Woodward Becoming ‘Manager of the Game’
Aug 08, 2024 | Soccer, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
She showed up on her recruiting visit in December. Temperatures were in the 20s. And it was dead week. And the magic of Kansas State had taken a wintery sleep. There was no way Jayce Woodward, a Seattle native, and a young up-and-comer from USC, was heading to Manhattan. None. Except she stayed. She stayed to talk with K-State soccer head coach Mike Dibbini. And they had real, meaningful conversations. He talked about hopes for the future and success. He talked about the goal to become a tougher team and to create an identity.
That stuck. As did the Midwest bug that somehow kept Woodward in the Little Apple. She looked at Utah, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Vanderbilt. The junior midfielder, who saw sparse action in two seasons behind a very veteran and very good USC squad that made the NCAA Tournament back-to-back years, was ready to give up Los Angeles and was primed to show what she could do in Manhattan. She wanted to see K-State win. She wanted to help.
Today she sits in a lavender K-State soccer t-shirt near the front door to the women's soccer facility. Sunlight pours through windows on a 70-degree afternoon in August. The weather is very welcome. As is Woodward's presence inside a building that carries so much promise yet has experienced few wins.
"I'm really excited," she says. "I haven't had a season with this team yet, but I think we're going to surprise a lot of people."
K-State is a lightly regarded team in the Big 12 Conference. This is something new to Woodward, who never tasted anything but success in high school, club and at USC.
"I kind of like the feeling of being the underdog," she says, "so we'll see how it goes."
As for playing in the Big 12?
"I've been in the Pac-12 my whole career," she says. "It's very different because there was a winner at the end and no tournament. I'm excited to experience a tournament. The Big 12 is a strong conference. I'm ready for that."
Woodward has experience being in the middle of attention, which is what immediately drew Dibbini to his new budding star, and which she showed during spring exhibition games.
"She's the real deal for us," Dibbini says. "She's really helping us. She's like our quarterback in the middle of the field."
It's been quite a journey for Woodward. The youngest of four children, and daughter of Seattle University women's soccer coach Julie Woodward, athleticism runs thick through the family. Her father, Jason, played soccer at Western Washington University; Sister, Jalen, played soccer at USC from 2016-19; Brother, Jaxon, played football at Idaho; and brother, Jarek, played baseball at Grand Canyon and Vernon College.
"People are always really shocked by this – and I appreciate her very much for this – but it was never mom being a soccer coach or her telling me, 'Get in the car.' It was always, 'Where should we go get dinner?'" Woodward says. "That's made it more enjoyable for me because it wasn't always soccer, soccer, soccer. My mom was more my mom, but if I had a question, I had the resource right away.
"She's my closest friend. We talk every day. She's always there for me."
Woodward grew up playing volleyball, basketball and soccer. In high school, it was all soccer and basketball. She scored 57 goals and recorded 26 assists in three full varsity seasons with Seattle Preparatory and was a two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year nominee. She played in the High School All-American Game in 2022.
"I don't know if I realized I was better than everyone," she says. "I just had a lot of success throughout my life whether it was awards or scoring goals."
In high school, she was growing into her body. At USC, she focused on technical aspects like body positioning and locating targets — small things that can pay dividends in games.
What does Woodward bring as a midfielder?
"I like to go forward," she says. "I think a lot of midfielders do, obviously, but when I get the ball, the first thing I want to do is score a goal. If it's finding someone else, or finding a shot, my eyes are on the goal, and that's what I'm going to go for."
Dibbini loves the aggressiveness.
"She's the manager of the game, and attacking wise, she can supply our attack with great passes and has the ability to unlock defenses," he says. "We've very, very happy she's here. She's really helping us."
And there's more to come.
"You can see it in her approach in the way she carries herself on the field and her confidence on the ball, her decision making, and how consistent her decision making is in the attack, and how she supplies her attack," Dibbini says. "She can score goals. She scored a couple goals in spring play. The players around her tend to excel because she makes plays like a point guard or a quarterback.
"She makes plays happen."
She continues to adjust to the fact that family and friends are two hours behind her, but she never misses a night on the phone with her mother. And oh, the stories she'll have to tell in what could be a special season for her and her new soccer team.
It all starts in the season opener against Nevada next Thursday at 7 p.m. at Buser Family Park.
"What do I want to do?" she asks. "I want to score a goal. I want to try and score a goal in the first game."
She smiles.
"We'll see if we can do that."
It would mark the perfect personal beginning for Woodward, who stayed on her recruiting visit in the 20-degree weather last December for a chance to help K-State shine. Manhattan no longer sleeps.
And it would be unwise to sleep on Woodward and the Wildcats.
She showed up on her recruiting visit in December. Temperatures were in the 20s. And it was dead week. And the magic of Kansas State had taken a wintery sleep. There was no way Jayce Woodward, a Seattle native, and a young up-and-comer from USC, was heading to Manhattan. None. Except she stayed. She stayed to talk with K-State soccer head coach Mike Dibbini. And they had real, meaningful conversations. He talked about hopes for the future and success. He talked about the goal to become a tougher team and to create an identity.
That stuck. As did the Midwest bug that somehow kept Woodward in the Little Apple. She looked at Utah, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Vanderbilt. The junior midfielder, who saw sparse action in two seasons behind a very veteran and very good USC squad that made the NCAA Tournament back-to-back years, was ready to give up Los Angeles and was primed to show what she could do in Manhattan. She wanted to see K-State win. She wanted to help.
Today she sits in a lavender K-State soccer t-shirt near the front door to the women's soccer facility. Sunlight pours through windows on a 70-degree afternoon in August. The weather is very welcome. As is Woodward's presence inside a building that carries so much promise yet has experienced few wins.
"I'm really excited," she says. "I haven't had a season with this team yet, but I think we're going to surprise a lot of people."
K-State is a lightly regarded team in the Big 12 Conference. This is something new to Woodward, who never tasted anything but success in high school, club and at USC.
"I kind of like the feeling of being the underdog," she says, "so we'll see how it goes."
As for playing in the Big 12?
"I've been in the Pac-12 my whole career," she says. "It's very different because there was a winner at the end and no tournament. I'm excited to experience a tournament. The Big 12 is a strong conference. I'm ready for that."
Woodward has experience being in the middle of attention, which is what immediately drew Dibbini to his new budding star, and which she showed during spring exhibition games.
"She's the real deal for us," Dibbini says. "She's really helping us. She's like our quarterback in the middle of the field."
It's been quite a journey for Woodward. The youngest of four children, and daughter of Seattle University women's soccer coach Julie Woodward, athleticism runs thick through the family. Her father, Jason, played soccer at Western Washington University; Sister, Jalen, played soccer at USC from 2016-19; Brother, Jaxon, played football at Idaho; and brother, Jarek, played baseball at Grand Canyon and Vernon College.
"People are always really shocked by this – and I appreciate her very much for this – but it was never mom being a soccer coach or her telling me, 'Get in the car.' It was always, 'Where should we go get dinner?'" Woodward says. "That's made it more enjoyable for me because it wasn't always soccer, soccer, soccer. My mom was more my mom, but if I had a question, I had the resource right away.
"She's my closest friend. We talk every day. She's always there for me."
Woodward grew up playing volleyball, basketball and soccer. In high school, it was all soccer and basketball. She scored 57 goals and recorded 26 assists in three full varsity seasons with Seattle Preparatory and was a two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year nominee. She played in the High School All-American Game in 2022.
"I don't know if I realized I was better than everyone," she says. "I just had a lot of success throughout my life whether it was awards or scoring goals."
In high school, she was growing into her body. At USC, she focused on technical aspects like body positioning and locating targets — small things that can pay dividends in games.
What does Woodward bring as a midfielder?
"I like to go forward," she says. "I think a lot of midfielders do, obviously, but when I get the ball, the first thing I want to do is score a goal. If it's finding someone else, or finding a shot, my eyes are on the goal, and that's what I'm going to go for."
Dibbini loves the aggressiveness.
"She's the manager of the game, and attacking wise, she can supply our attack with great passes and has the ability to unlock defenses," he says. "We've very, very happy she's here. She's really helping us."
And there's more to come.
"You can see it in her approach in the way she carries herself on the field and her confidence on the ball, her decision making, and how consistent her decision making is in the attack, and how she supplies her attack," Dibbini says. "She can score goals. She scored a couple goals in spring play. The players around her tend to excel because she makes plays like a point guard or a quarterback.
"She makes plays happen."
She continues to adjust to the fact that family and friends are two hours behind her, but she never misses a night on the phone with her mother. And oh, the stories she'll have to tell in what could be a special season for her and her new soccer team.
It all starts in the season opener against Nevada next Thursday at 7 p.m. at Buser Family Park.
"What do I want to do?" she asks. "I want to score a goal. I want to try and score a goal in the first game."
She smiles.
"We'll see if we can do that."
It would mark the perfect personal beginning for Woodward, who stayed on her recruiting visit in the 20-degree weather last December for a chance to help K-State shine. Manhattan no longer sleeps.
And it would be unwise to sleep on Woodward and the Wildcats.
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