Women’s soccer coaches talk recruiting, expectations at alumni match

Quinn Casteel

Assistant Sports Editor

On Sunday, the VCU women’s soccer team, in the midst of its spring season, held its annual alumni match at Sports Backers Stadium. CT assistant sports editor Quinn Casteel was on-hand for the match and caught up with co-head coaches Tim and Tiffany Sahaydak to discuss all things VCU women’s soccer.

QC: How has this spring been in terms of progress?

Tiffany: It’s been really positive, and it’s a time for a lot of players to get time in that may not have seen the field as much in the fall. We’re giving everybody almost the same amount of time so they can get exposure and so we can really evaluate them. It’s a great developmental time.

QC: Who in particular has stepped up and pushed for an expanded role next fall?

Tiffany: (Sophomore forward) Bex (Kunz) is pushing for a starting position. She’s been doing really well this spring. There’s so many players improving, but if I had to pick one it would be Bex. We have a really strong incoming freshmen class who are not in the mix yet, so it’s hard to say.

QC: Who are some of the recruits that you’re most excited about?

 Tiffany: Natalie Moik, she’s a German national-team player, and she’s coming straight from Germany.

 Tim: Moik is a pretty versatile player: She can play in the back as an outside defender or she can play up top as a wide forward or a winger. She plays for Bayer Leverkusen, and they usually utilize her as an outside back, but she also plays for the national team and they used her as a forward so she’s very versatile.

QC: Did you go out to Germany to recruit her?

 Tim: It was interesting because she was recommended to us by someone we know in Germany, and we obviously went beyond the recommendations and watched a lot of video on her. She was one of the few foreign players that we’ve recruited where we actually didn’t travel out to Germany to watch in person. But because she’s played at a high level we were able to see enough on her to where we knew we wanted her.

QC: You’ve obviously stepped it up in terms of international recruiting; do you feel like it’s giving you a leg up?

Tim: We’re just trying to cast a wide net. The unique thing about VCU is just how accommodating we are, and how attractive we are to international students. That is definitely one of the strengths of the university and that gives us an advantage in recruiting.

QC: What are your thoughts on the progression of your leading scorer from this season, sophomore forward Courtney Conrad?

 Tim: We watched and recruited Courtney for a long time, and she chose to play her freshman season down at Jacksonville University. She had a great first season but eventually got back in touch with us and wanted to come here before last season. It definitely interested us and then to see how it translated onto the field was great. To put up the kind of numbers she did in her first year in the CAA is impressive and I think she has a bright future if she continues to improve over the next couple years.

 QC: How often do you still think about the conference championship loss to William & Mary?

 Tim: We try to get past that. Soccer is like that sometimes; some days you perform poorly and win and some days you play well and lose. That’s the nature of it but I certainly think we use it as motivation. The players are excited about the opportunity to one day play in that match again, and hopefully even beyond that with the NCAA Tournament. That’s definitely the goal this season.

 QC: Do you feel like you’re poised to be right back in the hunt this season?

 Tim: I think so, with all the talent we have coming back and the talent we’re bringing in – but talent doesn’t always tell the whole story. It will be interesting to see how the new players integrate and what the chemistry on the team is, but I think we have the ability to surpass what we did last year.

 QC: Last season you brought in goalie Kristin Carden and center back Karol Sanchez and set up a really solid back four and goalie situation; do you see that as the identity of the team?

 Tim: Our philosophy is that the ball is the most important thing, so when we have the ball we try to take care of it and be possession-based and attackminded. But defensively it’s all about being organized and having everyone understand their role; we want all 11 players thinking cohesively. We want them to play creatively, but defensively we want a reputation for being organized.

QC: If you were to pick a brand of soccer that you hope to see in the fall, what would it start with?

 Tim: It’s always about keeping the ball and possessing it. We want to play a team-based, possession game where we score in a variety of ways, without any one player being the most dangerous or playing in a predictable way. The style of soccer we’re trying to play, and I think we’re gaining a reputation for, is keeping the ball and building up from the back.

QC: Where do you expect to be ranked in the CAA at the beginning of the season and where do you think you deserve to fit in?

Tim: I think after this past season we earned a little respect from the other teams and coaches around the conference. But at the same time, I’m fine with not being at the top in the preseason rankings because at the end of day it doesn’t mean much. If anything, it gives our team motivation to prove the naysayers wrong. But I do think the way we ended the season last year we’re not flying under the radar anymore; teams are going to be motivated to play against us now that we’ve finished near the top.