TCU Womens Coach Abdalla Looks Ahead to 2008 Season
Published 6/9/2008 5:05:46 AM by staff from gofrogs.com
Head soccer coach Dan Abdalla, who enters his fourth season at the helm of TCU, recently sat down with GoFrogs.com to talk about the upcoming season. The Horned Frogs are coming off a 2007 season in which they shutout a top 25 ranked opponent, appeared on national television for the first time in program history, finished with the most win's overall and in conference play under Abdalla and placed two players on the all-conference squad for the first time in Mountain West action. TCU also competed in post-season play for the second time in three years by squaring off against nationally ranked BYU in the first round of the Mountain West Conference tournament.
What are your thoughts on this upcoming season?
"I'm excited for this upcoming season. You can start to taste it, but its still a ways away. It's a lot of fun to see so many of our kids playing this summer. The girls have done a great job and I am definitely going to be more relaxed going into this next season."
Katie Taylor recently talked about team chemistry being better, have you seen a difference?
"We have seen a difference in the chemistry of this team so far. We talk to our players a lot about team chemistry, but we strive to have team respect. Really, chemistry means everyone gets a long, but respect means everyone treats each other as sisters or a family."
How big will it be for your team that so many underclassmen saw action last season?
"I think it is going to be huge because we started eight freshmen last year at one point in time. Now they know what to expect, especially since they played against some of the top teams in the nation. Experience makes a big difference in knowing how to handle situations and it really helps us from a coaching standpoint in knowing how they react in certain situations. Really, I think it's going to make all of us better."
Did anyone step up during the spring?
"I thought during the spring both Katie Taylor and Kaylie Garcia really stepped up. It's still going to take some time, but I think they will be key in what we do. It was nice to see them both along with Michelle Nguyen, Chelsea Cody and Nikki Wilbur all do some very good things for us. Lizzy Karoly had a very good spring and she is now a little bit more comfortable in wanting the ball up top and becoming a leader on this team. She wants to make a difference and that is going to be big for us."
Which newcomers could make an immediate impact next fall?
Alex Mechalske is going to be dynamite for us. She is going to bring a lot to our team. She is a little firecracker and will allow us to move players to more comfortable positions. Jordan Calhoun is a very unique player that will do well and give us a spark up top. She is a player that is in between a Jackie Torda and Lizzy Karoly. Really, she will take some pressure off those two because she is comfortable scoring goals. Lindsay Holmes is the other one that can come in and really ignite us because she can play on the left side. We haven't really had that in the past and she will be able to do some things for us."
What are your goals this season?
"You always come into a season to win it all. We need to be more consistent and continue to improve. One of the big things this spring was to work on our communication and towards the end I think it started to click. We just need to build upon last year's success and work towards winning the conference championship. I think we have the ability to do that this season because we were in the mix last year through most of the conference race. Now we are more mature and just need to finish the job."
How important is your home schedule this year?
"I think it is huge that we have 12 home games this season. It definitely makes a big difference for us and I think it gives us a chance to get out and really do some things."
Label: TCU womens soccer, Katie Taylor, Kaylie Garcia, Lizzie Karoly
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