WASHINGTON – After the Georgetown University women's soccer team was ranked No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason poll and was unanimously voted the BIG EAST preseason favorite last week, Head Coach Dave Nolan has a lot to look forward to this season. He is coming off of the program's most successful season to date as the Hoyas finished 21-1-3 last season, three-peated the BIG EAST Championship and claimed the BIG EAST Regular Season Champion title for the second year in a row. To add to the success, he coached three All-Americans, the first-ever MAC Hermann Trophy finalist in program history, and was named the United Soccer Coaches National Coaching Staff of the Year. Nolan and his squad are looking to head to the College Cup for the third time in four years after earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament last year and making it to the semifinals.
GUHoyas.com was able to catch up with Nolan during the preseason to reflect on last season and what he hopes to see this upcoming year.
GUHoyas: Having won three-consecutive BIG EAST Championships and advanced to two College Cups in the past three years, how are you planning on approaching this year?
Nolan: As a coaching staff, we don't really set particular goals along those lines every year. Rather, we focus on the performance goal of simply getting better every practice, every day and every week. The success we have had over the last four to five years has required incredible hard work by the players, good organization and motivation by the staff, and also a little bit of good luck and, in particular, a lack of bad luck. The coaches preach to the players to control what we can control and see where that takes us. We always insist on their best. Funny enough, the 2017 group, sandwiched by two College Cup teams, may have been the best team we ever had. A tough NCAA draw at Wake Forest resulted in a loss on penalty kicks and that was a group I felt was fantastic and left everything on the field. As a result, the staff is very proud of that group.
The Hoyas have been to the College Cup twice in the last three years. What has this success meant to the program?
It means we get everybody's best effort in every contest against us. We certainly can't sneak up on anybody and we have the pressure to perform every day. That's real pressure and it's something that this group has to embrace if we are to be successful. On a plus side, it helps us when we try to recruit some of the top players in the country. The combination of top academics and being on a beautiful campus, along with the chance to compete for a national championship, means that we get in the door with most recruits.
You've lost some outstanding seniors from last year. How important is it for the returning players to step up this season and fill those shoes?
Last year's group was led by an outstanding bunch of players both on and off the field. They set the tone and led by example. The torch has now been handed over to this year's older players, and hopefully they will have learned a lot by the success they have had these last three years, and more importantly, have the hunger to repeat it.
Georgetown has seen a lot of success in the BIG EAST in the past few years, winning three-straight championships and back-to-back regular season titles. How challenging is the conference?
The BIG EAST is a very underrated conference and every game is a real dog fight. I would go as far as to say that some of our BIG EAST games were far tougher than some of our NCAA tournament games, especially in the early rounds. In particular, every road game presents challenges in terms of travel and facilities and having a bullseye on our back. There are no easy conference games and now, with the return of UConn in 2020, it just got harder.
From a scheduling standpoint, you have challenged your team with some of the best teams on the regional and national level. What does that do for the program?
The real fun in college soccer is measuring yourself against the best. We have a team that loves to do so and it also helps us when we get results against these teams when the NCAA selection committee sets out seeds and home field advantage. The success we have had means that we have plenty of top teams looking to play us so they can measure themselves against the best. This year is no different.
Last season in the NCAA Tournament, you were able to play almost every game on Shaw Field. How important was that to you and the team?
Shaw Field is a huge home field advantage. Our players love to play there in front of our own fans. I believe we have only lost one game there in the past three seasons which speaks volumes for how comfortable we are on our grass. Shaw Field has to be one of the best environments in college soccer and this summer, again, we are making huge improvements with new drainage and a brand new field.
What makes it special to be able to play at Georgetown?
Through all the hard work by the players and all the staff, we have created a unique culture where we really enjoy each other's company and motivating each other to give our best to the benefit of the group. We have a lot of fun and that is the key.
What are you looking forward to the most this season?
I am really looking forward to seeing who steps up this year. Last year, Caitlin Farrell emerged as one of the top attacking players in the country, while Meaghan Nally emerged as an All-American defender. We have other great players who I expect to shine as bright this season. For example, Paula Germino-Watnick and Kelly Ann Livingstone are two players who I am confident will join Nally as some of the top players in college soccer.
Hoya fans can join in on the action on August 22 when the Blue & Gray kick off the 2019 season at James Madison at 7 p.m.
