The Creighton women’s soccer team starts its regular season Sunday against the Iowa State.
Bruce Erickson’s team played to a tie in its intersquad scrimmage and in exhibition matches against North Dakota State and Minnesota State-Mankato. WBR caught up with the longtime Bluejays coach to talk about his (young) team as they start a (challenging) non-conference slate against the Cyclones.
WBR: What did you learn about your team from the public scrimmage and the two exhibition matches, other than what you knew based on training and practice?
Bruce Erickson: We learned that we have the ability to be a very good attacking team with several players capable of scoring goals for us. We learned we are very young and inexperienced, with likely seven new starters from a year ago and as many as five or six freshmen starting. We also need to be better defensively.
WBR: Six starters (and nine seniors total) are gone from 2011. The media guide lists Brittney Neumann, Kelsey O’Donnell, and Madelyn Buckner as captains. How has that group helped the rest of the team transition from that loss of experience?
BE: They have their work cut out for them. Exactly half our team is brand new (11 players) and we are still getting to know everyone. The captains are all great leaders by example but the challenge will be for them to all step it up on the field when the going gets tough and we face a little adversity. We will see adversity with the challenge of our tough schedule.
WBR: One of those departed seniors, Alicia Montgomery, was a mainstay in goal for the past few seasons. Senior Katie Jo Swanson takes over as keeper. How has playing behind Montgomery helped Swanson prepare to handle the majority of the time in goal this season?
BE: Alicia left big shoes to fill. She was a three-year starter for us, playing the majority of the games. She was a very passionate and vocal leader. Katie Jo has to be a leader in the back for our team. We have three new starters in the back and most are freshmen so her main job has to be to lead that back four. She is soft spoken but needs to really step up and do everything she can to help that group develop.
WBR: You have two freshmen behind Swanson in goal. Can you talk about what Kyla Salazar and Sydney Galvez-Daley bring to the program as new players?
BE: Kyla and Sydney both bring great work ethic. They have improved greatly in the 2 weeks they have been in our program, and they will continue to do so.
WBR: Which freshmen do you think will make an immediate impact for this team early in the year? What does the group of newcomers bring to the program?
BE: The freshmen that have made an immediate impact so far are Alyssa Jara, Alissa Kohmetscher, Maddie Trebesch, Maddie Nelson, Jill Richgels, and Kaelyn Korte. Newcomer Angela Benson (transfer) has come in and made the starting lineup as well. Kelsey O’Donnell had to sit out the fall and spring seasons (transfer) but has been our best player thus far.
WBR: What are the big story lines to watch with your program early in the year? Any health issues that will affect the team to start the season?
BE: To accept the challenge of the tough schedule and improve every game. We are preparing for the conference season so we need to keep that in mind. This season is not a spring and we need to keep developing chemistry, trust, etc. It’s a very talented group but there is a premium placed on experience and we don’t have a lot of it. So, it’s going to take time. As for injuries, Kyla Booker is one of the top frosh coming in and she has been out most of preseason. Expect her to contribute immediately when she returns.
You can catch Creighton’s season-opener at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, August 19, at Morrison Stadium on the CU campus.