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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SOCCER MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 11, 2013John TraskTHE MODERATOR: After finishing the regular season with a 13‑3‑2 record, the men's soccer team earned the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Head coach John Trask is here. We'll have opening comments and then take questions. COACH TRASK: Really exciting time for men's soccer, obviously. Going 13‑3‑2 in the regular season and looking forward to a great Big Ten matchup against Northwestern, historically, a team that's caused us some problems. Just excited for the guys. 13 seniors ended the season 10‑0‑0 on their home field. We've not lost at home in over a year. We've got the longest unbeaten streak in the country now, dating back to the middle of last year. To see a group of 13 guys realize their dreams as student‑athletes here at Wisconsin, we've had some up‑and‑down seasons since I've been here. This is year four. And to see these guys not only come in second place but I think have a good shot of getting an at‑large bid to the NCAA Tournament, which is what it's all about, as well as representing the school well at the Big Ten Championships, it's a really exciting time for my staff and the players involved with this program. Couldn't happen to a nicer group of guys and guys that have been dedicated since the moment they walked onto this campus, and we've added little pieces here and there the last couple years, and finally coming good, playing some stingy defense and scoring goals. We're healthy, we're peaking at the right time, which is what you want. And seeing some snow flurries today gets me excited as a college soccer coach because that's when you know it's time to get rolling. Q. John, what's the strength of your team? Or are there strengths of your team? COACH TRASK: I think we're at a point where we can talk about multiple strengths. We made a goalkeeper change a few weeks ago, and Max, a senior, who's got a lot of experience, has really solidified the backfield of our team. We're scoring some good goals. The goal we scored the other night against Ohio State, it was a class goal. Good interplay and great diving head ball by Tomislav Zadro. He's rounded himself back into shape. But we can hurt you in a lot of different places, and we don't seem to be giving up silly goals. When you look at that as being the recipe for a good soccer team, that's what it's all about. The other thing is we've shown we're pretty resilient. Depending whether it's referees or field conditions or being down a goal here or there this year, this group finds a way to get it done. I think there's a belief in them. You encourage that in sports all the time, but it's only sometimes when you live it and you start realizing those moments that you can be really, really good. And I think‑‑ as I told them the other day, they're standing in a doorway, and the door's wide open. They're not knocking anymore. Are they willing to step through it? Because I still believe there's a lot more in this team. I think there's another 15 percent in this team, and hopefully they're going to have an opportunity to prove it on down the line as these games get bigger and bigger and bigger. Q. Talked about that unbeaten streak at home. What's been the secret recipe to that home cooking, so to speak? COACH TRASK: Love Madison. The guys love to play at home. The field is absolutely beautiful. We're starting to get a lot of fans. A lot of people from the community, student sections cheering us on, and it's a nice place to play. When we go around the rest of the conference, there's some great facilities, but when we're at home, my guys feel like they're invincible. We've had some tough games. I'm not making light of the type of teams we're playing. They're good teams, but the guys really feel good, sleeping in their own beds and getting ready for game day. Q. Is there a thing or two or three that's occurred along the way that helped you get this program back into a contending posture? COACH TRASK: I think, first of all, the former coach, and Keith Tiemeyer, still on my staff, my associate head coach, did a great job recruiting. I believe at the time it was 14 student‑athletes. We've lost a couple over the last couple years and gained a couple in that senior class either by transfer or junior college transfers. That's the basis of it. Four excellent captains, 13 leaders, some fantastic juniors. The freshmen have come in and helped balance off the team a little bit. We've got an excellent sophomore in Drew Conner. We're‑‑ I want to say we're a Big Ten team, but we're a northern part of this country type of soccer team. We can possess the ball. We've got flash. But we are big, we're disciplined, we're strong. If it's ten yards and a cloud of dust, we've got no problem with that. It's the type of team that I remember being involved with and coached at Indiana. We can beat you in a number of different ways. If you want to try to match us physically, we'll go toe to toe with you. We can also really play some good soccer as well. I'm just excited for these guys. As I tell them every time we take the field, it's another opportunity for us as coaches to watch them, find out how good they truly can be. And that's always rewarding. I thinkyou ‑‑ you want to say you're in the zone, but I think as a coach you start to realize when there's a synergy to the group and it takes on a life of its own, and I think that's where we're at. Some of the soccer played by these guys, I wouldn't have told you two years ago that I thought they could do it. Knock on wood, a big part of it is we've been healthy. We've had a lot of good training days this year. We haven't missed a lot of man hours other than a couple guys having surgery, and that's helped as well in this process. Q. John, I don't think I've ever seen you with a crystal ball, so forgive me. Do you have to win one or two down in Columbus, or are you in the NCAA Tournament? COACH TRASK: Today we're at 29 in the RPI. I can't imagine it would move that much becauseNorthwestern is a strong RPI team as well. We'd like to think, if we could do some damage at the Big Ten Tournament, then maybe, just maybe we could be at home or possibly home for a couple games in the NCAA Tournament. When you've got a team like this, that's what you're shooting for. It may be pie in the sky, but I think, if we could do some damage down there and play the right teams and get fortunate to get some results down in Columbus, maybe we could get one of those 16 seeds. That's what I put out there as a carrot to these guys because playing at home and having a bye in the first round of the NCAA Tournament is huge in men's soccer. There's only 48 teams. So to not play that first‑round game and get a little bit more time to get healthy and rested up for a tournament run is very important. Q. John, I know you've had a pretty good rivalry with Northwestern. Pretty close, back and forth, even this year. Do you see any dangers about Wednesday's game, and can you talk a little bit about the challenge they present? COACH TRASK: Northwestern is an excellent program. Coach Lenahan and his staff does a great job preparing their team. They were a little banged up when we played them a week and a half ago at Northwestern. As my assistant said, I'm sure it will be all hands on deck on Wednesday. I'm sure they're looking at it, thinking they probably need to get a positive result to be definitely in the NCAA Tournament, and they've got a nice streak going of being in the Dance. They've got the leading goal scorer in the conference. They've got some very talented players. Their goalkeeper is the best goalkeeper in the conference, I would think, game in and game out. They're tough. They're very, very stingy. They're happy to play in a one‑goal game. I think we'll be all right in that environment as well. But, you know, it will come down to, as they say, 15, 20 plays in a game. But we feel good about things, and the confidence is high within our group that we can play anyone in the country and get a positive result. So that's what we're looking for on Wednesday. Q. Is this the type of success you envisioned overall when you took the job? COACH TRASK: No, I think it's about recruiting. It's about establishing a culture. It's about working hard every day and getting the right staff together, and some luck along the way as well. You know, yeah, down deep, would I have liked to have said, being a Wisconsin guy myself, having grown up in the state, I want to see this place back to where it rightfully should be, but I didn't have any time frame on it. It's probably come a little bit quicker than I thought, and we're a little bit better than I thought we'd be in all honesty. And that's down to these kids. It's been nice to watch them share these moments with their parents, as their parents have been living and breathing it, just like all student‑athletes' parents. They knew they were getting a great education, and now to see them have success on the soccer field as well is really‑‑ I've never been more proud of a Senior Night. I've had some very good moments around college soccer, but this Senior Night that we had Friday night with a big win over Ohio State and to be 10‑0‑0 at home for this group of players, I‑‑ it was hard. It was hard for me not to shed a tear. Now we're going to focus on what's next, and I know our guys, but that was‑‑ that was a nice moment for the program. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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