2017 NCAA Men's College Cup North Carolina Pre
2017 NCAA Men’s College Cup North Carolina Pre-Championship Press Conference Dec. 7, 2016 ─ Talen Energy Stadium Moderator: Our final team for today's press conference is North Carolina. We have head coach, Carlos Somoano, senior forward, Allan Winn, sophomore midfielder, Cam Lindley, and senior forward, Zach Wright. Coach, we will begin with an opening statement and then we'll open it up for questions. Carlos Somoano: Yeah, we're just happy, excited to be here competing, and Philadelphia has been a great host so far to us and we look forward to the game tomorrow night. Certainly very ambitious and we're going to give our best effort against Indiana. So I'm proud of these guys and, yeah, we're excited to be here. Question: Hi guys, welcome to Chester. What were your initial thoughts of the training facility and the stadium, the overall environment that we have down here? Carlos Somoano: Yeah. We haven't trained yet so I can't answer that question. And yeah, I've been to the stadium before in Philadelphia and I'm pretty familiar with it. It's a great facility and I think it will be a pleasure and honor to be playing in. Question: If the players can kind of discuss what it's like to come and play in a facility like this with so much on the line. We'll start with Cam and move our way down the line. Cam Lindley: Yeah. We're pretty excited about being here. Last year, Houston was amazing, and so it's great there. But we're glad to be in Philly. The grass looks great. We're just excited to get out there tomorrow night and hopefully come away with a win, so. Alan Winn: Got off what Cam's saying. Coach says we're excited to be here and hopefully we achieve our goals here. And the field looks nice, the stadium looks nice, and hopefully we can get the job done. Zack Wright: Yeah. I mean, everything here has been pretty nice. Field looks great, stadium is pretty cool, and I think we're happy to be here. Question: Just for Cam, how special is it to be playing Indiana this weekend? Cam Lindley: Yeah. Obviously, it's cool for me playing Indiana. Got a lot of friends on the team. Uncle and grandpa have a history with Indiana. But I have been just excited playing Michigan State but, as a team, we're prepared for Indiana. And, for me, it's a fun game but I'm going treat it just like I have the past, whether it be Fordham or Wilmington, and go out there and do my job and hopefully we can come away with result we want, and move on this Sunday.
Question: I guess, for Alan and Zach, Indiana's defense, 17 shutouts this year, just what makes them so good, what's made them so effective, what do you guys need to do against them? Alan Winn: I think we just need to do what we need to do, what our objectives are, what our goals are. So I don't think it's much of what they've done. It's what we need to do and how we need to do it in order to achieve what we've got going on. Zack Wright: Basically, if we just execute our plays and do our job, I think we'll be just fine. Question: Carlos, kind of the same question just asked the players. When you look at Indiana on film, what do you see and what you're going to need to do tomorrow night to be successful against the Hoosiers? Carlos Somoano: I just see a good team. They didn't get here without being a good team, clearly. They're a good team, they're just well-rounded and don't have any significant weaknesses, and that's why they're here. We're a good team, too, so that's why we're here. In the end, we haven't and won't change who we are just because we're playing Indiana or any team here in a college cup because, obviously, we got here being ourselves. So I have full confidence in our guys that they're going to go out there and make their best effort. And we know when you get into competitive athletics, there's no guarantees but, yeah, we got a shot. Question: Cam, what do you guys take away from being in the College Cup last year, that allowed you to get back or might help you to play in it again here this year? Cam Lindley: Definitely. I guess we gained a little bit of experience. The guys that are comeback and the guys that came in the freshmen are great. So I guess they've kind of jumped in. The culture here at Carolina is always just excellence. Obviously, there's no sort of like, because we lost last year, we're motivated to get back here. It's just every year, when we start off the year we're just focused on getting here. And I guess the main takeaway we're getting last year is, we just can't experience, whether