Making Her Mark
September 05, 2007 09:11 PM | General
September 5, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After three years as a solid contributor in the West Virginia women’s soccer program, Kiley Harris is hoping to make her mark in her final season in Morgantown.
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| Kiley Harris is proud of the fact that she is playing in a women's soccer program that has made seven straight trips to the NCAA tournament.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
The senior forward has started 14 career matches for the Mountaineers and begins the 2007 season as one of the first players off the bench. While she is still competing for a starting job, the Cicero, Ind., native says she has embraced her role as a sparkplug off the bench.
“I’ll take my role right now. Every team needs that energy off the bench,” Harris said. “My goal when I came in is to provide a spark and some momentum and to help the team in any way that I can.”
West Virginia began the season last weekend beating Bowling Green, 4-0 at home on Friday night before falling 3-0 at ninth-ranked Virginia on Sunday afternoon.
“I thought we played really well against Bowling Green. I think we played a little nervous against Virginia and we are a much better team than we showed there,” Harris said. “I’m looking forward to coming out this weekend and showing what we can do against Rhode Island and Penn State."
The Mountaineers will host the Rams Friday evening before battling No. 15 Penn State on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Nittany Lions are the second of seven ranked teams West Virginia will face this year.
“Penn State is always a huge rival for us so we will be pumped to play them,” Harris said. “They play good soccer so it should be a pretty good match. Penn State plays an attacking, quick style of soccer.”
Harris sensed her team was a bit uptight at UVa and contends that to excel against ranked teams in the future, the Mountaineers need to simply relax and approach it as any other match.
“It’s hard because we’re trying to stay ranked, too. We want to be one of the top teams in the country so it’s good that we are playing these ranked teams because it’s an opportunity to show how good we are,” Harris said. “You try not to think a lot about the ranking. You just have to approach it like it’s any other team.”
Harris enjoys the challenge the 2007 schedule presents and believes it will make the team battle tested for the postseason.
“I really enjoy it as a player. I’d rather play a Penn State than some easy team that we could beat 4-0. Playing an easy team doesn’t tell us how good we are or prepare us for the postseason,” Harris said. “Playing a Penn State or a Virginia or a Texas A&M is a competitive challenge and it gives us a chance to show people how we can play.”
The fact the West Virginia can play is hardly a secret anymore. The No. 23 Mountaineers have appeared in seven consecutive NCAA tournaments -- a statistic that Harris takes a lot of pride in.
“To get in seven straight times is great for the school and obviously it’s great for us,” Harris said. “Getting into the NCAA tournament is the best time of the year.”
In addition to defending the BIG EAST American division crown, Harris hopes the Mountaineers can win the BIG EAST tournament on their home field and then make a deep run into the NCAA tournament. West Virginia will serve as the host school for the Big East tournament for the first time in school history on Nov. 9-11.
“Everybody wants to win the BIG EAST tournament. We are at home and we don’t want anyone else winning on our field,” Harris said. “We also want to go as far as possible in the NCAA tournament.”
To accomplish those goals, Harris says the Mountaineers will have to be on the correct side of a fine line that separates winning and losing in the postseason.
“It’s just going to take hard work and focus. We just need to be confident in ourselves and believe that we can do it,” Harris said. “We work so hard and we need to prove it on the field.”
Harris views the 2007 season as an opportunity to make a lasting mark on the West Virginia program. She says it feels like just yesterday she arrived on the campus as a wide-eyed freshman just trying to contribute. Harris plans to savor every moment on the pitch this fall.
“West Virginia was my first official visit and I loved it. I loved the team, I loved the atmosphere and I loved the college town,” Harris said. “I feel like I was just in the dorms yesterday and now I’m getting ready to graduate. People tell you to treasure it while you can and you really should.”
