Colorado University Athletics
Megan Massey (8) and Taylor Kornieck (22) will start together in the midfield for the third straight year.
Photo by: Andy Schlichting
Midfielders Preview
August 10, 2018 | Soccer
BOULDER – Colorado's midfield might be its strongest and deepest position heading into the 2018 season. That's the way head coach Danny Sanchez views his three returning starters at the position and the depth behind those three.
Sarah Kinzner, Taylor Kornieck and Megan Massey are entering their third season starting together and Kinzner is actually going into her fourth year as a starter. The trio has combined for 147 starts at Colorado and scored 27 goals. That's a lot of experience and production from just three players.
"Taylor has had two great seasons for us, and I think that her best soccer is in front of her so we are excited where she is at right now, " Sanchez said. "Megan Massey and Sarah Kinzner have both came in and have looked really sharp this preseason. We feel that they also have some great moments in front of them as seniors."
Kinzner has played in all but two games during her three years in Boulder and has been one of CU's most important players linking the back line with the team's attack. She was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection in 2015 and followed that up with four goals and three assists as a sophomore. She went without a goal or assist last season, but still was one of the team's top performers in other ways.
"Sarah Kinzner had a very good sophomore year, and she had a good year last year," Sanchez said. "I think people forget that she had a knee injury and she was out for a little bit (she missed two starts and came off the bench two other times during her recovery). It is tough to come back [from injury] during conference play, but I thought that as we got towards the end of the season she was clicking again. She never is going to be a big stat player. She is more of a link player in the midfield. She looks really sharp so far in preseason."
Kornieck is perhaps the best-known player on CU's roster, having a record-breaking freshman season in 2016 and starring on U.S. youth national teams. In two seasons, she has started all 44 games and has 18 goals and eight assists, already ranking in the top 10 in CU history in goals and points.
"This is the best she is looking physically since she has been here," Sanchez said of Kornieck's fitness level. "She has matured and has bought into sports performance and everything that we have going on. There were times last year when she was playing a little out of position so this year she'll be in the midfield and will be running our midfield. We are excited for that."
Massey transferred from Tennessee after her freshman season and has been a two-year starter for the Buffs. She started all 22 games as a sophomore, but went without a point. As a junior last fall, she exploded for four goals and six assists in her breakout season. She scored the game-winning goal in CU's final regular season game at Utah and then scored in a 2-1 win over Denver in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
She said confidence was the key to her success last season. "It was confidence on the ball. My sophomore year was great, I got to know the team well, and going into my junior year I was a lot more confident."
"When you transfer, there sometimes is an immediate adjustment, but she had a good season as a sophomore in her first year here," Sanchez said. "I thought she was even a lot better last year. She was much more comfortable attacking and scored some big goals and had some big moments at the end of the season. She had a good spring and has had a good preseason so far."
Several other players will be looking to compete for playing time this season.
Nancy Best emerged as a reliable player as a defensive holding midfielder last season, appearing in 18 games and playing 350 minutes as a junior. The Buffs surrendered just one goal all season while she was on the field.
Isobel Dalton heads into her senior season looking for an expanded role after playing seven games each in the past two seasons. She recorded an assist as a sophomore in 2016.
Several returning Buffs could see time both in the midfield and in other positions, including Stephanie Zuniga and Libby Geraghty, who are also forwards. Alex Vidger played briefly in the defensive holding midfielder position last season, but seems to be more comfortable playing as a centerback. Erin Greening also played some outside midfielder, but will likely start as a fullback.
At times, redshirt freshman Sofia Weiner could move out of the back line as well and play at an outside midfielder spot. She redshirted last season at Virginia, but was a top recruit out of Evergreen H.S. in 2017 and may start opposite Greening in the back line.
Three freshmen could fit in the mix as well in the midfield. Emily Groark, who is also an attacking player, is ranked as the No. 38 player nationally in the 2018 recruiting class.
Jesse Loren was her league's offensive player of the year in high school at Redondo Union (Calif.) H.S. and won a club national championship last year for LAFC Slammers.
Kayleigh Webb is another top-150 recruit this season and led San Marcos (Calif.) H.S. to the state finals as a junior before focusing on club soccer as a senior.
The Buffs must replace one starter as defensive holding midfielder Cassie Phillips left the team earlier this week. Sanchez feels confident in finding a replacement on the roster. "We have a player like Nancy Best who had played there quite a bit. Sarah Kinzner can play in a deeper line role. Kayleigh Webb can play there too, which is where we really recruited her. Her learning curve just has to speed up a little bit. Then you look at a player like Jesse Loren who started on the club national championship team as a holding midfielder. We feel very confident that we have options."
Regardless of who fills the final starting role, CU's midfield will be strong this season. Coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, this year's team has high hopes as Best, Dalton, Greening, Kinzner, Massey and Vidger are all seniors.