it be at the banquet or before the game waiting if you have a late kickoff. We know how to deal with that now and our minds are prepared and we're really focused this year, so. Question: Alan, what makes this year's North Carolina team, that's allowed to be so successful throughout the regular season and now here in the NCAA Tournament to be back at this point? Alan Winn: I don't think there's much difference from my four years that I've been here. We like each four years, we've had phenomenal teams, and it's just doing your job, getting the job done through each game that you play. And each year, you have a new challenge of obviously winning the three trophies, and if you don't, you win the next one each time you get the opportunity. So there's not something special about this year, it's every year that I've been here which is so special, which makes Carolina, just as Cam said, just an excellence school in what you do and what you want to achieve in life. Question: You're the lone ACC team represented here. What can you say about just the conference, and how having to play that conference schedule has helped the team just to develop as individuals but also as a team and to be that kind of a battle-tested group? Carlos Somoano: Yeah. It's a double-edged sword, right? It can sharpen you up but it can wear you down. But overall, if you're a competitor and you see this as a challenge and that's what excites you
about athletics, then I think playing in our conferences is pretty special. I kid you not, when I go into every year, worried about finishing last. I mean, I'm like, "Oh my God, how we're going to win a game in a conference?" I look at the teams and they're ruthless competitors and I respect them all. But then, after you go through that, you just start saying, "Okay, we're pretty good, too. Let's go to work and let's see what happens." And by just working your hardest every day, committing to what you believe in, and then having opponents like the ACC opponents that make you better, expose your weaknesses, and may force you to do things sharper and cleaner and better every day. I think that's a great experience. It doesn't guarantee that we get here, you have multiple ACC teams there as you see this year. But it does provide a heck of an experience for us and we love playing in that conference. Question: Added to that, this year you had to play some games. You didn't have your home field on campus to play. Can you talk a little bit about that experience of just kind of being a team that obviously is waiting for a new facility but they didn't get to play in the same environment? Carlos Somoano: Yeah. That was remarkable. It seems it reminds you, I think when it was all said and done, how lucky we are, I mean how many great people we have in our athletic department. And how lucky we are to play right in the heart of campus. We have a new stadium coming next year. And there were so many people that worked hard this year to give us a chance, whether that be at WakeMed, or Bryant Park, or UNC Greensboro, or Elon. And it was similar. I mean, I guess it's just how I'm wired. I go into it thinking, "Gosh, how the heck are we going to do this? " And then I feel sorry for myself for about five seconds. Then we just get on with it and start dealing with it and make the best out of it, and just realize that how many people would be lucky to put on the light blue and represent us at WakeMed or Elon, or on campus at Fetzer Field. And once you start forgetting about what you don't have and remembering what you do have, you move on. So we can only thank our administration for making the most out of this year and providing us a new stadium next year that we're so excited about. Yeah. Question: Just got a question for Cam, Alan, and Zach, just going on the line real quick. But do you guys view the cold as an extra element to prepare for? Or is it just kind of like there are a couple of layers on, and get out there and play? Cam Lindley: I'm from Indiana, and I played in Chicago growing up my entire career, so it's nothing to me. I'll just throw on a pair of gloves and throw on the jersey and I'll be good. Yeah. It's nice for fitness, too. You can run a little bit further when it's cold. Alan Winn: Yeah. I'm from Texas, so cold is the devil. So it's definitely different but throw up a couple of layers on like you said, and you're good to go. It's a beautiful game, so just keep going out there. Zack Wright: I mean, once you get going, you don't really think about it. So I wouldn't say it's an element.
