-mid, and actually the coaching staff made a really good decision and decided to move me over to the left wing/left forward, and I think that really helped the team because I like to go 1v1 and take people on and that can isolate me on the side. We have been working a lot on 1v1's this spring and even a little bit this fall and I have been working hard to get better at that and increase my speed in the weight room and conditioning."
On the incoming freshmen class…
"They've already made an impact on the program in terms of raising the level of play during practice and making it more competitive every single day, so I think they have done a great job of coming in and making it more competitive by using their skill.s I am thankful for Coach Dibbini for bringing them in."
Senior forward Tatum Wagner
On goals for this season…
"This year we are trying to make it to the Big 12 tournament, that was the goal last year too, but this year I think it is more realistic because we are older now. Last year, everyone was young and now we have a lot more experience."
On the depth at forward…
"There's a lot of girls that came in that are really good, and there are still the girls that have been here and are getting better too, so I think we have some good depth."
Players Mentioned
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