With 12 returning letterwinners from the program's most successful season since 1999, including 2004 Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year Alexis Solovij, coupled with the nation's 19th-best recruiting class according to SoccerBuzz, the SDSU women's soccer team looks poised to make a run for an NCAA tournament berth in 2005. Head coach Mike Giuliano enters his second season with the Aztecs after guiding Westmont College to four NAIA titles in his final five years at the school. In his 12 years of coaching at the NAIA and NCAA levels, he has never had a losing season. Solovij, a senior co-captain, earned all-MWC first team honors for the second straight season in 2004. Solovij anchored the defense, which surrendered only three goals in MWC play. Send your questions to coach Giuliano and Alexis now, then join them right here for the live chat on Monday, Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. PDT. | ||
| SDSU Moderator: We would like to welcome Mike Giuliano and Alexis Solovij to today's chat. Coach and Alexis will be to answer your questions for the next hour. | ||
| Mike (West Des Moines, Iowa): Congratulations on a great season last year. What do you see as the biggest difference or adjustment you have to make between coaching at the NAIA and NCAA levels? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: I think the game at this level is just faster and more physical, too. Frankly, I'm teaching the same things I taught at the NAIA level and it still seems to be working. | ||
Richard (Starkville, Miss.): Alexis - What do you and your teammates do during the summer to get ready for the season? | ||
| Alexis Solovij: We work out the whole summer. We lift weights and stay in shape throughout the summer. We also hang out off the field, too. It's important to balance both. | ||
| Steve (San Diego): Who will be your starting goalkeeper? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: We have many goalkeepers on our current roster. It is a week-by-week thing, but right now it is Christi Yount. She is doing a great job and is our starter right now. | ||
| Jason (San Diego): Alexis, what other sports do you play or what sports do you watch on TV? | ||
| Alexis Solovij: I don't play any other sports right now, but I played a lot when I was younger - hockey, basketball, wrestling. Soccer has always been my favorite. I love watching college football, soccer and basketball. | ||
| Jen (San Diego): Mike, do you feel any pressure this year after having such a surprising, yet successful 2004? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: The extra pressure is simply because of our great recruiting class added to excellent returners. I think any coach that is doing his/her job is expecting to do a better job than the year before. So, sure, I feel a little pressure. | ||
| Danny (Denver, Colorado): How many of the four girls from Colorado are going to see playing team this season? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: They are four of the most talented players, so if they do their job, they will play. | ||
| David (San Francisco): I am a long-time Aztec fan. Having seen the teams in the past, this looks like one of the better teams in a very long time. What are the chances this team will make the NCAA tournament this year? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: Considering that we came within one penalty kick from going last year, I'd be disappointed if we don't make it the NCAAs this year. But as Soccerbuzz reported this year, everybody in conference got better, so it's going to be tough. | ||
| Alexis Solovij: It's not only going to take work inside conference, but work outside confererence, too. If we can win non-conference games, that can only help us at our chance of going to NCAAs. | ||
| Diane (Poway): It looks like you are going to play a lot freshmen and transfers this season. How have they got along with the juniors and seniors so far? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: We started with a retreat to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, which really set us off to bond and become a unified team. So while there is stress about playing time this year, I see no evidence that they are taking it out on each other. They truly seem to enjoy one another. | ||
| Alexis Solovij: Also, I think this year is different than most years. The girls know what our goal is this year - to win conference and go to the NCAAs. If a freshman starts over a senior, the senior know if is for the betterment of the team. | ||
| Tiffany (Phoenix): Do you expect to score more than 17 goals this season? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: Is that a trick question? I'll make a guarantee that we score significantly more goals than that this year. | ||
| Todd (Pittsburgh): This question is for Alexis. Do you feel that you don't get enough recognition because you are a defender? | ||
| Alexis Solovij: I think I've received more recognition than I have ever asked for. I think I get plenty of recognition. | ||
| Andrew (Santa Monica): Mike, do you keep certain players on the field because they play better together or do you just play the best people all the time? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: There is something to be said for team chemistry on the field. We consider athletic ability, mental state, work rate and team chemistry. | ||
| Andrew (Santa Monica): Sorry, I have another question. It looks like you have a tough schedule this season. How do you think that will help you prepare for the Mountain West Conference? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: I have always tried to schedule the hardest teams I can find. The only way it can hurt you is if your team allows it to hurt their confidence. We're going to do our best to make sure that doesn't happen. | ||
| Joni (Oceanside): Alexis, do you get along with all of the players? | ||