"It has been nice playing with Sarah and Taylor for three years now," Massey said. "We started off as a young team and now we're an old team. As a midfield, we have high hopes for what we can do and hopefully get deep into the NCAA Tournament."
Sarah Kinzner, Taylor Kornieck and Megan Massey are entering their third season starting together and Kinzner is actually going into her fourth year as a starter. The trio has combined for 147 starts at Colorado and scored 27 goals. That's a lot of experience and production from just three players.
"Taylor has had two great seasons for us, and I think that her best soccer is in front of her so we are excited where she is at right now, " Sanchez said. "Megan Massey and Sarah Kinzner have both came in and have looked really sharp this preseason. We feel that they also have some great moments in front of them as seniors."
Kinzner has played in all but two games during her three years in Boulder and has been one of CU's most important players linking the back line with the team's attack. She was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection in 2015 and followed that up with four goals and three assists as a sophomore. She went without a goal or assist last season, but still was one of the team's top performers in other ways.
"Sarah Kinzner had a very good sophomore year, and she had a good year last year," Sanchez said. "I think people forget that she had a knee injury and she was out for a little bit (she missed two starts and came off the bench two other times during her recovery). It is tough to come back [from injury] during conference play, but I thought that as we got towards the end of the season she was clicking again. She never is going to be a big stat player. She is more of a link player in the midfield. She looks really sharp so far in preseason."
Kornieck is perhaps the best-known player on CU's roster, having a record-breaking freshman season in 2016 and starring on U.S. youth national teams. In two seasons, she has started all 44 games and has 18 goals and eight assists, already ranking in the top 10 in CU history in goals and points.
"This is the best she is looking physically since she has been here," Sanchez said of Kornieck's fitness level. "She has matured and has bought into sports performance and everything that we have going on. There were times last year when she was playing a little out of position so this year she'll be in the midfield and will be running our midfield. We are excited for that."
Massey transferred from Tennessee after her freshman season and has been a two-year starter for the Buffs. She started all 22 games as a sophomore, but went without a point. As a junior last fall, she exploded for four goals and six assists in her breakout season. She scored the game-winning goal in CU's final regular season game at Utah and then scored in a 2-1 win over Denver in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
She said confidence was the key to her success last season. "It was confidence on the ball. My sophomore year was great, I got to know the team well, and going into my junior year I was a lot more confident."
"When you transfer, there sometimes is an immediate adjustment, but she had a good season as a sophomore in her first year here," Sanchez said. "I thought she was even a lot better last year. She was much more comfortable attacking and scored some big goals and had some big moments at the end of the season. She had a good spring and has had a good preseason so far."
Several other players will be looking to compete for playing time this season.
Nancy Best emerged as a reliable player as a defensive holding midfielder last season, appearing in 18 games and playing 350 minutes as a junior. The Buffs surrendered just one goal all season while she was on the field.
Isobel Dalton heads into her senior season looking for an expanded role after playing seven games each in the past two seasons. She recorded an assist as a sophomore in 2016.
Several returning Buffs could see time both in the midfield and in other positions, including Stephanie Zuniga and Libby Geraghty, who are also forwards. Alex Vidger played briefly in the defensive holding midfielder position last season, but seems to be more comfortable playing as a centerback. Erin Greening also played some outside midfielder, but will likely start as a fullback.
At times, redshirt freshman Sofia Weiner could move out of the back line as well and play at an outside midfielder spot. She redshirted last season at Virginia, but was a top recruit out of Evergreen H.S. in 2017 and may start opposite Greening in the back line.
Three freshmen could fit in the mix as well in the midfield. Emily Groark, who is also an attacking player, is ranked as the No. 38 player nationally in the 2018 recruiting class.
Jesse Loren was her league's offensive player of the year in high school at Redondo Union (Calif.) H.S. and won a club national championship last year for LAFC Slammers.
Kayleigh Webb is another top-150 recruit this season and led San Marcos (Calif.) H.S. to the state finals as a junior before focusing on club soccer as a senior.
The Buffs must replace one starter as defensive holding midfielder Cassie Phillips left the team earlier this week. Sanchez feels confident in finding a replacement on the roster. "We have a player like Nancy Best who had played there quite a bit. Sarah Kinzner can play in a deeper line role. Kayleigh Webb can play there too, which is where we really recruited her. Her learning curve just has to speed up a little bit. Then you look at a player like Jesse Loren who started on the club national championship team as a holding midfielder. We feel very confident that we have options."
Regardless of who fills the final starting role, CU's midfield will be strong this season. Coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, this year's team has high hopes as Best, Dalton, Greening, Kinzner, Massey and Vidger are all seniors.
"It has been nice playing with Sarah and Taylor for three years now," Massey said. "We started off as a young team and now we're an old team. As a midfield, we have high hopes for what we can do and hopefully get deep into the NCAA Tournament."
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