Catching Up with Head Coach Greg Ryan
10/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Prior to Thursday's (Oct. 16) battle for first place in the Big Ten with No. 11 Penn State, U-M head coach Greg Ryan discusses the team's drastic improvement this season and how the team is preparing for the matchup with PSU.
On his thoughts on the win at Indiana ... "Defensively we were really solid. We gave up no shots on goal, and when you get that, you're defending very, very well as a team. We've made great strides in that area of our game. We put together quality sequences of passes -- three, four passes in a row and then a great chance to score a goal. We're getting great attacking out of our fullbacks -- our wing defenders are two of our best attackers in Madi Lewis and Taylor Timko. When you add those guys into the equation, it's a lot for another team to have to deal with. Everybody is chipping in and that's the great thing about this team."
On the four-win streak ... "From early on when we were playing poorly, we said we've got to defend well. If you defend well, it gives you a chance to win games. We've really improved in that area of our game and our attacking has also improved tremendously. We've put together 10 goals in our last three games -- some great finishes, some great attacking sequences. Both the attacking side and defending side of the ball are doing very well at the moment."
On Megan Hinz and the defensive line ... "They're doing a fantastic job. I look out there at them and they're so young. I'm amazed that they're having this kind of success and playing as well as they are because it can take years to put together a great back line, like we had last year, those players had so much time and experience. This group is doing really well. They're getting more organized each week. There are still things we have to fix every day, but we seem to be managing to do well enough, limit the other team's chances and then get ours. This group is going to continue to grow and grow. By the end of the season they'll be better than they are now, and by next year they'll be amazing."
On the increase in goal scoring in recent games ... "I think it's just that we have so many players getting involved in the attack. Last year it was Nkem (Ezurike), and there were other players that were forceful players in that attack, but it all went through Nkem. This year it can go through Ani (Sarkisian), or Nicky (Waldeck) or Corinne (Harris), and then we get Madi (Lewis) and Taylor (Timko) joining in on the flanks. Everybody is part of this attack and it's much more difficult for teams to deal with."
On the strides the team has made this season ... "I am tremendously proud of this group. As a team, they've been amazing. Their growth as a team, as midfielders, as forwards, as defenders has been great. But you also look at the individual growth -- Ani (Sarkisian) coming in here and she's progressed so far; Nicky Waldeck, who hardly played last year and now she's our leading scorer with 10 goals; Corinne Harris has been a good player for two years, but she's just taken over the leadership on the field and quality of play. Tina (Ordonez) and Anna (Soccorsi) they're doing a fantastic job at center back and they've never played there before. You look around the park and you're like 'wow, this is a really special group.' Teams don't usually make strides like this in two years and they're making them in one season."
On how the team is approaching its big match with Penn State ... "Fortunately, we've had the same formula since about the third weekend of the season -- let's just do the best we can, give our best effort -- we're growing, we're learning, our main goal is getting better with each game. We've had tremendous success with that so we don't want to depart from that now. This is Penn State, they're a good team, but we've become a pretty good team too. We want to go out there and put our best effort in. We haven't worried about losing. We honestly haven't worried about winning. We've just focused on going out and being the best Michigan we can be. It's taken the stress off and they go out and play because they enjoy playing together -- it seems to work with this team."
On the large crowds at U-M Soccer Stadium ... "We've had fabulous support, more than we've had in any other year. The fans being here, they're loud and they create a great atmosphere. I think the players are energized by the fans. The more fans we get out Thursday night the better. The Michigan State game, when we had 2,700 people, was just an amazing atmosphere for the team and a great win, so I hope we can get something similar on Thursday."
Contact: Whitney Dixon