| Alexis Solovij: Of course I do. They are my family here and I treat them with upmost of respect. We hang out and do things off the field all the time. We go to the beach and go to movies, too. I do everything with my teammates as if they were my sisters. | ||
| Randy (Brea): I watched your game at CS Fullerton. I thought your defense was amazing. They hardly got any good shots off and looked frustrated the whole game, especially at the end. Do you think other teams know how good your defense is or do they underestimate your team's capabilities? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: We make our defense a priority here, not just the backline, but in every part of defense. I thought our defense did a tremendous job of keeping things safe after the first 20 minutes. I think that CS Fullerton is going to go far this year, so that was even more remarkable for us. | ||
| Kevin (Berkeley): Any chance you will ever get lights at your field? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: Before I even took the job, I asked about that. Sometime in 2006 that should happen. | ||
| Dave (San Diego): I see that you guys are playing three tough opponents in a row on the road. Are you ready to play or would you have rather played these teams later in the season? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: I don't mind playing them early. I wish they weren't back-to-back with only a day off in between each game. | ||
| Alexis Solovij: It's a honor to play these top teams back-to-back. This week will be a test of our character. | ||
| Cody (Poway): This question is for both of you. Alexis, why did you choose San Diego State and Mike, why did you choose to coach at San Diego State? | ||
| Alexis Solovij: It was between San Diego State and UC Santa Barbara for me. I've always liked San Diego, the facilities are awesome I wanted to be away from home. It's far enough from home, yet close enough if I want to go back home for a weekend. | ||
| Coach Giuliano: There were some personal reasons. But the main soccer reason is that I thought SDSU could legitimally compete for a national title year-in and year-out. | ||
| SDSU Moderator: Keep the questions coming, coach and Alexis will be here for 20 more minutes. | ||
| Steve (Chicago): Alexis, this is your last season at SDSU. What are you plans after you graduate? Are you going to miss playing soccer in college? | ||
| Alexis Solovij: I haven't decided yet, I know I want to continue furthering my education. As far as soccer goes, I'll hopefully play in a semi-pro league. I feel sorry for people who don't get to play sports in college. I have so many memories that I'll take with me for the rest of my life. People know me as a soccer player, so it will be different changing my identity for a little while. | ||
| Dustin (San Diego): Alexis, I have to know what is your favorite late-night snack? Thank you so much for taking my question! | ||
| Alexis Solovij: Doritos is my favorite snack. | ||
| Tim: I was at the game yesterday and have some thoughts of my own... but how would rate the officiating at the college level? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: Very, very, very good. I think the officiating is outstanding. In 17 years as a head coach, I've never seen an official's call decide a game, but it does have influence on a game. | ||
| Robbie (Redondo Beach): How many players go on the road trips? Do they all play? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: 22 players travel and in our first road game, we played 20 players. | ||
| Fred (San Diego): How important is having a women's professional league in the U.S. to the growth of college soccer? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: College soccer was growing by leaps and bounds long before WUSA started. Although we would love to see WUSA return, college soccer is healthy and has a bright future. | ||
Scott (San Diego): Coach, Are there any inspirational messages you like to give the team to keep them motivated? As an aspiring coach, I'd like to know how you keep a team ready to play in the middle of the season, without sounding like a broken record. Thank you for taking the time to answer. Go Aztecs! | ||
| Coach Giuliano: In terms of motivation, one of our keys is that we make gratefulness one of the key virtues on team life. Thankful people are content people and thankful people are self-motivated people. | ||
| Coach Giuliano: In terms of stories, tell your players about Victor Frankel, a POW in World War II. He teaches us how to be grateful even in difficult times. | ||
| Kyle (Escondido, CA): Coach Guiliano,what has your first year of coaching at SDSU taught you, if anything? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: It taught me I made the right decision to take the job. I truly miss my life back in Santa Barbara, but I'm having the time of my life. | ||
| Todd Poughkeepsie: How are the freshmen looking so far? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: Six of them have earned starting jobs and nine of them are getting playing time already. We are very pleased with their progress. | ||
| Greg (Chicago): I went to SDSU and am a huge fan. Obviously you have opened with a pair of wins. Are you happy with the way the team is playing? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: To be perfectly honest, I wasn't terribly happy with the NAU game, but was thrilled with how we were able to come back in the closing minutes. I think this can be a very special year if we keep getting better every game. | ||
| SDSU Moderator: We'll be taking one more question! | ||
| Jess (Orem, Utah): Are you going to beat Portland on Friday? | ||
| Coach Giuliano: When you are playing Soccer America's No. 1 ranked team in the nation, all I can guarantee is that we will offer every ounce of ability and work rate for 90 minutes. | ||
| SDSU Moderator: All right, that's all the time we have. Thanks for joining us and hopefully we'll see you tomorrow! | ||
| Coach Giuliano: Thanks for having us! | ||
| Alexis Solovij: Thanks everybody! | ||
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