CAPTAINS' CHRONICLES: WOMEN'S SOCCER TRIO KICKS THINGS OFF

Welcome to Captains' Chronicles, GoECSaints.com's newest feature designed to get you more informed and involved with your favorite EC teams through the eyes of the captains.

Nick Sczerbinski, Assistant Sports Information Director: What did you do during your offseason?

Ari Cardillo, Senior Captain: I worked a lot and did the conditioning guide that we had for the summer.

Maggie Carey, Junior Captain: It was the same for me, I definitely worked a lot and followed the packet. Ran, should've run more.

Katelyn Fink, Senior Captain: I was abroad for the beginning so I didn't really get to work out until I got back, but then I lived on the Hill so I was able run up and around there and that's a great workout.

NS: Did the fact that you're captains change anything about your offseason routine?

MC: I think, mentally, I tried to prepare myself differently. I knew that there was going to be a lot more responsibility than I've had in the past two years. I knew I had to remember that teammates are always watching how I act, so I have to remember to check my attitude and remember what the important goal is and that's winning the GNACs.

KF: I definitely agree, even just coming in with other things to do that we haven't had to worry about before was a wake-up call of the responsibilities that we have.  

NS: How does it feel to be back on campus and back in the city?

KF: It's really exciting.

AC: For Katelyn and me, as seniors, it's just weird. For preseason, we always have a cookout and it was like an out of body experience.

KF: We didn't feel like it was real that we were back yet. We played our last first game and before the game it just felt so weird.

NS: What does it mean to each of you to be a leader?

AC: It's weird because it's not like you really have to do anything different for people to look to you for advice. It's tough because people will use you to make decisions and you have to help them make the decision on their own.

MC: It can be tough sometimes, because sometimes you want to think about you and your own game, but you have to always think of the team game at the same time. Then, from that, your best effort affects how the rest of the team plays because we bring another aspect to the game if all three of us are on.

KF: And it's about being that example, knowing that people are looking up to you so you have to always have that good attitude. Even when you want to be down about yourself, you still have to be the one that's always picking everyone back up.  

NS: There is a large group of freshmen this year… How have they transitioned into college life so far? What have you done as a team to help them get acclimated?

AC: We spend a lot of time together, so just having conversations with the freshmen is so important because sometimes they come in thinking 'I can't talk to the seniors or the captains", which is how our first year was, so we want to let them know that it's not like that.

KF: We try not to put ourselves on any level above everyone else. Just because we're older and more experienced, we're all one team.

MC: When we have those individual talks at the beginning of the season, we try to let them know that we all went through the same process and know what they're feeling. We just want them to know that we're here, not just for soccer, but as a friend and a sister.

AC: We always do fun things like tie-dye day, Olympic day, and we always have a freshman talent show. It's a cool icebreaker to help them break the walls down and I think that's a really good thing.

NS: Has anyone impressed you in training and practices so far?

MC: I think there are three freshmen, Mikayla, Kayla, and Rachel, that didn't lose the speed of the game when they came in.

AC: They set the tone when they play, they bring it. They've adjusted so well to our style of play, to the physicality of the game.

MC: Even though she's my sister, I think Molly has stepped up too.

KF: I agree. I think she has a lot more confidence this year than she did last year. She's also taking on a leadership role, being one of the older girls on the team.

AC: Tori has been phenomenal too, she's a rock star.

NS: Obviously, the team goal is to win the GNACs. Are there any other goals for this season?

MC: Just to bring it every game.

KF: We want to be consistent. Teams that we could put away early, we don't and we play well against tougher teams.

NS: Do you have any individual goals, or goals for the group of captains?

MC: Personally, I just want to help the team succeed in any way that I can. As captains, I think we all feel the same way. This year, we know there's no reason why anyone should beat us.

KF: I also think it's important to keep that positive team chemistry and keep everyone on the same page with the same goal in mind.

NS: What does Coach Currie bring to the table as far as leadership and coaching and how has that translated to your leadership styles?

AC: He is hilarious, first of all. The good thing about him is that he knows when to be serious and when to joke around. He always says that he doesn't treat all players the same because some players are motivated by yelling and some aren't and will shut down. He's so good in that respect. Our job in that situation is to remind players that he's only yelling or saying things because he knows their potential and is doing what he's doing to bring that out.

KF: We've had three seasons of working with Wayne so we know what he means when he says or does things.

MC: I had to sit out for a week or so, and I learned so much just from sitting next to him. He knows so much about the game.

NS: Ari, you assisted on the first goal of the season. What did that feel like to know that you had an impact in the first goal?

AC: When I passed Molly the ball, I just said 'Please do something with it!' and then she scored. I don't know that I thought about myself in that instant, I was just happy that we knew how to break them down at that point, we had figured it out.

NS: Maggie, in your bio, your career aspirations say that you'd like to be the President of the United States. We need a 20-second campaign from you right now.

MC: "Nothing beats hard work." I really don't think anything should be handed to anyone. I'm a true believer in getting what you put into something. I don't think things should be handed out and I hate laziness. I think with soccer, school, and life in general, nothing can replace hard work.

NS: Katelyn, your sister, Rachel Fink, is a freshman on the team this year. What is it like to have her around both in and out of soccer?

KF: I love having her at school with me, it's so awesome. We were talking about it yesterday and it's cool because we're living in different places, but we're still at the same school, so I get to see her during soccer. It's definitely kind of weird having her on the team just because I'm a senior and she's a freshman, so we're at completely different places. I'm trying to just be there for her and help her relate to what it was like when I was a freshman on the team, but I love having her here.