How young were you when you started to play soccer?
I started playing soccer when I was 4.
 
How did you become involved with it?
I played soccer at the YMCA when pretty much all kids play soccer, and when I was 10 I stopped playing all other sports and switched from recreational soccer to club soccer.
 
When you started playing, were you a field player or were you in goal?
I played on the field as a center midfielder until I was 12, when I had to get knee surgery. After my recovery, I came back as a goalie and never looked back
 
What led to the decision to be a goalie?
I was always the tallest player on all of my teams, so when I was younger and we were winning games by a lot, I would always go in goal for fun. Around the time I had to get knee surgery, my team was looking for a new goalie and my coach said that he thought I could be really good. I thought I'd give it a shot because I wanted to do what was best for my team, and ended up loving it and sticking with it.
 
An opposing coach said that 'shot stoppers are a dime a dozen. The best goalies rule their penalty areas.' How do you go about ruling that area?
For me, communication and trust with my teammates are really important. Defenders feel much more confident when they feel like they have a decisive goalkeeper behind them. I try to focus on active and purposeful communication with my teammates, making sure everyone feels like they have the information they need in order to make the right decisions on and off the ball.

 
You had an interesting season as a first-year: your second career start was against #4 Hardin-Simmons, two weeks later at #2 William Smith, then three weeks later vs. #1 Washington-St. Louis. That was some beginning, wasn't it?
Yes, it was! I was nervous for sure, but I took it as a challenge and an opportunity to prove to myself and everyone around me that I was ready to take on the challenges of a collegiate soccer environment. Beating William Smith was a huge confidence boost for me and the entire team, and set the stage for our NCAA tournament qualifying season!  
 
The opposition starts to rush down the field towards your goal. What are you focusing on?
As the other team advances towards my goal, I focus my attention on communicating with my teammates to make sure everyone is in the right position and doing their job. As the last line of defense, I see the field differently than everyone else and it is my responsibility to communicate that so that everyone is on the same page.  
 
Did you make any adjustments in your style as a player between first-year and sophomore seasons?
In the spring after my first-year season, the team began to focus more of our attention on possessing the ball in our attack. In the springtime we mainly practice indoors, and playing in such small spaces really promotes practicing this possession-style of play. As goalkeeper, I start the attack, so moving into my sophomore season I focused on utilizing different kinds of distribution depending on what would be best to keep the ball and advance our attack. Instead of punting the ball every time down the field, targeting a forward, I began to distribute to the backline with either a throw or pass, and allowing the team to maintain possession and work the ball up the field. 
 
Your club team was Florida Celtic SC and you reached the Florida State Semifinals just before you came to UR. Largo is on the Gulf Coast. Where did your club matches take you?
Since there are a lot of clubs in Florida, we played all our games in the state, travelling to places as far north as Jacksonville and as far south as Miami. My club is associated with Celtic FC, a professional team in Scotland, and when I was 13 we had the opportunity to travel there to train, see games and explore Glasgow as a team. It was definitely a highlight of my club career.
 
Is there a game from either your first or second year that sticks out in your mind?
Though our win against #1 ranked William Smith my sophomore year will also mean so much to me, our overtime win against Brandeis that year sticks out in my mind. It was senior day and one of my closest friends on the team (senior Jorie Freitag) sang the national anthem before the game. As if the team wasn't already hyped up enough, that got everyone so pumped and we knew there was no way we were going to lose that game. Scoring in overtime and dog piling on the field was an awesome moment and one I will never forget.
 
When you are home, do you plan to work with any youth programs – coaching, counseling, working behind the scenes, etc.? What do you like about doing that?
Since I started college, every time I am home for break I do private coaching sessions with kids ages 8-16. I've always loved working with kids, and after working as a summer camp counselor for two years, I knew I wanted to continue to. Coaching is the perfect balance of working with kids and being able to stay connected to the game, and this is something I hope to continue doing after college.
 
When did the first contact come from the University of Rochester?
I discovered the University of Rochester at a college fair, and after talking to the UofR representative there, I knew that the school would be a great fit. Knowing I wanted to play soccer in college, I reached out to Coach Sike (Dardaganis) with my highlight tape and was able to attend the ID summer camp before my senior year. After the camp, I was offered a spot on the team and accepted in October of my senior year.
 
What convinced you to attend?
On paper, the UofR is a perfect fit for me. The combination of its prestigious and challenging academic programs with a highly competitive soccer environment made it extremely attractive to me; however, what really convinced me to attend was the culture of the team. On my visit, everyone was extremely welcoming to me, and I could tell how much everyone cared about one another. It was an environment I wanted to be a part of and after my visit, I knew this was where I was meant to be.
 
What interested you about data science as a major?
Data science is a combination of coursework in statistics, computer science and math. Math has always been my favorite subject ever since elementary school, and though I had no experience in programming coming into college, the problem-solving and analytical aspect of it makes it extremely interesting to me. I like this field because every industry, from healthcare to government to business, utilizes this kind of work. I am excited to explore different domains and find a path where I can combine multiples of my different interests.