Oklahoma State University Athletics
Talking Preseason With Coach Carmichael
August 15, 2013 | Cowgirl Soccer
Aug 15, 2013
The Oklahoma State women's soccer squad began preseason practice Aug. 7, and with a week of two-a-day practices in the books, the Cowgirls held a 70-minute intrasquad scrimmage Wednesday night at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.
OSU head coach Colin Carmichael discussed the preseason and last night's scrimmage and also looked ahead to Saturday's exhibition match at Oral Roberts, which kicks off at 7 p.m. in Tulsa.
On the preseason as a whole thus far
"I'm really happy. As a group, they came in in good shape, well conditioned, and very motivated, which is what you look for those first couple of days. And then once we got rolling, they're competing a lot better. It was a big emphasis for us in the spring to get these young players competing every day and playing hard in practice, knocking each other around so that will translate to the game. We've seen a lot more of that this year than we did last year.
All coaches are pleased at this point of the season because they haven't played anybody yet, but signs look good. We're a little more athletic than last year, a little more physically imposing than we were last year. And there's just a little more swagger from these younger players because they've been through it before. A little more confident, a little more experienced and definitely physically further ahead than last year."
On Wednesday's intrasquad scrimmage
"It was good. We played a team that we are kind of looking at for Saturday, kind of a starting group, for the first 35 minutes. They looked sharp. Obviously there were some heavy legs, and their touches were off a little bit because of that. But overall, I think we are ahead of schedule compared to last year."
On who stood out in the scrimmage
"The best player on the field was Allie Stephenson, clearly - it wasn't even close. She was just phenomenal. Great first touch, very active, very vocal, created chances, scored goals. Allie looked really, really sharp."
On freshmen forwards Krissi Killion and Courtney Dike
"Krissi is a very talented kid and a hard worker. She's one of those kids that will make something out of nothing. She continues to pressure defenders and capitalize on mistakes. She's a really tenacious kid up front so we have high hopes for Krissi. And Courtney has been a threat all preseason, and she has a big upside as well. She's definitely dangerous in front of the goal."
On the goalies - Rosa Medina, Michela Ongaro and Ashton Hierholzer - looking to replace four-year starter and three-time All-American AD Franch
"Rosa has the lead, and a lot of that is based on experience. She's getting more reps than the other two, but the other two are doing well. Michela has got a real presence in goal, she's dominant, she talks and is a very good communicator. Ashton is very nimble, very athletic, very quick in the goal.
They've all got some really nice qualities. Rosa will start Saturday (at ORU) - I think she's earned that - but we know that if we need to put one of the other keepers in or Rosa doesn't play up to her capability or our expectations, both those other kids are right there. It's a nice situation."
On expectations for the exhibition game vs. ORU
"Number one is healthy. We don't want to get any injuries or make any worse. Every coach will tell you it's an important game, we want to win, we want to set a good tone and be the aggressor, we want to work on our shape and correct a few of the things we've seen. But more than that, we just want our kids to get a good workout, play a full game against other people and stay healthy. Even though we want to win, if we lose 1-0 and then turn around and win 5-0 next weekend, who cares about Saturday. That's the mentality."
On implementing a new system
"This spring we started looking at having a second option. We've been a 4-3-3 team for as long as I can remember, and it's a system that has worked well for us. Last year with our personnel, it probably wasn't the best fit. We talked about having a Plan B and so we've played a little bit in a 4-4-2 with this group. We started that in the spring and continued it in preseason. We've also played in our 4-3-3. We want to have the option of mixing it up a little bit more than we have in the past. If one system is not working, we want our kids to be comfortable changing to the other. Or if the other team is doing something that exposes our system, we want to have the option to change.
"It's pretty easy to change back and forth. We showed the team on the board, `Here's what happens when you play one system, here's the slight change we make if we go into the other system.' The changes are subtle and just affect a couple of positions. It's not drastic, we feel like it just puts some of the players we have in more natural positions to succeed."
On OSU being picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Conference by the league's head coaches
"The sense I get from the girls is they're just motivated. They feel like they did not achieve what they wanted to last year for different reasons. That can be a good motivator. There's a lot of `Hey, we're better than that. We've been through it and know what to expect.'
I look at fourth based on last season and what we have returning, and it's a very fair assessment, to be honest. We're striving to win it, as usual, and I think we have a good chance to succeed at that. But coming into the year, that's fair. Our girls look at that and say `Fourth? We're better than that,' and if that's their motivation, then great."
