SEASON PREVIEW: Forwards
8/11/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 11, 2011
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The forwards kick off the 2011 men's soccer season preview. A first team All-ACC selection in 2010, senior Casey Townsend breaks down his role as captain and who may replace Jason Herrick as his potential running mate.
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"It's really hard to believe [I'm a senior already]. It flew by and now I only have a couple months left. I'm looking forward to helping the younger guys mature and become better players because I know a lot of them are probably going to be looking up to us which is going to be nice. I'm going to give [the younger players] some guidance and maybe lead by example so they can carry on the Maryland tradition."
On climbing the record books and individual expectations:
"That would be great to maybe break into the record books a little bit, but that's not really my primary concern. I would love to go out with another national championship more than [breaking records]. In terms of my individual goals, I would love to have another great season. I plan on going on to play professionally so hopefully if I have a good season that will help. But as a team, I hope to win a national championship and another ACC championship ahead of my individual accolades."
On his increased role at forward with Jason Herrick graduating:
"I think I've got to be a little bit more of a voice on the field. [Jason Herrick] kind of took that role upon himself in terms of telling players where they need to be or things like that, so I need to take a little bit more of that responsibility on my shoulders. [Herrick] taught me a lot in terms of leadership and hopefully I can carry that on, but he's leaving a big hole. He's going to be a big hole to fill, he was a great leader."
On players that can step up at forward:
"We have a have a couple of other good forwards [that can step up]. Between Matt Oduaran, Patrick Mullins, and Jordan Cyrus, they're all capable of different things and they should all have an equal opportunity to play because they're all great players. They all bring something different and had great summers, so it will be interesting to see who's playing up top."
On team expectations:
"Well, I think we're going to be really good. I think there are a lot of players that in the past maybe haven't gotten time because of players ahead of them or coming in as freshman. A lot of the fans and the media haven't seen these players play, but they're just as good if not better than players that have come through here in the past. So I'm expecting us to compete for the national championship and I think people are going to be surprised by how good we really are."
On the schedule:
"I think the Creighton game will be interesting and you always look forward to the Virginia, Duke, and North Carolina games. Those ones are always highlighted on my schedule."
On what he will miss most about Ludwig Field:
"[I'm going to miss] the fans. The fans are incredible. They've been behind us incredibly ever since I've gotten here and that's just the main thing, the fans. They always come out to support us and we can't thank them enough for their support and I'm just really going to miss that."
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