Opening Statement
?The season is going okay. We had a tough opening weekend, lost to two top (20) teams at the time, but since then we?ve been getting better. We?re playing a lot of freshman, we had five on the field (Sunday) and three or four sophomores at the same time. So, that?s a painful experience I promise you. But they got it done so that?s good.
?We have a decent home streak going of (10) games. The next nine days will be pivotal in our season. We?re moving up the charts pretty quickly and we?re coming together. On Friday, we have the third-ranked team in the country coming in ? Michigan. Sunday we travel to Buffalo and then next Wednesday we have (Indiana) coming. So, we?ll take two top-five teams here in the next nine days, which is good. We need that. We need to figure out exactly how good we are and exactly where we?re going.
?I?m real happy with our young players and one of our seniors has stepped up in a great way. Jamal Shteiwi has got six goals already. But, as any coach will tell you, to play young players is a difficult thing to do. We?ve got five or six freshman that have continuously been getting on the field. I?ve always had gray hair, but I guess it?s getting grayer.
?The guys are doing well. They?re working hard, trying to understand what we?re trying to do and they?re winning games and that?s all you can ask. This is kind of Big Ten week for us. (Sunday) we beat Ohio State and, as I said, we?ve got Michigan and IU with a MAC game thrown in between. The next three games will help up define where we?re going to get to and how deep we can get in the NCAA Tournament. I?m optimistic the guys are starting to understand exactly what we?re asking.?
On Louisville native Nathan Marks, a freshman defender?
?He?s playing great. He?s out of Louisville and a freshman, so I didn?t expect him to be at this point where is. He has played about every minute of every game. He?s a tough kid. (Sunday) he took a real bad tackle that would have sat most people down for the game or for the week, bounced back and 15 minutes later I put him back in the game. That?s either real bad coaching or he?s a real good player, so I guess he handled it real well. I?m very happy with him.?
On the Indiana game coming up?
?Unfortunately in college soccer you play two games a week the whole (season). You have 18, 20, 22 games shoved into a three month span. It?s brutal. The schedule is brutal. Guys don?t get a chance to recover. But we can?t look past (the Michigan game on) Friday, it?s going to be very difficult. Friday is a game that we?ve got to play our best. I?m hoping we?ll get a great turnout. After Friday we?ll look at Sunday and after Sunday we?ll start thinking about (a rematch with Indiana). But I don?t want to get into that. We try to teach our kids one game at a time. I know that?s a coaching clich?, but it?s a fact. We?ve got to be ready for Friday. We?ve got some guys who hurting a little bit and we have to have them ready for Friday.?
On the upcoming stretch?
?The biggest thing in soccer is that you have to win in your region. Michigan is one of the top two or three teams in our region and IU is one of the top two or three teams in our region. We?re probably, right now, one of the top four teams in our region. So, if we can beat these teams, we?ll go on an host games in the NCAA Tournament. Right now, we?re 4-0 in the region and that?s huge. I love coaching soccer, but I hate this stretch that we get into. It?s difficult. There is no rest. There is zero rest and that is very hard. But it?s the same for everybody and we all have to deal with it.?
On senior forward Jamal Shteiwi?
?Jamal has scored some big goals in big games and he?s holding the team together a little bit. He?s going to be a good pro player and he?s committed himself to being a good player here at UK and that is more important for us. He?s kind of putting guys on his back. (Sunday) was his little brother?s day. (Jibran) played seven minutes and scored the game winner. He?s only played 20 minutes all season. Today, Jamal is working the reserves and Jibran is the MVP of the team.?
On his animated coaching style?
?I think you have to be passionate and enthusiastic. You have to have energy as a coach. A lot of mine is nervous energy. I want to play but, at 40 and in this body there is no way that is happening. I think you have to bring some enthusiasm to the table and show guys you?re in it with them. Sometimes guys have different styles. My style is to get up. I get in people?s face and try to get after them. (The players) understand it?s never personal, it?s coaching. After the game we smile, shake hands and move on. That?s the way it is.?
On the program being on the verge of joining the elite in college soccer?
?Since 1999 we?ve been real close. In ?99, we lost to IU in overtime in the NCAA Tournament and they go on and win the national championship. In 2000, we make the last sixteen and lose a tight one. In 2001, we lose in the second round in three overtimes. In 2002, we didn?t make it and last year we lose in overtime again. We?re right there, but we have to push. We challenge our players everyday to push to get into that elite. From when this program was birthed, (13) years ago, we?re now a nationally recognized program year in and year out. As a program, if you have success in one year, you?re lucky. Maybe a ?once in a while.? Our goal is always to be consistently good. I think we?re consistently good, but we?re never going to be talked about amongst the elite until we get to the Final Four and win it. But it?s hard, just as it is for everybody. But that?s what our goal is, we don?t set it any less than that. We don?t want to go .500 every year. We want to win our conference every year, but we?ve got to get into the big-time boys and smack them around a little bit for a lack of a better phrase. Being close is great, but the greatest expression to me was ?almost chicken never made chicken salad.? That?s about the truth. You can say almost and close but those words get old. I?m tired of hearing almost and close, so we better win. Otherwise, maybe I?ll get a job in the media and hang the camera in at somebody else and fire some questions.?
