K-State Soccer Meets with the Media on Thursday
Aug 03, 2023 | Soccer
Moderator: Coach, if you could, please give us an overview of how the first few days of practice have gone and what stands out to you.
Coach Dibbini: We are a much deeper program and team this year. We don't really have much of a gap like we have had in the past, and that gap is now closed, which shows the team has a lot of depth. I'm pretty excited about it. I think we have multiple players in various positions that we can throw into the lineup on any given day, and I feel really good about continuing to play at a high level throughout the match. Great guys.
Question: You mentioned having a lot of depth, but a lot of seniors and upperclassmen moved on from the program, and now it's a really young team. How do you think the youth will affect the team in 2020?
Dibbini: That's a really good question. It was probably my biggest concern. Even though we have a lot of depth, it's coming from a couple of dozen underclassmen, but the quality is good. So the sooner we get the minutes through the preseason, I think it's only going to help us get through our big tall season. The overall quality of play is excellent, and you can see the comfort and confidence on the ball, as well as their decision-making abilities. They are really good soccer players. So we just have to gain experience in dealing with the physicality of the conference and college soccer. Once we get a few games under our belt, especially an exhibition, I think that will help us a lot.
Question: Can you talk about some of the long-term benefits of having such a young team?
Dibbini: I mean, they can build some chemistry over the years. The sky's the limit. If we can shore up some areas where we lack experience, the Big 12 alone is a gauntlet, and we all understand what it takes to play at that level. So the more we play together, build trust, and understand each other, it's going to help us throughout the next two to three years. As the program continues to rise each year, we can keep that momentum going. We'll continue to build on what we teach them, not only in terms of the basic game but also in establishing a strong culture of trust, family, and the values we've been instilling since day one. This gradual climb feels promising, and we have a solid leadership base and a lot of young talent.
Question: What does the goalkeeper position look like with the replacements for Werremeyer and Harris? You're going to have some newbies in there.
Dibbini: It's always been a challenge to replace some really good keepers that we had in the past. But I feel like we have a good combination of two keepers who will do a good job for us. Both are young, but Hobbs has some good experience playing at a high-level club. And Murphy, a national team goalkeeper from New Zealand, brings a big presence in goal. So, we have two goalkeepers that we feel can really help us once they gain experience in matches.
Question: How do you feel about your depth specifically within the defenders? Jazmin Brown was last year's All-Freshman Team selection in the Big 12. How amazing is it that she's young and already a leader? Do you have enough upperclassmen and depth that someone else can build on that role?
Dibbini: You know, I think in that position, we return a lot of players. Jazmin Brown, Erin Morrissey has been here for a while. We have Aliyah (El-Naggar) who's healthy and back, and Khalianna (Garrett) who got some minutes last year. Additionally, Kenzi (Gillispie) is there, so we have a core of five players that we can rotate in and out, allowing us to include experience and players who can contribute right away. We also have some good freshmen who will come in and provide even more depth.
Question: Is there anyone who can replace a player like Kyler (Goins), a fast, tall forward who can be electric?
Dibbini: It's really hard to replace any of our players who have been special in the past, but as I said, I feel pretty good about our young players coming in. We know we have players who understudied a little bit last year, like Andra Mohler with her speed and Riley Baker who gained valuable experience. Then you have some freshmen like Rilyn Rintoul and Jo Sees, who have athletic abilities and speed. The sky's the limit, and I believe it's just a matter of getting them out there, watching them play, and then assessing from there.
Question: Last year, you mentioned that it was the start of phase two of the program's building, and the first step was making the Big 12 Championship. What is the next step in phase two this year?
Dibbini: I think our expectation is to get back to the Big 12 Championship. Can we achieve a result or more? Those are realistic goals that we strive for. Of course, we want more than that. What team doesn't? But I feel like that's a good starting point for us.
Question: With the new look of the conference this season, how do you think that will affect your season in general?
Dibbini: I think there have been some polls out there with strength of schedules, and it seems like this will be the highest strength of schedule we've had since starting our program. The last I saw was 46 in the country for strength of schedule. So there won't be an easy match, considering our non-conference and conference matches. We'll be facing two out of the four teams that are top 25 right from the start. Plus, the Big 12 has always been one of the toughest conferences in the country, with four to six teams either in the top 25 or receiving votes. It's going to be a competitive schedule.
Question: What do you think about last year? K-State was one of the top teams in the conference in terms of yellow cards. How do you address that moving forward into this year?
Dibbini: I think they understand that yellow cards can determine a lot at the end of the season, including results and tiebreakers. But it also shows that we were there to compete. Some of those cards were given for physical play, which demonstrates that we're willing to do what it takes to compete.
Question: Going back to this conference realignment schedule, with BYU, Cincinnati, and Houston on the schedule, what do you think about Colorado joining the conference, and what is their soccer program like? What do you think they will bring to the table?
Dibbini: Colorado is another quality program with a really good coaching staff. They are very well coached and compete at a high level. They've been in and out of the top 25 for the last five years that I've been watching them, so I think they will bring another good program to the conference.
Question: What do you want to see on Saturday against Missouri State? I know there's a lot that you want to see, but is there anything that really sticks out the most?
Dibbini: They have been training against each other here for the last four or five days, and it's been pretty competitive. I want to see how we perform against a different opponent. Our team understands our training philosophies and what we're trying to do, so I want to observe how other teams respond to what we're trying to do without knowing our strategies. It's also crucial to give an opportunity to look at our pretty large roster and provide significant playing time to everyone. We broke up the matches into four 25-minute periods instead of two 45-minute halves to achieve that, and I think it's essential for us.
