Now entering his second season with the University of South Alabama soccer program, head coach Richard Moodie went 14-6-1 overall in 2017 and led the Jaguars to a fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The 2018 roster required an overhaul, as USA must replace six starters and 10 letterwinners with 13 newcomers. Moodie spoke to USAJaguars.com about having so many new players, as well as his goals for the year and his thoughts on last season.

When you look back on last season, what's the biggest thing that stands out?
The commitment and the relentlessness of the group that we had. I think they were willing to do whatever it took to win games and they knew how to win games because we are such an experienced group last year. It was amazing and a pleasure to be a part of it all. That's what stood out the most, just a group of individuals that collectively knew how to get the job done.

What were some of the highlights for you?
Outside of individual performances, there's obviously some games that stick out in my mind. The game at home against Appalachian State was a season changer for us at a point where we felt like nothing could go right. We end up scoring in the last minute and 30 seconds to go into extra time, and Kory Dixon, who went on to have an impact on the program that season, scored to win it. That was a game that changed us. There were a lot of games in between but I think even the game at home against Little Rock, a game that we probably shouldn't have won but ended up winning because things were swinging our way. Then we go to the tournament and have the most goals ever scored in a (Sun Belt) tournament, and the most goals ever scored in a final. I think at that point, the girls just looked way too experienced for the other teams in the conference. I'd be lying if I didn't say the Coastal Carolina five-nil thrashing in the final wouldn't be one that stands out because that was that was an enjoyable day for everyone.

You started off 0-4 last year. You knew it was going to be a tough start going into the season, but you went 14-1-1 after that. How did you keep everybody's head straight and going in the right direction even losing your first four games?
We're not made to beat Power 5 schools, but do we think we can beat them? Absolutely. Do we know we can beat them? Absolutely. We've beaten them before. So for us I think there's the bigger picture, like what we're competing for. We know that even when we lose those games, we have to be competitive in the conference. To be competitive in the conference, you have to play teams that are better than the teams in our conference. So when you can hang with the Florida States, Ole Misses and Alabamas of this world, then you stand a good chance to be competitive in the conference. Even then, when we were 0-4 and couldn't get an at-large bid, we knew we had to win the tournament. I think realistically that's something that's always achievable because once you get into the Sun Belt Tournament, it's just three games to get you to the NCAAs. It's important that the team stays focused on the big prize and knowing that there's always something to play for all the way through to the end of the season. We did a good job as a staff keeping them together but I thought the girls did a really good job. They knew what the games helped them do and help them become, and it was always a reference point throughout the season. So we could always come back to it and use it to reinforce what we were trying to do in the moment, and that was win the conference and win the tournament.

What was the biggest takeaway from your first year that you can apply going forward as a coach?
I still don't think the football's that different. I think the athleticism and the individual ability is far greater. Some of the individuals that we came against last year were just phenomenal athletes. But I think the game as a whole is higher tempo and faster tempo. What could I take away from it? I think we had the tendency to overthink it too much. So for instance, we're going into the game against Auburn and we're tactically trying to adjust to cater to them instead of us just saying, Let's go and do what we do. Five minutes and two goals later, we're looking at each other scratching our head, thinking we probably overthought it. From that day, we just we stopped overthinking and we just kind of went in with the same plan in mind that we were always going to play. So I think for us, staying focused on our girls and the way we play, how we want to perform and how that looks like, I think that's the most important thing I took out of it because we have a tendency to just overthink everything.

What are your goals for the season?
Our vocal goals are we want to win the conference, we want to win the conference tournament and we want to get past the second round of NCAA Tournament. That is been our Achilles Heel for a number of years and as we try to take this program farther than it ever has been; that's always the goal in the locker room. I would even expand that and say we want to win the Jag Cup again. We try to be competitive in every area of our life, on the field and off the field. Then ultimately, our goal as well is to improve the overall team GPA, which amongst a successful season, not many people would know that our GPA was climbing as well, and these student-athletes were working on and off the field. In terms of soccer, no doubt we want to come in and win the conference with what would be a really young group and I think if we can do that and win the tournament, we can establish ourselves and be set up for the next three to four years with a lot of youth in the ranks. It'll be really exciting to see how the young student-athletes will cope with that.