Question: I guess, for Alan and Zach, Indiana's defense, 17 shutouts this year, just what makes them so good, what's made them so effective, what do you guys need to do against them? Alan Winn: I think we just need to do what we need to do, what our objectives are, what our goals are. So I don't think it's much of what they've done. It's what we need to do and how we need to do it in order to achieve what we've got going on. Zack Wright: Basically, if we just execute our plays and do our job, I think we'll be just fine. Question: Carlos, kind of the same question just asked the players. When you look at Indiana on film, what do you see and what you're going to need to do tomorrow night to be successful against the Hoosiers? Carlos Somoano: I just see a good team. They didn't get here without being a good team, clearly. They're a good team, they're just well-rounded and don't have any significant weaknesses, and that's why they're here. We're a good team, too, so that's why we're here. In the end, we haven't and won't change who we are just because we're playing Indiana or any team here in a college cup because, obviously, we got here being ourselves. So I have full confidence in our guys that they're going to go out there and make their best effort. And we know when you get into competitive athletics, there's no guarantees but, yeah, we got a shot. Question: Cam, what do you guys take away from being in the College Cup last year, that allowed you to get back or might help you to play in it again here this year? Cam Lindley: Definitely. I guess we gained a little bit of experience. The guys that are comeback and the guys that came in the freshmen are great. So I guess they've kind of jumped in. The culture here at Carolina is always just excellence. Obviously, there's no sort of like, because we lost last year, we're motivated to get back here. It's just every year, when we start off the year we're just focused on getting here. And I guess the main takeaway we're getting last year is, we just can't experience, whether it be at the banquet or before the game waiting if you have a late kickoff. We know how to deal with that now and our minds are prepared and we're really focused this year, so. Question: Alan, what makes this year's North Carolina team, that's allowed to be so successful throughout the regular season and now here in the NCAA Tournament to be back at this point? Alan Winn: I don't think there's much difference from my four years that I've been here. We like each four years, we've had phenomenal teams, and it's just doing your job, getting the job done through each game that you play. And each year, you have a new challenge of obviously winning the three trophies, and if you don't, you win the next one each time you get the opportunity. So there's not something special about this year, it's every year that I've been here which is so special, which makes Carolina, just as Cam said, just an excellence school in what you do and what you want to achieve in life. Question: You're the lone ACC team represented here. What can you say about just the conference, and how having to play that conference schedule has helped the team just to develop as individuals but also as a team and to be that kind of a battle-tested group? Carlos Somoano: Yeah. It's a double-edged sword, right? It can sharpen you up but it can wear you down. But overall, if you're a competitor and you see this as a challenge and that's what excites you
about athletics, then I think playing in our conferences is pretty special. I kid you not, when I go into every year, worried about finishing last. I mean, I'm like, "Oh my God, how we're going to win a game in a conference?" I look at the teams and they're ruthless competitors and I respect them all. But then, after you go through that, you just start saying, "Okay, we're pretty good, too. Let's go to work and let's see what happens." And by just working your hardest every day, committing to what you believe in, and then having opponents like the ACC opponents that make you better, expose your weaknesses, and may force you to do things sharper and cleaner and better every day. I think that's a great experience. It doesn't guarantee that we get here, you have multiple ACC teams there as you see this year. But it does provide a heck of an experience for us and we love playing in that conference. Question: Added to that, this year you had to play some games. You didn't have your home field on campus to play. Can you talk a little bit about that experience of just kind of being a team that obviously is waiting for a new facility but they didn't get to play in the same environment? Carlos Somoano: Yeah. That was remarkable. It seems it reminds you, I think when it was all said and done, how lucky we are, I mean how many great people we have in our athletic department. And how lucky we are to play right in the heart of campus. We have a new stadium coming next year. And there were so many people that worked hard this year to give us a chance, whether that be at WakeMed, or Bryant Park, or UNC Greensboro, or Elon. And it was similar. I mean, I guess it's just how I'm wired. I go into it thinking, "Gosh, how the heck are we going to do this? " And then I feel sorry for myself for about five seconds. Then we just get on with it and start dealing with it and make the best out of it, and just realize that how many people would be lucky to put on the light blue and represent us at WakeMed or Elon, or on campus at Fetzer Field. And once you start forgetting about what you don't have and remembering what you do have, you move on. So we can only thank our administration for making the most out of this year and providing us a new stadium next year that we're so excited about. Yeah. Question: Just got a question for Cam, Alan, and Zach, just going on the line real quick. But do you guys view the cold as an extra element to prepare for? Or is it just kind of like there are a couple of layers on, and get out there and play? Cam Lindley: I'm from Indiana, and I played in Chicago growing up my entire career, so it's nothing to me. I'll just throw on a pair of gloves and throw on the jersey and I'll be good. Yeah. It's nice for fitness, too. You can run a little bit further when it's cold. Alan Winn: Yeah. I'm from Texas, so cold is the devil. So it's definitely different but throw up a couple of layers on like you said, and you're good to go. It's a beautiful game, so just keep going out there. Zack Wright: I mean, once you get going, you don't really think about it. So I wouldn't say it's an element.
