Colorado University Athletics
(Left to right) Kahlia Hogg, Danny Sanchez and Morgan Stanton at Friday's press conference.
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Soccer Media Day Recap
August 05, 2016 | Soccer
BOULDER – The University of Colorado hosted its annual media day on Friday for fall sports teams and soccer head coach Danny Sanchez was joined by seniors Kahlia Hogg and Morgan Stanton at the press conference. Much of the press conference highlighted rebounding from a down year in 2015 and the Colorado Cup, the competition between the six NCAA Division I schools in the state of Colorado.
The Buffaloes have won four of the five past Colorado Cups, capturing trophies in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015, and finishing second in 2013. Only two current CU players have scored in the Colorado Cup. Erin Greening scored against Colorado College and Mikaela Kraus against Denver last season.
The team looks at the Colorado Cup as a preparation for Pac-12 play.
"The Colorado Cup is a great lead into the Pac-12 so obviously everyone gets excited for games against Stanford and Cal, but even these Colorado Cup games particularly so early on in the season, it's easy to get excited for them and go out and want to win that Colorado Cup," Hogg said.
CU is coming off a 7-10-3 season following back-to-back NCAA Tournament runs. Returning to the postseason and advancing past the first round are goals of everyone involved in the program.
"I think we all know we are a good team but stats might say different from last year and I think that the goal is to return to the tournament and to make it pretty far," Stanton said.
With 10 new players, Sanchez is looking at the preseason as an opportunity to solidify his lineup heading into the season opener on Aug. 19 at Air Force.
"I think on the field it's really identifying who can help us, where and how soon," Sanchez said of immersing the new players with the returners. "That's probably the bigger challenge of it, but as far as getting them into the team and having them feel comfortable, I think some of them probably too comfortable already, we are pleased with that part of it."
Colorado will open the season on the 19th and will host Colorado State on Sunday, Aug. 21, at 3 p.m. in its first home match of the season. The Buffs will also host neutral-site matches with Northern Colorado vs. Air Force and Denver vs. Colorado College on the 21st beginning at 10:30 a.m. as part of the Colorado Cup.
For information on tickets to the Colorado Cup and other home events this season, visit http://buffs.me/2b97Far.
MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT
DANNY SANCHEZ, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement
"Thanks everyone for coming, we are a little different than volleyball in that we're in our third day of training. As you can see the team is still alive because there is a couple of them here. It's been going well we have had a couple of fitness tests. We are excited to get going We have a very short preseason we have our first match on August 19th at the Air Force Academy and then we are home Sunday August 21st for Colorado State. For those of you who don't know, it's a big day for us it's the Colorado Cup. We host all six Division I programs in the state. Air Force and Northern Colorado will start the day at 10:30, 1:15 University of Denver and Colorado College will play then we'll play CSU. The CSU game is on Pac-12 Network. The Saturday before we will do a Special Olympic event with all six teams in Westminster we will participate and have a meal with all the kids that can make it out that day so it's a really big weekend for us so we are really looking forward to that and getting the season off to the right start. And then it really gets serious after that as we head off to face Kansas then Missouri both on the road in tough venues against NCAA tournament teams. So like Jesse touched on a little bit, getting ready for the Pac-12 this is brutal. These will be two tough matches on the road similar to Pac-12 play with not a lot of recovery in between so we are excited for that and we're excited to get the season going. We are really looking forward to the Colorado Cup weekend at Air Force and then obviously at home against CSU."
On the depth of the team
"We have 24 players. I think as we look at the team we have good options at all spots. Obviously we graduated some really good players but we feel really good about the players we have back. You know the question is if we look in the back, which was a concern a little bit last year with depth. Especially when Kahlia (Hogg) got hurt. Kahlia will tell you she's a midfielder and I'll tell you she's a back so we will continue to have that conversation as we get through the preseason but Kahlia is, first of all she can play along any line so we are still trying to sort through that a little bit in preseason and I think that competition for spots will carry into the season especially as our new players, we have 10 new players, five freshmen and five transfers so as we get them incorporated, we'll see how they can help. I think it will be a bit of a work in progress."
On the Colorado Cup
"Well I'm not sure the team completely understands it because we just changed the rules again last year but I think we found some good rhythm, we had some great momentum last year. Basically three teams host on the weekend at three different sites. On Friday, three points for a win, one point for a tie, goals for, goals against just like any competition then on Sunday the thing that we changed is having basically Colorado soccer at CU. We are biased and we feel we have the best facility and playing surface so everyone graciously agreed to play at our place so we had our biggest attendance of the season last year. So we play that game then we also play one more game than everybody else plays. [We'll] play the University of Denver on September 17th that will wrap up our portion of Colorado Cup. Obviously it's not feasible to play all five teams every year but I think three teams you get a pretty good idea on a winner. And we've won it four of the five years and the one year we [didn't win it], we won both games but lost on a goal differential so now that's three games so I think now there is more of a true winner. So it's one of our objectives and one of our goals every year and we know we have to get off on the right foot against Air Force on Friday the 19th."
