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Dive into the NCAA Soccer Tournament Excitement! · The BIG LIFE

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Hey, Big Life listeners, we hope you are just as excited as we are for the near
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As always, let's soccer on, but also remember to take time to soccer off during this offseason.
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Hey everyone and welcome back to episode 15 of this season of The Big Life.
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Jordan, the bracket is set.
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Postseason is here. How are we feeling? Hearing our name called at the selection
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show, it's been different every year, obviously.
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Freshman year was the first time in forever that we've made it.
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And the fact that we even were in the tournament was so exciting for us.
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And then turning around...
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Last year you know we were hoping for a better seed and you're still fighting for this and.
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This year it was a weird feeling because we knew we
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were making the tournament and there's this expectation of
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how good we think we were and what we were able to accomplish this season and
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at one point we ranked number one to then falling to like a five seed I think
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it was exciting in some ways to see how hungry people were that we thought we
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could have accomplished more this season in our seeding.
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I don't think we deserved better than a five the way our season ended.
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I don't think we were misplaced at all. I make that clear, but I think we had
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the potential to accomplish a lot more.
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And to kind of feel that room, I think it was exciting going into postseason
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to see how hungry people were to prove what we're capable of.
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But in a lot of ways, hearing that name called in the postseason,
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knowing that the moment I lose,
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my career is officially over as a Spartan that
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just kind of like solidified that and it was a very weird
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feeling a very weird mix of emotions to know that
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like today could have been my last lift I have four guaranteed practices left
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one guaranteed game no matter what Saturday will be my last game at DeMartin
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win or lose and it was just it brought up a lot of I think like those emotions
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as you go into kind of facing the end of your career in postseason.
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Yeah, no, I mean, that makes total sense.
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I remember literally going through it last year and like being excited, but being sad.
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I've said it before. I think probably one of my worst games in my college career
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was our first game of the NCAA tournament last year because it's like you're
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trying to balance so much of, you know, it was our first time ever playing an
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NCAA game at home. It was my last game at home.
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And it's like what you said about the selection show. It's so interesting.
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Like my freshman year was kind of the same.
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Iowa had never gotten an at-large bid. And so it was kind of like,
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oh my God, you heard your name called.
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We really weren't sure. Like we were one of those teams on the bubble.
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So like hearing it, everyone jumped, everyone screamed. And I remember like,
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so my sophomore in my fifth year, when we also made the tournament,
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my coach was like, why didn't you guys celebrate?
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And we were like, we knew because we had won the Big Ten tournament.
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Like it was just kind of like we were just waiting.
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So it's just, it's really different. And now have it almost like that where
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you're let down, but you're like, OK, like now it's hungry season.
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And it's really interesting to navigate and see the difference of emotions that one bracket can turn.
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But so for those who maybe think we're crazy, don't necessarily know exactly
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what we're talking about.
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The NCAA tournament bracket was dropped yesterday. The tournament will kick
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off this weekend with games being played Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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So 64 Division One college soccer teams are still in season,
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which is always just something to kind of like humble yourself and
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as much as you're so excited to keep playing these games you're like oh
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i'm one of 64 of 333 teams still
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playing so remembering that's obviously important and
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now it's a you know winner take all
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single game elimination tournament where the round
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first round will be played this week next week
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teams will be either going to the one or two seed
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assuming there's no upsets to play both the round of 32 and the round of 16
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and then elite eight and then the next weekend in carry north carolina the final
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four will be played so a lot of thoughts on these brackets jordan i gotta ask
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you the first western michigan what was your thoughts on that draw.
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Yeah. Yeah. Going a little bit of additional context here. So you mentioned
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an at-large bid that we got.
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And for anyone who doesn't know how that works, 30 of the 64 teams are automatically
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get into the NCAA tournament because they won their conference tournament.
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And then from there, 34 teams are selected by the committee that get an at-large
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bid based on their season,
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RPI, which we went into a couple episodes ago, which
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is basically like just a formula of how well your season
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went with ranked wins things of that nature and
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they decide those 34 teams that will make it in in addition
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to the 30 teams that won their conference but yeah Western Michigan it's actually
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funny because I went and saw their their conference final game versus Buffalo
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because our good friend and number one listener Kelly Severini she played here
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for a couple years and And then she took her grad year at Buffalo.
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So love her to death. We went and a bunch of us went to go watch that game and support her.
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And we saw them play each other. And in the back of our mind,
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we kind of knew like there was a real possibility of us playing the winner of that game.
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So we kind of, I mean, in a way, got to like go scout them.
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Not that we were there for them in that moment. But we definitely got to see
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them play beforehand. I think they're a talented team.
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They're RPI. They finished better than us. so
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they are nothing like while they
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were an unranked team going into it
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and we should win and we're the home seed and all that stuff being
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a five seed here but they're very very talented
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team and I think we definitely have our hands full for a first round game for
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sure yeah I was gonna say I might bring them up later in this podcast I think
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to me that was one of the shocks of the draw and I don't mean that in a sense
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of like of course so also there will be a regional aspect to a lot of these first round games.
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Not always. We did play Bucknell, which is on the East Coast last year,
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but they try to keep it relatively regionally.
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So you can kind of guess. I will actually say like my mom and I were texting yesterday.
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We had a lot of the Midwest kind of predicted about how the seeding would go,
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but I thought Western Michigan would get a seed and I will go on record.
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I think it's completely like that was probably my ripoff of the tournament was
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Western Michigan not getting a seed.
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I know they're in the MAC. I know they're not a power for a team you think of a lot.
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They've tied two big team, two big 10 schools this year, including Iowa and Wisconsin.
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I think they have a lot of talent. I think they had the nation's leading goal
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scorer for a hot while and a
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player in Jen Blitchock who played at Indiana. So it was a big 10 player.
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And I think there's a lot that that team has done. And I think they completely
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got ripped off. So it's a tough game for both of you guys.
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And I think it's one that probably shouldn't and be a first round matchup?
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Yeah, I think a lot of us had thought we were going to play Milwaukee.
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We played them two years ago in the first round, but we also thought that Western
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had the possibility of being a seeded team.
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So that was a little bit surprising. We knew there was a good chance that we
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still could play them because as much as you want to say it's just straight
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based off of your wins, losses, ranking-wise, there's a huge financial aspect that plays.