Last year you had to replace a lot on defense, this year you have to replace a lot on offense. Do you try to approach that with the same mentality this year as you did last year?
Yeah I think so. We're trying to buy goals from everywhere and we maybe went a little top heavy with the attacking-minded players because your big fear is, where are the goals going to come from? Defensively, we're always going to be sound with a Hannah Godfrey and Justice Stanford. We've added three new fullbacks from last year, which if you watch our first five or six games, we must have played with eight different full backs. Now I feel like we've kind of locked that position down. When you look offensively, trying to replace a Chelsea (Followwell), Danielle (Henley), Chardé (Hannah) and Rio (Hardy), you're like, how do we do it? They want to be successful and hungry and that was a big factor in what we were recruiting: players that want to be competitive. We've got a whole bunch of them that share that goal. They want to be competitive whether it's with each other or together as a team.

What was your recruiting strategy knowing you had so many seniors to replace?
We start looking at templates; I call it the template of success. Find out what's been successful and try to match those players to that individual's ability. So we start looking at saying, how can we get a better Danielle Henley? Well we know what she can offer to the game. She's creative, she's unpredictable, she's a workhorse and a leader. I need a player that can fit that mold, whether that's year one, two or three. We've got to bring in a kid that's going to be that, or better, so we have standards. So I think that became a focal point and knowing what has been successful for the last four or five years and make sure we keep we keep building on that.

Do you look at this year's freshman class as a way to put your stamp on this program as opposed to inheriting a senior-heavy team?
The thing that scares you with the recruiting class is we've got so much quality individually, that collectively as a group you try to figure out what it looks like. Have we done a good job recruiting? I would argue yes. Can we manage to bring them together in such a short period of time get them play and a unified style of soccer? To be continued, but all in all, we're excited about the class. We feel like we've done a good job. When we first got the job, the 2018 class was already recruited and verbally committed. That's why we're top heavy with internationals. This year, yes, is an opportunity for me to say these are my players, but then I think the years to come, 2019 and 2020 will be even better because we lost two years of recruiting through the transition of coaches, which is unfortunate, but there's no excuses from us. This is a great group of student-athletes. They're as good as anybody that has played in this program. I think we'll be excited to watch them play together.

How do you approach the season differently with so many freshmen as opposed to last year when you had a lot of seniors?
You use the returners as a crutch. We rely heavily on the girls that have been here; they know what it takes to win. They know what it takes at practice and we're familiar to them; it's not a new coaching staff. So I think you'll lean on them and with the leadership, you've got Hannah Godfrey, who's our captain, and you've got a Justice Stanford, who we're going to make a vice captain. Those two are going to bridge the gap and help the others catch up. We are bringing in a lot of freshmen but every international we've got has been capped for their country. If you're talking about playing at the top level, you're bringing in a whole bunch that have played at the top level, at least within their country. We couldn't have done a better job in that regard.

What are some of your biggest concerns going into this season?
Staying fit and staying healthy. Outside of that, it's always your biggest fear when half of the group is new and the half the group are returners. You want to make sure that the girls can get together, the locker room can mesh and we can just focus on playing soccer. That's always the hardest thing in a program because all the way up until August 8, it's all sunshine and rainbows, and as soon as you pick the first lineup, that's when the players start reading into it. You hope that everyone can find their role. We're all fighting for the common goal of the team.
 
Who do you see making a jump of going from a reserve to being a major contributor?
Briana Morris would be one. Briana Morris was fantastic this spring. This summer she played in the WPSL and was third in the country at one point for scoring goals. She really stood out to me. Ana Helmert is another one. We didn't get to see Ana Helmert last year, and this spring she was phenomenal. She played against some tough competition and did fantastically. Deanna Green, although she featured towards the end of the season, we didn't really get true sign of who she was. Deanna is someone that I think will play a significant role on the team. I'm eager to see how Abigail Mills will show up. She came in last year with a lot on her mind and got injured; now she's back to health. She's got the ability. I'd even argue, although she wasn't in the reserves, I think we're still yet to see the best of Justice Stanford. She's got big goals and she's going to have a great year.