Aspects the Team needs to work on
"I think with a tight preseason I think we need to improve all areas, I think that Kahlia and Morgan touched on a little bit as far as we have a good group coming back so we have a good base from there. Obviously we have good competition in goal now that Kate Scheele has graduated, who's playing with the Houston Dash in the NWSL so obviously we lost a very good player there, but we feel very confident with Scout Watson and JJ (Jalen) Tompkins that one or both of them will fill that role well. And like I said at the end of the day we need to sort out who's going to play in the back, I think we have a couple players that for sure we feel comfortable with. I think there's a couple spots open and then I feel we have good depth and numbers going forward so it's really just kind of organizing and we have a pretty good idea of who's going to play in the midfield and up top but organizing the shape and to play with the strengths of our team."
On 10 new players coming in
"You know fortunately for us, nine of the 10 of them were here for the summer bridge program in July so they have been here for a month working with Karim Derqaoui our strength and conditioning coach so they have been able to acclimate themselves to Boulder and to the team, they start to feel comfortable with that. And like I said the fact that five of them are transfers, you know they're experienced, they have kind of been there, done that, they have something to prove. So to be honest with you, it's not overly difficult I think from the off the field side of things, I think on the field it's really identifying who can help us, where and how soon. That's probably the bigger challenge of it but as far as getting them into the team and having them feel comfortable, I think some of them probably too comfortable already, we are pleased with that part of it."
Thoughts on the Thursday/Sunday Schedule this year
They changed it so we will have Michigan State and Drexel one weekend which is Thursday-Sunday because of Michigan State's travel but all the Pac-12 weekends now are Thursday-Sunday. Some people are in favor, some people are against it. On the road I'm for it because it gives more recovery. At home I'm against it because now teams have a break in between Utah and us. So it just depends, I think in the big picture as far as student-athlete welfare, [there's] obviously more recovery. All of our players are very good students so missing a couple more days of school, they can handle it. But big picture when you really look at recovery, having to play in the past Friday night game against Stanford then a Sunday afternoon against Cal, it's very difficult. Now having a break, now for instance this year we'll play Stanford on Thursday night then have a day of recovery then we can train and play Cal on a Sunday afternoon, I think it makes for truer games for both sides. For teams that are coming to us it will make for better soccer. So it changed things up, we'll change training a little bit but I think big picture, when you look at the whole, all the positives and negatives, I think it's good for the sport and most leagues and most power five conferences have gone to a two days in between conference games."
On kicking off the athletic season with soccer
"A lot of pressure on that because then we have the welcome back picnic on Sunday night so we'll see how we're walking into that at 6 p.m. on Sunday the 21st but yeah I think it's exciting. You can build some momentum, you know volleyball will start, football obviously a couple weeks after that so we start first and we're running first so hopefully we can build some momentum for the department and I think it goes hand in hand. I think there's a good vibe and one sport carries over into the other. Obviously we want all the sports to be successful so all pressure on us to get two results on opening weekend against in-state teams that at the end of the day, we are the big dog and we know that and we are the flagship university for this state so we need to get results and they have everything to prove. We found that out last year, went to CSU and had to gut out a result so we will be very prepared for Air Force on the 19th and hopefully when we come to the picnic on the 21st, we will have two wins and everyone will say good things about us."
KAHLIA HOGG, SENIOR
On the Colorado Cup
"Yeah I'm not going to lie and say that I knew what the Colorado Cup was before I came to CU. But obviously any player, you can feel those big rivalries, CSU, DU they are all fantastic games and super exciting. As Danny (Sanchez) mentioned earlier the Colorado Cup is a great lead into the Pac-12 so obviously everyone gets excited for games against Stanford and Cal but even these Colorado Cup games particularly so early on in the season, it's easy to get excited for them and go out and want to win that Colorado Cup."
On getting back to the NCAA Tournament and Postseason play
"It's the entire goal for this season. We established that as a team goal first day back in the spring. We said that we were going to come back and get back to the NCAA Tournament and not just that, but go further than this CU team has gone before. So looking back two years and getting to the Sweet 16 and then the second round, our goal is to make it into that third weekend of play again and really re-establish CU as not just a fighting force in the Pac-12, but national among the NCAA schools."
MORGAN STANTON, SENIOR
On the Colorado Cup
"Well even being a Colorado native I really didn't know about the Colorado Cup before I came to CU either but I will say now that I'm at Colorado I know a lot of players that play on rival teams so it's exciting to be able to play against girls I grew up playing against. Obviously you always want to be the best team in Colorado so the competition is always fierce."
On getting back to the NCAA Tournament and Postseason play
"I think that obviously we didn't do as well as we would have liked, but I think that it really sparked a fire in everyone one that's returning and we all want to prove something to everyone. I think we all know we are a good team but stats might say different from last year and I think that the goal is to return to the tournament and to make it pretty far."
The Buffaloes have won four of the five past Colorado Cups, capturing trophies in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015, and finishing second in 2013. Only two current CU players have scored in the Colorado Cup. Erin Greening scored against Colorado College and Mikaela Kraus against Denver last season.
The team looks at the Colorado Cup as a preparation for Pac-12 play.
"The Colorado Cup is a great lead into the Pac-12 so obviously everyone gets excited for games against Stanford and Cal, but even these Colorado Cup games particularly so early on in the season, it's easy to get excited for them and go out and want to win that Colorado Cup," Hogg said.
CU is coming off a 7-10-3 season following back-to-back NCAA Tournament runs. Returning to the postseason and advancing past the first round are goals of everyone involved in the program.
"I think we all know we are a good team but stats might say different from last year and I think that the goal is to return to the tournament and to make it pretty far," Stanton said.
With 10 new players, Sanchez is looking at the preseason as an opportunity to solidify his lineup heading into the season opener on Aug. 19 at Air Force.
"I think on the field it's really identifying who can help us, where and how soon," Sanchez said of immersing the new players with the returners. "That's probably the bigger challenge of it, but as far as getting them into the team and having them feel comfortable, I think some of them probably too comfortable already, we are pleased with that part of it."
Colorado will open the season on the 19th and will host Colorado State on Sunday, Aug. 21, at 3 p.m. in its first home match of the season. The Buffs will also host neutral-site matches with Northern Colorado vs. Air Force and Denver vs. Colorado College on the 21st beginning at 10:30 a.m. as part of the Colorado Cup.
For information on tickets to the Colorado Cup and other home events this season, visit http://buffs.me/2b97Far.
MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT
DANNY SANCHEZ, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement
"Thanks everyone for coming, we are a little different than volleyball in that we're in our third day of training. As you can see the team is still alive because there is a couple of them here. It's been going well we have had a couple of fitness tests. We are excited to get going We have a very short preseason we have our first match on August 19th at the Air Force Academy and then we are home Sunday August 21st for Colorado State. For those of you who don't know, it's a big day for us it's the Colorado Cup. We host all six Division I programs in the state. Air Force and Northern Colorado will start the day at 10:30, 1:15 University of Denver and Colorado College will play then we'll play CSU. The CSU game is on Pac-12 Network. The Saturday before we will do a Special Olympic event with all six teams in Westminster we will participate and have a meal with all the kids that can make it out that day so it's a really big weekend for us so we are really looking forward to that and getting the season off to the right start. And then it really gets serious after that as we head off to face Kansas then Missouri both on the road in tough venues against NCAA tournament teams. So like Jesse touched on a little bit, getting ready for the Pac-12 this is brutal. These will be two tough matches on the road similar to Pac-12 play with not a lot of recovery in between so we are excited for that and we're excited to get the season going. We are really looking forward to the Colorado Cup weekend at Air Force and then obviously at home against CSU."
On the depth of the team
"We have 24 players. I think as we look at the team we have good options at all spots. Obviously we graduated some really good players but we feel really good about the players we have back. You know the question is if we look in the back, which was a concern a little bit last year with depth. Especially when Kahlia (Hogg) got hurt. Kahlia will tell you she's a midfielder and I'll tell you she's a back so we will continue to have that conversation as we get through the preseason but Kahlia is, first of all she can play along any line so we are still trying to sort through that a little bit in preseason and I think that competition for spots will carry into the season especially as our new players, we have 10 new players, five freshmen and five transfers so as we get them incorporated, we'll see how they can help. I think it will be a bit of a work in progress."
On the Colorado Cup
"Well I'm not sure the team completely understands it because we just changed the rules again last year but I think we found some good rhythm, we had some great momentum last year. Basically three teams host on the weekend at three different sites. On Friday, three points for a win, one point for a tie, goals for, goals against just like any competition then on Sunday the thing that we changed is having basically Colorado soccer at CU. We are biased and we feel we have the best facility and playing surface so everyone graciously agreed to play at our place so we had our biggest attendance of the season last year. So we play that game then we also play one more game than everybody else plays. [We'll] play the University of Denver on September 17th that will wrap up our portion of Colorado Cup. Obviously it's not feasible to play all five teams every year but I think three teams you get a pretty good idea on a winner. And we've won it four of the five years and the one year we [didn't win it], we won both games but lost on a goal differential so now that's three games so I think now there is more of a true winner. So it's one of our objectives and one of our goals every year and we know we have to get off on the right foot against Air Force on Friday the 19th."
Aspects the Team needs to work on
"I think with a tight preseason I think we need to improve all areas, I think that Kahlia and Morgan touched on a little bit as far as we have a good group coming back so we have a good base from there. Obviously we have good competition in goal now that Kate Scheele has graduated, who's playing with the Houston Dash in the NWSL so obviously we lost a very good player there, but we feel very confident with Scout Watson and JJ (Jalen) Tompkins that one or both of them will fill that role well. And like I said at the end of the day we need to sort out who's going to play in the back, I think we have a couple players that for sure we feel comfortable with. I think there's a couple spots open and then I feel we have good depth and numbers going forward so it's really just kind of organizing and we have a pretty good idea of who's going to play in the midfield and up top but organizing the shape and to play with the strengths of our team."
On 10 new players coming in
"You know fortunately for us, nine of the 10 of them were here for the summer bridge program in July so they have been here for a month working with Karim Derqaoui our strength and conditioning coach so they have been able to acclimate themselves to Boulder and to the team, they start to feel comfortable with that. And like I said the fact that five of them are transfers, you know they're experienced, they have kind of been there, done that, they have something to prove. So to be honest with you, it's not overly difficult I think from the off the field side of things, I think on the field it's really identifying who can help us, where and how soon. That's probably the bigger challenge of it but as far as getting them into the team and having them feel comfortable, I think some of them probably too comfortable already, we are pleased with that part of it."
Thoughts on the Thursday/Sunday Schedule this year
They changed it so we will have Michigan State and Drexel one weekend which is Thursday-Sunday because of Michigan State's travel but all the Pac-12 weekends now are Thursday-Sunday. Some people are in favor, some people are against it. On the road I'm for it because it gives more recovery. At home I'm against it because now teams have a break in between Utah and us. So it just depends, I think in the big picture as far as student-athlete welfare, [there's] obviously more recovery. All of our players are very good students so missing a couple more days of school, they can handle it. But big picture when you really look at recovery, having to play in the past Friday night game against Stanford then a Sunday afternoon against Cal, it's very difficult. Now having a break, now for instance this year we'll play Stanford on Thursday night then have a day of recovery then we can train and play Cal on a Sunday afternoon, I think it makes for truer games for both sides. For teams that are coming to us it will make for better soccer. So it changed things up, we'll change training a little bit but I think big picture, when you look at the whole, all the positives and negatives, I think it's good for the sport and most leagues and most power five conferences have gone to a two days in between conference games."
On kicking off the athletic season with soccer
"A lot of pressure on that because then we have the welcome back picnic on Sunday night so we'll see how we're walking into that at 6 p.m. on Sunday the 21st but yeah I think it's exciting. You can build some momentum, you know volleyball will start, football obviously a couple weeks after that so we start first and we're running first so hopefully we can build some momentum for the department and I think it goes hand in hand. I think there's a good vibe and one sport carries over into the other. Obviously we want all the sports to be successful so all pressure on us to get two results on opening weekend against in-state teams that at the end of the day, we are the big dog and we know that and we are the flagship university for this state so we need to get results and they have everything to prove. We found that out last year, went to CSU and had to gut out a result so we will be very prepared for Air Force on the 19th and hopefully when we come to the picnic on the 21st, we will have two wins and everyone will say good things about us."
KAHLIA HOGG, SENIOR
On the Colorado Cup
"Yeah I'm not going to lie and say that I knew what the Colorado Cup was before I came to CU. But obviously any player, you can feel those big rivalries, CSU, DU they are all fantastic games and super exciting. As Danny (Sanchez) mentioned earlier the Colorado Cup is a great lead into the Pac-12 so obviously everyone gets excited for games against Stanford and Cal but even these Colorado Cup games particularly so early on in the season, it's easy to get excited for them and go out and want to win that Colorado Cup."
On getting back to the NCAA Tournament and Postseason play
"It's the entire goal for this season. We established that as a team goal first day back in the spring. We said that we were going to come back and get back to the NCAA Tournament and not just that, but go further than this CU team has gone before. So looking back two years and getting to the Sweet 16 and then the second round, our goal is to make it into that third weekend of play again and really re-establish CU as not just a fighting force in the Pac-12, but national among the NCAA schools."
MORGAN STANTON, SENIOR
On the Colorado Cup
"Well even being a Colorado native I really didn't know about the Colorado Cup before I came to CU either but I will say now that I'm at Colorado I know a lot of players that play on rival teams so it's exciting to be able to play against girls I grew up playing against. Obviously you always want to be the best team in Colorado so the competition is always fierce."
On getting back to the NCAA Tournament and Postseason play
"I think that obviously we didn't do as well as we would have liked, but I think that it really sparked a fire in everyone one that's returning and we all want to prove something to everyone. I think we all know we are a good team but stats might say different from last year and I think that the goal is to return to the tournament and to make it pretty far."
Players Mentioned
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