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And for them to be so close to us in the tournament with us and to not have
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that set up that way, I think it would be a little bit surprising in that aspect
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too for the NCAA not to take advantage of that.
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But yeah, they're a super talented team. they have a bunch of
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fifth-year transfers on their their team from big
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time schools and yeah very very talented
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team I know there's a lot of girls who on our team
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that have like personal connection to either their coach that I
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think coached at Midwest or one of
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the Michigan big Michigan clubs here I'm
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not from Michigan so I don't know exactly which club it
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was anymore I'm pretty sure it was United but a
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lot of girls like know him they know a lot of the girls on the team have that personal connection
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to it which is always so fun to play with and it brings just that extra
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competitive nature as you you know your rivals and
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your friends on the field so I think it'll be a really exciting game it's yeah
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again no easy first round game for sure and then if you win we're going to Duke
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versus most likely Texas so it's it's very very real I think once you get into
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the middle of the bracket though like I don't like there's no.
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There's no easy teams period like i'm
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not looking at it going like i wish i was in this bracket or this
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half of the bracket or this side at all like everyone's so
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good it's you know
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it's 50 50 on any game really and we've seen
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it a million times before it doesn't have to be the team that's the
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highest seed or the most talented you know and soccer
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it's one of those you can outscore a team 21 to 1 but if
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that one goes in you can lose 1-0 and i
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think that's one of the best and cruel parts of our game so when it becomes
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tournament time like this it's it's a reality check that
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any moment i mean like i keep referring to it last year
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but in the first round we played bucknell and they took us to two
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overtimes we ended up winning 2-0 which is kind of weird
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that normally doesn't happen in overtime but they took us to
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two overtimes we couldn't score i think we had 31 shots
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to five but still so moments like
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that you never know and jordan while we're talking about
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first round matchups was there any other you know
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potential upsets that you're sniffing out or any other games that you're
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looking at other potential hold on sam
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okay talented team you are
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a talented team i will say if i have an upset in
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you i'm not putting anything against you but that's all that's a first okay
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i won't say it this way it's not a potential upset it's a game to watch that
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is one of my games that i will have circled i will be watching when i'm sleeping
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in the airport like that's a game i'm watching fair enough as long as you're
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What other games are you watching?
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Yeah, I think there's a lot of potential upsets.
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We saw it, like you said, last year UCLA lost as a one seed in the first round. Like there's...
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It could go either way for a lot of these schools. I'm going to throw it back
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at you and say, I think Iowa is a game to watch.
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Yeah, I would agree. And I'll say it right now. Any Iowa people that listen
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to this pod, I love you all dearly.
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I will be in the Stockholm airport spending the night in the airport.
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Long story. We can talk about that later.
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And that game is at 1 a.m. my time. And I'm so glad I have something to watch
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while I'm sleeping in an airport because that game is circled on my calendar.
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And when I said my mom and I were texting, you know, predicting a bracket,
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we actually said, we're like, what if Missouri State plays Iowa?
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And I was like, I hope that game's on Sunday because I want to go to that game
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so bad. So fortunately, I can't go.
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Mama Carrie is making the drive. Crazy.
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But I think Missouri State's a team that can pull an upset here.
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And I love Iowa to death, but I don't think a lot of girls on this team know
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who Missouri State is. They probably don't think twice about it.
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Someone being from Missouri who knows a lot of the girls on the Missouri State roster.
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I think they're the kind of team that can get under Iowa's feathers in the sense
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of they have the player of the year in their conference, who actually I did
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go to high school, played high school soccer with.
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She is an extremely gritty, aggressive player, like went D2 first,
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transferred up to Missouri State, like has really owned that program since getting there.
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And that's the kind of team I think can sneak up on Iowa.
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It's one of those games, you know, you might be able to out shoot someone,
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but a gritty play, a big moment, Missouri State can capitalize that.
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That being said, I'll also say it. I think Missouri State has one of the most
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underrated goalkeepers in the country in Camille Day.
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Yes, I am biased. Her mom is in a pickable league with my mom.
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But that being said, she is an incredible goalkeeper and someone that I've watched
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all throughout her high school and her college career, has the all times records
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of every goalkeeping at Missouri State ever.
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And I truly, truly think, I don't know what will happen in that game,
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but that game will not be as easy as Iowa may think.
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Yeah, yeah, for sure. Your mom's in a pickleball league? Yeah,
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it's a whole other. Yes, it's all soccer moms, actually.
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So all their moms have daughters that play college soccer or competitive soccer,
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so they needed an outlet, apparently.
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That's amazing. That is so cute. This little lore you just dropped in there in the middle of that.
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Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head with a lot of these first round games.
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I think in the end, you do see a lot of the more, you know, one seed,
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the technical teams that are able to pull it out in the end.
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But a huge part of postseason is that grittiness, you know. And a lot of times,
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if you're able to play with the underdog mentality, kind of,
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you know, chip on your shoulder, you're going to be able to pull off some upsets here.
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Like, it's the end of the day, all 64 teams that made the tournament,
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you know, you have a couple random conference games and whatnot that.
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Sure, maybe, like, you know, aren't as good as some teams that didn't make the tournament.
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And we'll talk about those upsets later, but everyone, everyone is good.
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There's 64 of the best teams in NCAA. play like anyone
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can win on any given day and I think a lot of it everyone's technical
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everyone's talented everyone is an elite soccer player it's
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going to come down to who wants it more and who's able to make that gritty play
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when it comes comes to the end so I think there's a lot of games
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to watch like we said Michigan State Iowa unfortunately two of the games you
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have circled on your calendar may not be as easy as we hoped but another one
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Tennessee Tennessee making the tournament and I think their game is is definitely
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going to be one that I want to keep tabs on yeah I agree they're playing at
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Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech is the seeded team.
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And the ACC has been strong this year. There's no part in denying that,
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which obviously that's a league that Virginia Tech's in.
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But I don't know, man, Tennessee, they made it deep into the SEC tournament,
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making it to the semifinals.
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They've tied UCLA this year. Like when I read that one, I think I naturally
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assumed Tennessee was the host.
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And so that was one that kind of immediate, I'm like, this one could go either way in that battle.
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Yeah. See, Tennessee's one that I was kind of surprised with
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them just because i feel like i've just heard
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they've had such like a rough couple years their coach
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leaving that's not coaching at florida state they had a lot of transfers out
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of their their team things of that nature so they're
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a team that's historically been very very good it'll be interesting to see what
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they're able to pull off in postseason because you still have a lot of that
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talent on their roster it's just whether or not they're able to capitalize and
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really use it to the best of their ability here but thoughts on vanderbilt versus
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lipscomb Yeah, that's another one.
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I really think, listen, I don't know the Vanderbilt program that well.
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I'm not going to sit here and act like I do.
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I do know that this is their first NCAA appearance since the 2021 season.
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And so it's been a bit of a, you know, dry spot for them to finally get back
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into the tournament and get an at-large bid.
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But Lipscomb, I think, is another underrated team.
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They swept through their conference tournament. They currently have the leading
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goal scorer in the nation with Kiera Prawley being their captain and I just
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think that team might be doing something special that a lot of people haven't
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turned to so maybe I'm wrong maybe it's out you know balanced matchup but I
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really think that a little bit of grit there a little bit of something could happen in that upset.
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Absolutely. And then the last one we have circled here, Pepperdine versus Cal.
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Yeah, I think with this one, this also kind of shocked me that Cal wasn't a higher rated team.
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And I kind of had to do some digging about what happened. And I think that they
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just didn't start off their season like the strongest, but they've been ending
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well. And one of their last games is a win over Stanford.
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So you can't ignore that. They have the ACC Offensive Player of the Year on
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their team, which, you know, you would naturally assume would go to a North
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Carolina or a Florida State or a Wake Forest or a Duke.
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So for that to go to a Cal, I mean, that's a talented player.
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And so when you rally around something like that, you have a California versus California matchup.
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I think once again, those are like the five games, like obviously not even saying
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like Iowa, Michigan State because it's us, like those five games, I think I have circled.
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Yeah. If anything, we'd uncircle because it's us, but definitely.
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Exactly. We want to hide the attention yeah no upsets
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no upsets but yeah so what's your like biggest
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what's the number one game that you're looking at you're like definitely
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gonna you know if you had to put money on
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it gonna be an upset if i really had to put money on it i think cal pepperdine
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i think there's gonna be a cal upset there that's how if i would draw up my
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bracket out of those five i think cal pepperdine is gonna be an upset right
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there's always there's always a couple oh yeah it'll be interesting to plays
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out for sure as we move forward going into it.
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But I want to know your thoughts on the number one seeds that were chosen.
18:01
Yeah, this was a debate I saw in the Twitter community and something like I
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think because frankly, Iowa had a chance of getting seeded.
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Once again, I saw them not getting a one or two seed. I didn't think they would.
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I thought they'd get a three or a four. And I think a three seed is great.
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But this year, because of that, I paid attention to the one seed,
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two seed kind of competition more.
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And I don't know how to feel about it. I think the biggest takeaway when you
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look at the four teams that got a one seed is I don't think the tournament committee
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wanted to overly favor the ACC. And I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing.
18:34
I'm surprised that North Carolina didn't get a one seed.
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They make it to the final in their conference tournament. They beat Duke to
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get to that final in their conference tournament.
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I know they had a shakier start to the year, but I really think you would have
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an argument that they are a top four team in the country.
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And so with our one seeds being Florida State, Duke, Mississippi State,
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and USC, I think you see a balance of three of the four power fours right there.
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Two ACC, one Big Ten, one SEC.
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And frankly, one of the ones I'm kind of questioning is USC.
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USC gets upset in the semifinals. I know they won our conference tournament,
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but they weren't undefeated through non-conference.
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So there's some questions there. I'm not saying which is right,
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which is wrong. I really have no idea.
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I do think Mississippi State and Florida State were locks for one seeds.
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But yeah, I think the USC-UNC battle was my two that kind of interested me.
19:30
Yeah, I agree. That's the one I saw the most too and the most controversy around.
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I don't, USC is hard because we didn't actually play them.
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So I'm not actually like, it's all speculation really. You're watching film
19:43
on how good they really are.
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But, you know, it was, it's like bittersweet with them being so new to the Big
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Ten, but then now also kind of representing us. I don't know how to feel about that.
19:55
But yeah, they're definitely when I saw a lot of controversy over and people
19:58
going back and forth on who deserved what.
20:00
Another one I thought was really interesting although they
20:03
did win their they did win the conference
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tournament which arguably would have a bigger appeal in the you know Big Ten
20:11
committee now because of the unbalanced schedule that we face and they definitely
20:14
won it with an exclamation point beating Rutgers 5-0 in the final which was
20:19
definitely you know a large win a large victory but UCLA being a two seed.
20:27
I saw some arguments that they should have been over USC as well,
20:31
with them being so in the conference tournament or normal conference play and
20:36
then winning the tournament.
20:37
Yeah, I could see that argument. I do think that their non-conferences didn't hold up for them.
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When you have a tie to Tennessee, I believe you lost to Kentucky.
20:47
There was that said there, honestly, right after we interviewed Marguerite,
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that UCLA was struggling.
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But of that, I do want to say, two years in a row, the Big Ten champion of the
20:56
tournament had been on this podcast.
20:57
So maybe our streak isn't nothing. I don't know.
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I don't know whether or not I want us to like maybe interview Western Michigan
21:06
real quick before I leave.
21:09
You're just going to everyone we play. We just interview real quick just in
21:13
case the podcast is working in our favor.
21:16
Yeah, so it'll be it's interesting. I think that's really
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what hurt in like shot UCLA in the foot when it came to
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getting that two seed versus a one seed over USC and USC
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did beat them in regular season and they didn't play again and that's
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where once again you're questioning of did USC deserve
21:32
the one seed comes into question yes they won the conference
21:35
but they didn't play arguably number three
21:38
and number four in Iowa in Michigan State
21:41
so that is really interesting when you look at how that
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you know kind of broke down so I don't really know to
21:47
be honest like I said I think honestly also when you
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have a one versus two seed the difference isn't unreal that
21:53
big difference comes from two and three because you're now no longer hosting
21:56
that second weekend but yeah it'll it'll be interesting overall yeah yeah absolutely
22:01
i think they followed a lot more closely than in previous years that rpi ranking
22:05
they definitely took that as a large account factor into who they seeded and
22:11
it followed almost perfectly with with where people fell so.
22:16
It'll definitely, it'll be, it'll be a good tournament. You know,
22:19
there was last year you're looking at it and you had Stanford,
22:22
Florida State being undefeated still just like absolute powerhouses as you move forward.
22:27
I think this year there's a lot more competition within it as no one's undefeated.
22:32
Everyone's going into postseason with one or multiple losses on their, under their belt.
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And there's not necessarily that, that one or two super strong powerhouses like
22:43
there were before. there's speculation on every team as they've kind of dropped
22:46
the ball at certain points throughout season.
22:48
So I think it'll be a really, really exciting tournament and maybe a little
22:51
bit more competitive than we've seen in previous years.
22:54
Yeah, I completely agree. Going off that last year, we had a record nine Big
22:58
Ten teams make the tournament and that has now been broken with 10 Big Ten teams
23:02
making the tournament this year.
23:04
And of the 10 teams, nine of them are hosting games.
23:08
The only one not hosting a game was Washington, which I honestly was a little surprised about.
23:12
What were your thoughts on that Jordan yeah I think
23:15
it's hard because there are
23:18
only loss in normal season with the loss to Washington and the tie to Oregon
23:24
that pretty much just like ruined our run at the season here so I'm like I'm
23:30
pretty bitter about it not gonna lie happy they're not hosting like part of
23:33
me was like that but they were a really talented team and they were
23:36
able to hold us they were able to beat us off to
23:39
set plays to free kick so I'm
23:43
honestly surprised I didn't look that much into
23:46
their non-conference or anything like that to
23:49
see what the RPI was of that nature but they definitely
23:52
were a talented team and to be so far
23:55
below Penn State who
23:59
finished 10th in our normal conference
24:02
and then they didn't make a run in the tournament either so it was interesting
24:06
to see see that and how that all worked out for them yeah I completely agree
24:11
with that I think you have a case right there with a school with a name and
24:16
that might be really unpopular for me to say I don't have skin in the game now I can say it.
24:21
Like Penn State has a name I saw a tweet they have the longest streak in women's
24:25
soccer history of making every single NCAA tournament for the last 30 years
24:28
you just assume they're going to be good And they live up to that most times,
24:32
but you finish 10th and then you don't win a single conference tournament or you win one,
24:37
you win one conference tournament game and then lose in the quarterfinals. Like.
24:41
Okay, and you get seated, whereas Washington beats Michigan State,
24:45
who was one of the top teams in the country at the time, and then they make
24:49
it to the semifinals of the tournament after beating Iowa in PKs.
24:52
You got an argument there. So yeah, that one, I think, was the biggest surprise to me.
24:57
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think just the amount of discrepancy there was between.
25:02
Other Big Ten teams and them versus what they were able to accomplish in that
25:05
season, it was definitely a little bit surprising.
25:07
Like I said, I didn't look into the RPR non-conference. I know the
25:10
ncaa followed it a lot more closely this year than in
25:13
previous years for that ranking but it was definitely
25:16
surprising but not as surprising as who i
25:19
think deserved to be in the tournament and didn't make
25:21
it which our number one was xavier yeah talk about
25:25
that yeah xavier i mean they were
25:28
they were ranked they were doing so well i
25:31
they just to have them not even
25:34
make the tournament as a at-large bid after i
25:38
think they had a really good season they were able to compete amongst
25:41
the best they were able we tied them in our non-conference
25:44
play and at that point we were both ranked top
25:47
10 teams it it's really really surprising for me that they they didn't make
25:52
it because they're a super talented program and you know they got upset in their
25:56
championship game but like I still I would have put a lot of money to say that
26:01
they would have and they deserve to be in this NCAA tournament yeah I completely
26:05
agree with you and And this is like that, frankly,
26:07
is one of the scary things about playing in a non-Power Four conference is I
26:12
think you'd be lying to yourself if you say that there wasn't a Power Four bias
26:15
when it comes to making these brackets.
26:18
And so when you're looking at an at-large bid, there's going to be a bit of
26:21
a bias towards a Power Five.
26:23
At least precedent has shown there is. So if your team like Xavier,
26:26
who has an amazing record behind them, but, you know, came short in that championship
26:32
game, like that could be it for you.
26:34
And it proved this year it was. And so that does just add that last bit of fear
26:38
that you have to win your conference tournament and get that automatic bid or
26:42
your fantastic season and your rankings and everything. We're a little bit for nothing.
26:46
And that's really sad to say. yeah I mean I was
26:49
definitely shocked to see that my number one upset I saw
26:52
as people were kind of outraged on Twitter social media about them
26:55
not making the tournament and a lot of fans I feel like felt like they deserved
26:59
to be in there as well so that was really really interesting for me to to watch
27:05
another one we saw was Pitt yeah this one I don't want to say I was shocked
27:10
because I knew they weren't having a great year so I can't be like oh my gosh
27:13
like why didn't they make the tournament.
27:15
I don't really have an argument to defend them not making the tournament,
27:18
but it is surprising going from a college cup final four team last year to now
27:24
not even making the round of 64.
27:26
And I think that just says like how much of a disappointing season that they did have.
27:31
Yeah, I'd be interested to know how many people they like graduated or fifth
27:37
years they had from last year.
27:38
Because I think you're starting to see some of that pool.
27:41
It'll be interesting to see what happens next year with so many of the grad
27:44
students without that fifth year availability to players.
27:47
And obviously the roster cuts going on, you're not going to be able to have
27:52
as deep of a roster as people have now. like how much of an impact that will
27:55
play and how much that will shake up what we deem to be a normal NCAA tournament bracket.
28:01
You have certain expectations for certain teams.
28:04
I think it will look very different next year as kind of all the rules change
28:07
that we've been for five years.
28:10
No, I completely agree. Well, I know, like I said, the games kick off Friday night.
28:16
There's going to be so many going on. I think majority of them,
28:18
if not all of them, are being streamed on ESPN Plus.
28:21
So that is a great way to check out all the games. Like I said,
28:24
I know I will be watching them and I really hope all the people listening do
28:27
because like I said, there will be some fantastic games.
28:29
If you need information, Girls
28:31
Soccer Network will be posting before every round our games to watch.
28:35
And let's just say the same five might echo from what we already posted.
28:39
And yeah, I just think there's going to be some really amazing matchups and
28:42
it's tournament season and tournament season is always fun.
28:45
Absolutely. Playing for our lives now, really playing for our lives.
28:49
And we'll see the grittier team, I think, will come out with the win in most
28:52
scenarios. I think for our game specifically, whoever scores first will come out with that victory.
28:57
So fingers crossed, it's Michigan State as we walk into our Saturday noon game.
29:01
But as we move forward, Sam, you have had an incredible pro career thus far.
29:08
And while you are returning and we've talked a little
29:11
bit about that your professional season is
29:14
is over now right you're wrapping
29:18
up your first season as a pro so can you give us a little bit of
29:20
a recap on kind of where you're at what you're
29:23
going through yeah it's interesting i think
29:26
right now i'm just processing what this
29:29
last year has been in a lot of great ways i think i
29:32
just literally have been so go with the moment and live
29:35
in the moment that i haven't even thought about like what this means or
29:38
how fast this year have gone is absolutely insane
29:41
if I like look back at my life in January to where I'm at
29:44
now like it's absolutely absolutely insane so I
29:47
think it's just a lot of understanding and like being grateful for a little
29:51
moments and yeah I don't really even know what else to say so officially our
29:56
team EFCO Norrshipping finished fifth in the Domels Vonskin which is the highest
30:00
place we've ever had within the club we are getting a new coach next season
30:04
like we've talked about.
30:05
And so I think there's a lot of really high hopes that that will really help bolster the team.
30:10
I think one other really, really exciting thing about the team that is literally
30:14
unheard of in professional sports is every single player with a contract this year has resigned.
30:20
And so there's just going to be a lot of continuity. We're going to have the
30:24
same squad with a couple additions.
30:26
And I think that that really says a lot about what the team,
30:29
the club is building and that people want to come back.
30:31
People with other options on the table want to come back. Like we know what
30:34
this is. And so that's really cool.
30:37
Personally, I never thought I would have an Iron Woman season my rookie year.
30:41
I don't know if I ever thought I'd actually have one of those in my career,
30:44
but I officially made it all 26 Dommels-Vonson games starting playing every single minute.
30:49
I was the only player within the club on either the men's or women's side to
30:52
have that season, which I'm beyond grateful for that the club really believed
30:56
in me enough to take their bets on this random girl from the U.S.
31:00
And came and just threw me in.
31:02
And yeah, it's not what I was expecting at all. And if you expand beyond Domble's
31:06
Bondsman's game, I played 100% in 31 games this season.
31:09
So that's insane. A lot of minutes on my body. So I think the biggest thing
31:13
right now is my body is shutting down.
31:15
We have like light trainings this week and it's been it's been brutal to keep
31:19
motivated. If I'm going to be really honest, my body is ready for a break.
31:22
And yeah, I scored two goals this season. I did score in our season finale last week.
31:27
I've never scored two goals in a season in my life. So that was new information, new news.
31:32
Apparently I'm good in the box on corner kicks Iowa never believed
31:35
in me on that never was the one that was in the box I always
31:38
took them and I've now scored on two corner kicks so we'll
31:41
take that as a win and I think that kind of
31:44
just like leads me to some of my lessons learned so it's
31:47
it's been a lot I'm so grateful for it I'm also grateful to get home this weekend
31:51
and be with my family for the next six weeks but yeah it's been a journey yeah
31:55
yeah absolutely so you said you're coming home for the next six weeks what does
31:59
that look like for you apparently you're spending the night in an airport question
32:02
mark? Yeah, that'll be a whole crazy thing.
32:05
This week, why I didn't go home
32:07
earlier is like, obviously, there's just a lot of wrap up in the season.
32:10
We'll do end of year testing. We'll have like a celebration, just stuff like that.
32:14
So Friday night, of course, they decided to schedule our celebration,
32:18
which was a little unfortunate because my flight is booked for 630 in the morning
32:22
out of the Stockholm airport on Saturday morning.
32:25
So our little like dinner slash party is going to go on Friday night.
32:30
I'm going to take the last train out of town. and then at that
32:33
point i'm going to get to the airport at 12 15 at
32:35
night so i was like and i have to check in for an international flight
32:38
at like 4 a.m so why spend money on
32:41
a hotel for three and a half hours so i'm just gonna sleep at the airport so
32:44
i have college soccer to entertain me very excited about that and then yeah
32:48
i'll land saturday afternoon which is like i'm literally counting down the days
32:52
in order to get home and just see with my family i haven't been back to st louis
32:56
since january so i haven't seen like my grandma or my brother anyone like that
33:00
in so long So I know there's like so many people,
33:02
even like my college staff, everyone I haven't seen since my wedding.
33:05
So I know I'll be stopping in Iowa City, saying hi to them and then spending
33:09
just time back and forth between Trey's family and mine.
33:12
And I think I just need to figure out what a pro offseason looks like.
33:15
There's a lot of meetings this week that i'm kind of
33:18
working with our strength coaches our athletic trainers everything to
33:21
figure that out you know i feel like in college you're off season for winter
33:25
break let's just say like in january you got to be ready to pass your fitness
33:30
test but like your games don't start till august so january that whole spring
33:34
season's all about growth and obviously in the pros it's not like that but our
33:38
first game of the season will be like the last week of March.
33:41
And our report day in our first practice is January 9th. So we do have time.
33:44
So I don't really know what part of me needs to be at that physical point.
33:51
I don't know if I'm not going to
33:53
be there in January. I don't think that's smart. But where do I find that?
33:56
Do I just take four weeks to just completely chill?
34:00
That won't ever realistically happen. Let's be real. It's me. But.
34:04
Like I am season is now not three months long for me. It is,
34:08
you know, preseason starts in January and you get done in November.
34:11
It's a long season. And so like, how do you best prepare for that?
34:14
And so the only thing I do know is I'm taking two weeks off.
34:17
I'm not going to the gym. I am not teaching a ball.
34:20
I am enjoying my vacation for the first time in my life. I think I'm taking
34:23
two strict weeks off and then we'll figure it out from there.
34:27
Wow. Who are you and what did you do with Sam Carey? I'm trying this like healthy thing called balance.
34:32
We'll see how it works but yeah I think that's
34:35
just kind of where I'm at right now wow you
34:38
know it's a long season and your body's shutting down when Sam Carey says she
34:42
needs two strict weeks off oh we'll also see how well I commit to this so I
34:46
might need some accountability check-in I'm gonna be texting you do not play
34:52
soccer today but okay so last time we talked you mentioned you have a new coach going forward.
34:59
Last time we talked, you were playing your new coach. How did that go?
35:03
And what was that dynamic like as you played your future coach with your old
35:08
coach on your current team that's all returning?
35:12
Yeah, it was weird. I won't lie. It was a little weird.
35:14
I walked by him before the game. I hadn't even met him to this point.
35:17
We're just kind of like, hey, I was kind of like, he knows, I know,
35:20
but like, can't really say anything else.
35:21
You know, I will say they beat us one zero,
35:25
and he had a really good scouting report against us so
35:28
that frankly gives me a lot of hope I think we were bluntly out
35:31
coached out game plan in that game but also
35:33
that gives me a lot of excitement that he knows what he's getting
35:36
himself into I will say even on the field it was very clear he was aware that
35:41
I was left-footed and there was a scouting report that I was left-footed so
35:44
I was getting forced onto my right a lot but I was like oh I'll take that as
35:47
a compliment you think my left foot's good so maybe I'm completely wrong and
35:51
that was just my ego going off but yeah it it's an interesting dynamic,
35:55
but I don't really think too much of us were focused on that because it's also like,
35:58
okay, now you got to impress the new coach. You got to play good. So yeah,
36:02
It was interesting. And then, yeah, we finished our last game of the season
36:04
last week, which was our head coach's last game in our home stadium.
36:09
And he's done so much for the club. I'm so grateful for him.
36:12
Frankly, he's the reason I'm here. And so there's a lot of good about that.
36:15
It's just been it's ready for a new turn.
36:19
That being said, that being said, if there's one thing I've learned about professional soccer,
36:25
at least for me and how I think, I think I'm very, very used to like focusing
36:31
on what a coach wants to get out of me and really taking what coaches say to heart.
36:36
Of course, like I'm not saying that like you shouldn't listen to your coach.
36:40
I'm not saying that by any means, but I think I need to give myself more credit
36:43
and that I've been playing soccer for literally 20 years of my life.
36:45
Like I know the sport inside and out. I've lived it inside and out.
36:49
And I think a large portion, the second half of the season, as like our coach
36:54
knew he wasn't going to be returning.
36:56
And he took that very personally. And a lot of things happened.
37:00
I let his frustration that got taken out on us damage my confidence.
37:07
And I think a little bit, especially around September, October,
37:12
I was not confident in my soccer.
37:16
And as someone who like preaches confidence and everything like that,
37:18
I think it kind of hit a new low because like, I felt
37:21
like the whole time like I was like getting told to do things I didn't
37:24
think I was good at or I was internalizing you're not
37:27
good at this or you shouldn't do that and like I stopped
37:30
really letting my intuitions go because I
37:33
was like trying so hard to do something to please someone else I wasn't
37:36
if that makes any kind of sense and so I think
37:39
no matter the new coach no matter the coaching change like I'm really looking
37:43
forward to it but I also think my next step in my career and if there's one
37:47
thing I've learned from a pro is coaches come and go in your life and like that
37:51
happens at a college level and a club level but I frankly have never had a club
37:53
or college coach turnover it's always been my same coach it's always been my same college coach
37:58
so like understanding that as a pro I have
38:02
to know what I'm good at I have to create my own confidence and I have to create
38:05
my own space and like rediscover like what I'm good at I think I let coaches
38:09
kind of tell me hey you're really good at hitting a long ball so then I hit
38:13
15 long balls or you're you know like the joke is now like my Iowa coaches frankly
38:17
believe in me to be in the box on corners.
38:19
I've now scored two goals on corners and I've created a lot of opportunities
38:22
by being in the box on corners.
38:24
I'm like the main person that clears headers on corners. I was never that at Iowa.
38:28
I was a post player. So I think I let coaches influence what I think I'm good
38:32
at. I get my confidence from them.
38:34
And my next step in my career is to get confidence from myself and know what
38:37
I'm good at. And so no matter the coaching change, I think that's the next step in my journey.
38:41
I love it. I think that's a realization I came to recently as well.
38:45
And a lot of girls on our team where it's like, we learned about this.
38:50
This, I think it was like a kindergarten class.
38:53
And essentially you had teachers were told that certain kids were smart and certain kids weren't.
38:58
The kids that were told they were smart outperformed the kids who were told
39:02
they weren't by like drastic amounts.
39:05
And at the end, there was no real difference. It was all like,
39:09
like just a baseline study everyone came in
39:11
with the same relative intelligence or they may
39:14
have even like flipped it a little bit but you essentially
39:18
like you form to the beliefs that the others hold
39:21
for you like if you are told you're good at something you
39:24
begin to believe that if you're consciously preach something you begin to believe
39:26
that if you're told you're not good at something if you're told you're told you're
39:30
bad at certain things we're told this you know all
39:33
that like you begin to believe it as well and you kind
39:36
of internalize that and you begin to you know pull your
39:39
confidence from from others around you so being able to have that internal
39:42
motivation and and that knowledge of
39:45
what you're good at and believe deeply to your
39:48
core that it doesn't matter what others say around you a lot
39:50
easier said than done the power of coaching staff holds
39:53
because you put them on a pedestal you believe that
39:56
they know what they're doing way more than you you believe that they are
39:59
you know in charge you know they're they're the level
40:03
of respect you put them on that pedestal so then when you have someone that
40:05
you have on that pedestal telling you these things you begin to
40:08
really believe it and sometimes that's great sometimes you
40:11
need that sometimes a coach can pull the best out of you by by making
40:14
you believe you're better than you ever thought you could be unfortunately sometimes
40:18
it has the power to go the other way as well where you begin to internalize
40:22
some things that you thought you were good at or told you're not and you lose
40:27
that kind of confidence and that ability you have for yourself so I absolutely
40:30
love that I think that is amazing advice and moving forward like what are some.
40:34
Other lessons you learned throughout your first pro season.
40:37
Yeah, I think if I really were to like break it down, like there's naturally
40:41
superficial lessons you learn, like in your first year with a massive transition,
40:45
you know, there's the whole like, how to balance life as a pro,
40:48
you no longer have school, how do you spend your time, you know,
40:51
and different things like that.
40:52
But there's some other like, deeper key takeaways that I've really been reflecting on.
40:56
I think one is like, for anyone who's in this like the spot,
41:00
even frankly, you Jordan, like, when you're kind of in that debate of like,
41:03
do I want to go pro do I not?
41:05
My new number one advice based on
41:08
everything i've been through this year is like you just have to
41:10
know in your gut why you want
41:13
to go pro and like don't let anyone sway you from
41:16
that i think for a very long time i let myself be a marketing tool for other
41:22
people if that makes any sense and so like when it comes way back when to being
41:27
making my decision about you know staying and fighting for that nwsl roster
41:30
spot or going to a place where i ended up playing every single game of every
41:33
single minute of the season.
41:37
That was the unpopular choice because I am no longer marketable because I'm
41:41
playing in Sweden and I'm not playing in the NWSL.
41:44
And it's a lot less easy to brag on me because people don't really realize the difference.
41:49
Inherently, everyone in the US thinks the NWSL is better. That's fine, whatever.
41:53
And I let that bother me. I let people's reaction into my decision really bother
41:59
me when I first came here.
42:01
Now I can look back, see how much better I got this season because I've been playing.
42:06
And honestly, like take soccer out of the question. I have a community here
42:10
in this small town in Sweden. I never thought I would have.
42:12
I have friends on this team that I'm way closer with than anyone I was in college.
42:17
And I was there for five years.
42:19
I have people in my life and like I wouldn't change this year,
42:23
this chapter, this last eight months in Sweden for anything.
42:26
And so I think like you have to understand like I could lose soccer tomorrow.
42:30
And I know we always say that and we know that.
42:33
But when it hits you, like I'm 24, I'm not trying to say like I'm old, I'm 24.
42:37
But like I'm a lot closer to the end of my career than I am to the start of
42:40
it. That's a reality on the fact.
42:43
And the fact that like I only have so many years left, so many moments left,
42:47
we don't even know, like I'm not going to waste it in a spot that I don't want
42:51
to be because it makes someone else happy.
42:53
And I think really knowing that I am the one that made the decision and I want
42:58
to be a pro because I want to be a pro.
42:59
And I don't give a crap where that is or how marketable that is or how flashy that option is.
43:05
And I think that was something I really struggled with early in the season.
43:08
And I'm really coming to terms and accepting that.
43:12
Yeah. Yeah, we can go into, I think that's something I definitely have been
43:17
struggling with, knowing where my season is right now.
43:21
And I have one goal, one assist on the season.
43:24
I essentially have, I've played scarce minutes in comparison to what I've been
43:30
used to in my career for the first, you know, or middle chunk of it.
43:33
But really, I'm like five, six games deep, if you really look at it,
43:36
of me actually playing soccer, of me actually playing the
43:40
minutes I'm used to at the level I'm used to and getting
43:43
back to where I was and it was a huge decision for me to
43:47
decide to play this season and going back and forth with
43:49
it and now looking at the potential my season being
43:52
over Saturday and kind of that battle of
43:56
what I do now do I do I
43:58
go pro do I not going pro is was something that always seemed so far away like
44:04
a goal that was so unattainable and now we're here and I probably could do it
44:08
but the idea of like I don't know I think I think I am quite a bit afraid of
44:14
the judgment of facing the reality of what I've accomplished this season.
44:18
Isn't where I should have been I think when that whistle blows and my
44:21
college career is over I'll be left with a lot of what-ifs so
44:25
I'll be left with the idea that like I was
44:28
never really able to accomplish what I was capable of
44:31
and my potential and I think I honestly I feel
44:34
as well-rounded and full
44:37
as a player as I ever have been I just
44:40
got there too late in the season yeah for me
44:43
now and I missed that shot I missed the everyone's asking
44:46
for highlight reels and all this stuff and I don't know if
44:49
I have it this season I know I'm six games in
44:52
and we're facing postseason where you lose and
44:55
you're done so kind of trying to face that music
44:58
and figure out like what I don't even know what
45:01
my options would be like am I even good enough to go pro anymore like what all
45:06
that stuff is and the judgment of all that and that judgment of saying I want
45:10
to go pro and I want to chase this goal and I want to chase this dream when
45:13
I have one goal and one assist on a season like that's been really hard for
45:16
me to get over and I go back and forth.
45:19
On who I'm talking to with the ability to even like admit that, that I want that.
45:24
No, it's totally fair. And I think my only advice to you is like the options
45:28
that you once dreamed of might not be the options there.
45:31
Like we know everything in the U.S. has changed a lot of structures.
45:34
But like if you do get that random offer from a club in Hungary and you want
45:40
to go pro to it, like you might get some people saying, oh, you could only make
45:44
it in Hungary or whatever.
45:45
I got that when I went to Sweden. Oh, you can't make it in the U.S., you're going to Sweden.
45:49
And if there's one thing I learned from this year and like my biggest lesson
45:54
takeaway is taking that leap of faith.
45:56
Like I will never forget sitting in my apartment in Louisville on the phone
46:00
with, frankly, my college assistant coach, Kyle Venter, being like,
46:03
I don't know if I should stay in Louisville or go to Sweden.
46:07
And he was a pro player. He played in the MLS in the USL championship.
46:10
And I was kind of talking about the pros and cons. And he said to me,
46:13
he's like, you cannot be afraid to take a leap of faith.
46:15
Like you have to just trust with your gut. And my gut said I needed to get on the plane.
46:19
And obviously, I don't know what my life would have been if I stayed.
46:22
It could have been great. I don't know.
46:24
But everything I've gotten this year, I wouldn't change the world.
46:28
And even though they gave me some judgment that gave me some second looks,
46:32
it's also was the best thing in my life.
46:34
And so you have to know why you're playing a pro and like be able to block out
46:39
the outside world. And trust me, I have not figured out that yet.
46:42
I think I just now I'm believing that that's what you need to do as a pro and
46:46
understand that like I may only get so many more games where I'm able to call myself a soccer player.
46:50
I don't want to waste them in a place where I'm not happy, where I'm not wanted
46:53
and where I don't get to actually play.
46:56
Yeah. Yeah. I think that's, that's great advice, you know, and hopefully something
46:59
I'm able to implement here for going forward.
47:01
Let me know if you learn the tricks to it, but all right, that's a next year
47:05
problem. I don't know what you're talking about.
47:08
Fair enough. Fair enough. But yeah, what are your kind of like closing thoughts
47:12
as you you move forward to the season? You had already signed your contract.
47:15
You're, you know, going home now. You're taking your break.
47:19
What is what's next for Sam Carey? yeah I
47:23
think like I said I don't really know where soccer
47:26
is gonna take me in my life I know where I've wanted to take me I know
47:29
where I have dreams and aspirations but like you do travel like truly never
47:33
know so I think there is an emphasis of like my whole club career I was chasing
47:37
college my whole college career I was chasing pro and now I have kind of figured
47:42
out like my next goal isn't a team or a league it's finding that confidence
47:46
it's finding that belief in myself.
47:49
And so, but that's no longer a thing I'm chasing. That's just kind of a state
47:52
of mind and a state of being.
47:54
And I think because of that, it's making me live in the moment more.
47:57
It's making me appreciate the little things.
48:00
It's making me appreciate small spaces.
48:03
Frankly, like one thing I love that I did this year is like,
48:05
it's making me appreciate getting involved in the community.
48:07
Dude, I moved to Sweden and I live in like the seventh biggest city in Sweden or something like that.
48:13
Like there's 130,000 people that live in the city.
48:16
Like it's that massive, getting involved in the community.
48:19
I like I started mentoring young Swedish, a young Swedish boys team.
48:23
Don't really know how that opportunity fell into my lap, but I freaking love it.
48:26
And when those boys got to walk out on the field and be like our little like
48:29
lineup boys on our game this weekend, it made me so happy.
48:32
And they all knew my name. And I'm some random person from the US,
48:36
like getting involved in these communities that you get to like experience,
48:39
like when in my life am I going to get to say I live in Sweden? I play soccer.
48:43
And so I think we get so bogged down
48:46
in the what's next and I'm just kind of trying to live in
48:49
the what's now and I'm really excited about that I love I'm
48:54
gonna get emotional it's an emotional week for me there's a lot going
48:57
on there's a lot going on and I mean hey speaking of that with you like as someone
49:02
that has been in your shoes as there's plenty of other people in your shoes
49:05
this week doesn't make it easier trust me like you get to live in the now and
49:09
I think don't as much as you'll be sad when the final whistle blows and when
49:13
that final whistle blows like cry your eyes out do everything I did.
49:16
Try to find moments to not be sad this week
49:19
and enjoy it and I know that's so hard but like when you
49:22
can enjoy those last moments like that's what you'll remember I think
49:25
that's honestly my biggest fear as we go forward into the season is that my
49:30
freshman year we had this turnaround season and we we were able to celebrate
49:37
the seniors in a way where it's like look at what we're able to accomplished
49:40
after all your turmoil and everything you went through.
49:43
Like we finished fourth in the big 10 and we won games, which is something they
49:47
never thought would happen.
49:48
We, we just won games. We didn't make that CAA tournament, but we made the big
49:52
10 tournament, which is something that we're never used to. And it was this excitement.
49:57
And sadness that they were leaving, but excitement, what we accomplished that
49:59
season. My sophomore year, you had the same thing. It was that we went undefeated.
50:03
We won conference. It was the first time making the NCAA tournament.
50:06
We made it to the second round, and we lost, and we should have won.
50:09
And it's sad and frustrating, but at the same time, look at what we were able to accomplish.
50:14
And last year, same thing. The farthest we've ever made it in NCAA tournament, conference champs.
50:18
Look at what we were able to do. So my fear this year is that when that whistle blows,
50:23
it's going to just be a disappointment of a season that we got worse,
50:30
that we never were able to achieve our full potential as a team.
50:34
You know, I've said that about me as an individual, and obviously I feel that.
50:38
But as a team as a whole, when that whistle blows, it's just going to be left
50:43
with the question marks of what if, of the potential that could have been and
50:48
we never were able to fulfill.
50:50
Where the previous three years, it was always sad as it was to see the season end.
50:55
We were happy of what we were able to accomplish and do. And it was this enjoyment
50:59
and the celebration of it.
51:01
I think my biggest fear is that this year it's we're just
51:04
going to be done and it's going to suck and it's going to look back
51:07
at a season where everyone just kind of
51:10
like shakes their head and goes like that was bad yeah so
51:13
I don't know I'm trying to like I don't even know what we
51:16
would have to accomplish this year in order to get back to that place and to
51:21
get there in a spot where it's a celebration and excitement but I'm really hopeful
51:25
that we do as we move forward and And that we're able to have those moments
51:29
where we're still able to celebrate a season at the end of all of this.
51:34
Even though we didn't accomplish what we hoped in conference season,
51:38
that we're able to get something out of this tournament that we can still be happy about.
51:43
So a lot still left to play for.
51:46
And definitely mixed in some of the... There's so many emotions that come with the end.
51:51
A lot of them are sad because it's over.
51:54
But like how lucky am I to have had something so special
51:57
that makes like saying goodbye so hard Winnie the Pooh
52:00
said that to quote a smart bear I
52:03
think that really just sums up like the feelings around
52:06
all of this it'll be interesting episode next week hopefully super
52:09
exciting and going forward Sam
52:12
will be home and I will be heading to Duke here
52:16
to play Texas that is the the hope fingers crossed for
52:18
next week's episode sounds fantastic well everyone tune
52:22
into of the games like i said espn plus all day all night friday all day saturday
52:26
i think there's one game on sunday like a singular game so yeah tune in keep
52:32
updated with it girls soccer network we'll be posting all about it and as always
52:36
guys soccer on saturday at noon bye guys.