What areas do you want to see improvement from?
We are looking at stats and overall we seemed to do all right. You'd always like to score more goals, you'd always like to concede less. That's a recipe for success. But we didn't convert our chances like we should. I look at how many shots hit the target and how many goals we scored, and this team always had a problem with our conversion rate. We scored a lot of penalties, but then you take a look at how many corners we got last year and how many we converted. You're looking at games in the World Cup and you're like, you just need one chance to score. I'd like to see us be a little more clinical in the final third. Instead of creating as many chances – it's good to create chances – if we could fight to create chances and pick that moment, I think we'll be good. That's something I'd like to improve on – creating goal-scoring opportunities that are genuine and trying to convert them. The set-piece thing is always going to be an issue for me because when you play against a Florida State or Alabama, it's the 89th minute and you've got a free kick or a corner and you can work something, that's worth it.

Who are going to be your leaders?
Hannah and Justice will be the big ones. I always hate to answer these questions because I look to all the upperclassmen. I think that anybody that's returning in this locker room from the year before, they're the ones that we'll look up to, because they're essentially the girls that will lead the group. So anybody with that status of sophomore and above, they're the ones that are responsible for making sure that this thing ticks, and what they allow and don't allow in that locker room; that's on them. What we allow and don't allow to happen on that field, that's going to be on them too. We've got to set standards as a program. We spoke to them last spring about that so we'll see what happens, but I think everybody will be looked at as leadership.

What newcomers do you feel like will contribute right away?
I think it's hard to say that Brenna McPartlan wouldn't. Olivia Wilkes is a naturally left-footed left back, which we didn't have last year. Olivia is a phenomenal player; she'll be a big player for us. Moa Öhman and Ellie Kane – we lost everything in the midfield so we're starting over. When it comes to scoring goals, I'm looking at Brianna Mascia and Morgan Cross as two that score goals. Both are really young and it'll be interesting to see how they take to this. I think all of those newcomers are going to do well, but I picked a few that I think would statistically would help our performances, not to say that everyone else won't.

What are your thoughts after one season in the Sun Belt Conference?
I think it's competitive as all get out. I think that people are tired of South Alabama winning the conference and you can see that when you play; they're always that 10 percent extra. But I think that it's a competitive conference and I think it's a conference on the up, because more teams in our conference are playing the higher-RPI teams and that's been a big plea from the Sun Belt. Overall we're going to start seeing that reflected nationally in the rankings. I don't think there's an easy game and I think that that's a sign of a good conference. Nobody is week-in and week-out getting battered, four- or five-nil in the regular season. I've learned a lot from this past year. I've learned what the level is and what it can be. Also, there's a lot of new coaches that are going to come in and put their stamp on their program. Teams and coaching styles will differ, and as I inherited a program, so did other coaches. Overall it's a fantastic conference and it's one that we should be very privileged to be a part of. To say we've won it the last four years is amazing because it is a competitive conference. I think that a lot of teams are sniffing around now that South Alabama is losing all of these seniors and we will be expected to not do well this year, and I'm going to tell my group that it's the absolute opposite. We're expected to defend what all these student-athletes have done for this program over the last four or five years.

Who do you think will be the teams to beat?
I think Troy will be good this year. I think Ged (O'Connor) will do a good job recruiting like he always has. I think Texas State, if they can stick together, will be good. They had some good little pieces to continue to be good. I'd be not much a friend if I didn't say Little Rock will be much improved. I think (former USA assistant) Mark (Foster) is a great coach. I think that he can do a lot with very little and he's done that his whole life from the school he came from (Trevecca Nazarene). That's what you kind of specialize in when you come from the Division II world. Georgia Southern surprised us towards the end (of the season). I even think Georgia State will be much better. I think Troy will be the probably the most improved and even though they finished third, that'll be a team that's really trying to compete to do well this year.

