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Q&A With Head Coach Tim McClements 10/18/2005 What are your thoughts on your team’s play heading down the homestretch of the regular season? I think they have made great strides. They have taken ownership of the program, and have continued to get better. Our fitness, technical ability and tactical awareness have improved and the guys have bought into what they are doing. I think player to player, we have been pleased, but our strides as a team have been even more significant. We have had our ups and downs, but we played some very good soccer at times and are just trying to reach a level of consistency. Is the team where you thought they would be when you started the season? P> Our goals for the season are to get better every day and I think we have done that. The next goal is to get into the Missouri Valley tournament and then after that get into the NCAA tournament. All of those things are still in front of us, which is nice. There has been sometimes in the past where that has not been the case. We have some older players with experience that lead us well and we also have the experience of playing some of the top teams in the country. This will certainly help us in MVC and NCAA play. What are your thoughts on your freshmen class and their play this year? P> The group as a whole, all nine players, has been tremendous. Top to bottom, they have added to the program. The thing that has been difficult is getting them all playing time. If they came in three years ago, probably all nine would have started. Some players have done extremely well and in turn have received more time. Brian Mascarenhas has made a big impact on our program because of his ability to be a two-way player. Pat Murray has done a good job, as well as Conor Neusel in the midfield. Nader Jarun and Ben Hemkens have also given us quality minutes and we are not afraid to put any of our freshmen in. What are your thoughts on the offense’s play, specifically John Krause and Joe Germanese? The difference between this year and last is the format that we play. Their roles changed with a much bigger defensive component to be successful in this year’s formation. They have embraced it and have gotten better at it as the year has gone on. The one thing that didn’t change is that they are still a big threat on offense. The fact that they have learned the system and learned how to play within it has made us a better team. What are your thoughts on the seniors and how the program has grown over the last four years? They have been outstanding. We had a long bus ride home last week and I talked with Ryan Paugh, who was here before I got here four years ago. He has seen the changes that have happened to the program over that span. At the end of the day I think there are a lot of things we have improved upon, but basically we have taken it a year at a time and gotten better every year in all phases (recruiting, discipline, level of play). What do you think the team has to do to be successful in the last two weeks of the regular season? Results are the most important thing. I look at the Missouri State game we played last Saturday. We were unfortunate in that it was one of the best games that we played since I have been here and came up short. We played very good soccer for 90 minutes and for that I am very proud, but at the end of the day the players are disappointed because they lost. They did everything we asked of them and yet they didn’t get the result we all wanted. Everything you do matters in the Missouri Valley. Every point, every pass, every trap, every kick of the ball makes a difference. The seniors are coming down to their last four regular season games and it is important to them to finish strong. |
