For the second straight season the Notre Dame College Falcons have earned a trip to the NCAA men's soccer tournament.
"Winning against two ranked teams to start the season gave us the momentum and the kickstart we needed for the season-- especially shutting out the #4 team in the country by shoutout," NDC junior defender David Kolar mentioned.
"I always look good when I do not concede a goal but when you look at it I usually don't have too many shots, which goes back to the people in front of me. I try to do my best but as I always say 'the best goalies are the ones that manage to keep everything away from them without needing to touch the ball, through good communication and confidence," junior Goalie Danilo Abayo Wilson explained.
Then he talked about the coaching staff:
"I feel like the coaches have a very good relationship with each other and are a great. mixture of very different personalities which can benefit the team in different scenarios."
Kolar talked about the coaches:
"Playing for a coach like Coach (Carl) Nolan you can tell he's very experienced in this field. He does what's best always for our team and knows how to get the job done when in tough situations. (Assistant Coach Nick) Felician brings a staff member that we can relate to on a different level. He's just recently experienced what we're going through right now so he can walk us through certain things that other coaches may have not experienced."
Then Kolar talked trust:
"I think the biggest product is the amount of trust we have in one another as a whole. We trust each other to do what needs to be done and are always helping each other when needed."
Abayo Wilson talked about a lesson he learned at NDC:
"Time goes by fast especially in college, so make sure you work as hard as you can for what you want to achieve."
Kolar answered that very question:
"The biggest lesson I've learned is that in order to progress you're going to fail. It's tough to bounce back but being able to recover and continue is what I've learned while at NDC."
Kolar talked about when he started playing defense and when he started playing organized soccer as a whole:
"I have been playing soccer since as long as I can remember, four years old I would say. My first few years at NDC I was an attacking midfielder but now I am back to being a defender."
He talked about his first meeting with his teammate, Abayo Wilson:
"The first meeting I remember was when I went to the practice field for preseason training. He and the rest of my teammates seemed real excited and ready to prove themselves."
Kolar talked about building off of the teams recent success and a big hurdle he has had to overcome:
"As a team last year we made the NCAA tournament, and our goal this year is to build off of that and make a return trip (which we have done.) Individually I tore my meniscus last year so I missed out on the entire season, but I continue to build off what I started last year and I am continuing to grow,"
Abayo Wilson taked communication:
"I believe one of the most important things as far as our defense goes is our trust in each other. When that trust builds up people become confident which in the end leads us to having good chemistry where we often know what the other person will do without communication."
Then he talked about the grind of the season:
"I think we have the potential to get very far which is why it is very important that we manage our fatigue smartly and focus on the task at hand. Getting to nationals was one of the goals, and I am convinced we sacrificed a lot to get there."
Then the MEC was talked about:
"I think the MEC has a lot of talented players and even if your team is the favorite in a certain match the league has shown no matter who you play you always have to give 100 percent. Many unexpected results prove how good this league is as a whole," Abayo Wilson said.
Kolar agreed:
"Overall, the competition in the MEC is good. There's a wide range in the level of how good the teams are. Every game we come in with the same mindset, which is to get three points and move on to the next one."
Kolar talked about the season of his goalie:
"It's been a quality season from Danilo thus far. Having him in goal gives us another level of trust when going against other good teams. We trust him with his saves and with his ball control on his feet."
Kolar talked the biggest improvement as a team:
"Biggest improvement as a team is staying consistent on what we know how to do. We are very good at a lot of things and sticking to them. Trying something new that doesn't work out sometimes hurts the team. As an individual keeping the same mindset throughout the entire year no matter what we come up against helps."
Then he talked about having new blood this season:
"Usually having new players isn't the best experience but for this group of players it's been refreshing and entertaining to watch what everyone can bring to the table."
Abayo Wilson talked about this team being separate from last year's:
"It does not matter what previous teams have achieved. That has nothing to do with this time around. We have to prove again this year that we are good enough to get back to where we were last year. There are always favorites and in many cases we are one of the teams that is the favorite. To win anything though, we have to be at our best no matter what previous teams have achieved."
Kolar gave the final thought:
"We believe we have the most underrated defense in the MEC. We have been consistently getting the job done the entire season. We have players on and off the field, and on the bench, that are also able to significantly help the defense win games."
Abayo Wilson, Kolar, and the rest of the NDC Men's Soccer Team head to Charleston, West Virginia as the #7 seed in Super Region One. The Falcons will take on the #10 seed Queens (NY) College at 12 PM tomorrow (11.16) at the Welch Athletic Complex. The winner of that match will take on the host University of Charleston on Saturday at 6 PM.
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