What are your overall thoughts on the schedule?
I inherited a schedule that I didn't make, but there's no excuses. We love it and we've got to enjoy it. If you're a player and you don't want to play in those games, then you don't belong at South Alabama. You want to be a part of the big games and you've got to want to be competing at the top level against the best players. I think that is a massive recruiting tool. But I don't feel that we need to be playing as many top-50 programs as we are. I think that it does help us and it does better us. But when you look at Ole Miss, LSU, Mississippi State, a much-improved Florida State and Alabama, you're sitting here like, this is crazy. But all in all, you've got to be excited for it. Part of the reason why I wanted to come to South Alabama was to play that schedule.

Is there a non-conference game you're looking forward to more than the others?
UAB is a good one, not because it's an in-state rival, but because it's the first game of the season. You're always looking forward to that first game of the season. There's not one game that sticks out. Any opportunity that we get to play out of conference, we've got to use it to grow as a team. I would say that I'd like to get an SEC team in the win column for us here this this fall. We'll see them all as the same opportunity

Moodie's thoughts on…
Goalkeeper
We've got a new addition in Ailey Tebbett that came from Florida. She's added some good competition. Some of the goalkeepers have trained together in the summertime in the WPSL, but it would be crazy to sit here and say any different than we're expecting Justice Stanford to come in and be the No. 1, because she has been. But I would say, that when we left here last spring, we've got Laurie Graves, who looks so much more conditioned and she's played all summer long. She needed playing time. You've got Ailey Tebbett, who's just this outsider who's coming into the mix. It's been really healthy for all three because it's going to be so competitive, but Justice has the No. 1 jersey, and right now it's on the other two to try and take it away from her.

Center back
We've got players that can play there out of position, but right now we've got Hannah Godfrey, the (Sun Belt) defensive player of the year, and we've Anita (Ágústsdóttir), who we feel can play in that role with her. If not Anita, we've got two or three that could play out of position. For instance, Ellie Kane could sit in there and Kileigh Whited could play there; we have so many options, but the center back combination of Hannah and Anita was something we tried all spring. They can get the job done without a doubt. Whoever plays next to Hannah is going to be educated. She can talk anybody through a game, even somebody who's never played the sport.

Outside back
I think Deanna Green is one of the most improved players in this team coming out of the spring, and we added Gracie East, a transfer from Mississippi State who is phenomenal player and had a huge impact in the spring. Many would argue that she was our best player against LSU. Then you add two new fullbacks in Kileigh Whited and Olivia Wilkes and you start saying wow, we've got options right now, to not only play a Friday game at a high tempo and start throwing numbers forward, but even on a Sunday you could do the same thing. It's not that we want to get into any form of rotation – the best players always play – but we're very deep at those positions. I've watched the first five games from last year and we put two new fullbacks in every game. At Florida State we played with three right backs because we couldn't get anybody playing the position.

Defensive midfielder
I'll be interesting to see how that pans out because you've got Julianna Abrams, who had a really good spring; she played every minute of every game. Helene (Schjelderup) is coming in from a top level. Helene is small, she's meticulous and you can't get near her. The ball is in and out of her feet before you can even get near her. Ellie Kane is everything you could want in a center midfielder as well. I think those three will be the candidates.

Center midfielder
Helene, Moa, Brenna, Ana and Ellie can all play that position. Julianna and Ana were the only two returning and anyone new can fit into those positions. We signed Moa to come in and fit into that position to connect the midfield with the final third; it's something she does very well. Brenna is a monster in the middle of the park; she also can connect and she's box to box. We've got a lot of pieces that we just have to figure out what fits together best.

Forwards
Ana Helmert becomes a candidate for a number nine. We really liked her in the spring. Moa, Morgan Cross and Brianna Mascia can also become candidates for the number nine. The way that I've always coached it and play it, but couldn't really do it last year, was interchanging with the front five. You've also got Kory Dixon and Abigail Mills that can come in and play these positions. It'll be exciting to see what we've got. There are a couple that could be a surprise, like Jess Garey, who can absolutely zing a ball; it's scary. But if I could put the first name on the team sheet, it would be Kory Dixon, because you know what you get with her and she had a great summer playing with her WPSL team that lost in the national final.

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