On paper, the 2014 season seemed to be filled with disappointment for Oregon men’s club soccer. The Ducks finished with a 6-6-2 record, much lower than they had predicted in the preseason. But, accounting for the rash of injuries that struck the squad and looking at its deep postseason run, the team played at a much higher level than the numbers showed. Freshman starting goalkeeper Mak Lindquist, a Eugene native, took the time to sit down with the Emerald to share his views on both the team and his first season as a Duck.
What’s it like getting to play in your hometown?
It’s a lot of fun representing the University of Oregon. It’s a great honor.
And now, your first season is complete. How do you think it went?
The season went well in a couple of different categories, mainly in our resilience. We didn’t have a lot of guys for a lot of games, so we had some younger players step up into bigger roles, which is huge for us. As far as our league play went, we didn’t succeed as well as we wanted to. We didn’t win the league, which was a goal of ours.
But, you did make it to postseason play.
We got to the semifinals in the National Cup in Memphis. We got out of the group stage as the lowest seeded team and then beat the highest seeded team in the quarterfinals, advancing to the semifinals where we lost to the University of Central Florida.
How about you personally, how do you feel you played?
I felt like I developed as a player. The game started to slow down for me, which is important as a goalkeeper. I felt like I became a more experienced player — a more veteran player. Not someone who will make a ton of saves, but someone who will do the little things.
What are some of those little things?
Communication with your team, distribution of the ball, keeping control of the flow of the game and keeping tempo in our favor.
Was there pressure being a freshman in a leadership role as starting keeper?
I would say I fit in well. There are a number of guys from my high school who I played with on the club team, such as Luke Connolly and Daley Stevens. I felt like I was accepted, though there definitely was a bit of pressure to succeed and fill the role of former goalkeepers.
Was there a favorite moment that stood out to you?
Yeah, when we beat the No. 1 seed Northeastern in our tournament in Memphis. That was huge for us. We went down 1-0 in the first half on an own goal. In the second half, we came back and Alex (Riley) got the game-tying goal and Henry Fassinger got the winner.
Sounds like a great game for the team.
It was, especially since we didn’t have any subs.
Injuries seemed to be a real issue for you this year.
We have some technical players who can really control the ball, which draws a lot of fouls. So there were definitely a ton of injuries from players getting tackled and things like that.
How about you, any injuries?
No, no, no, I was able to stay healthy — knock on wood.
Do you plan on sticking with this team for all four years of college?
Yeah, I would say that is my plan.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur