Erin Scott enters her junior year at Campbell University, after transferring out from Creighton last semester. Click here to read about Erin's transfer process or read up on other goalkeepers in the college game.
Goalkeepers are typically looked at as a leader of a team, whether it’s with the captain’s armband or being the one who organizes the team out of the back. How are you handling transferring to a new team but also leading your team as a goalkeeper?
I can honestly say transferring to Campbell was the best thing that could have happened to me. Right when I got here for preseason, everything truly felt right. Things starting clicking on and off the field and everything just felt extremely right, which I am very grateful for because that is not always the case for transfer situations. This is a really special group of girls; they are truly some of my best friends already. It makes it so much easier to be successful on the field together, when we get along as well as we do off of the field. There is a great level of competition at training as well. We truly have our sights set on our end goal and we are doing everything we can to make sure we come out to practice each day and get better.
I think that whenever you come into a new program you must prove yourself first and gain the trust and respect of your teammates. Of course, there is always room for improvement but I have been doing everything I can in training to get better, and with that I make those around me better. It was hard to me to relax and get rid of the initial nerves at first but once I settled down and became comfortable with the team I was finally able to gain that confidence I needed and play to the level that I am capable of. One of the biggest roles a goalkeeper has on the field is communication. So regardless I think being vocal out of the back naturally gives a goalkeeper leadership-filled position.
What’s the goal for this fall to be able to look back and say this was a successful season?
We have set very high standards for ourselves in training and in games and having these high standards will make it second nature to push ourselves to reach our goals. We are really taking it one week at a time and focusing on the short-term goal, which is winning games. I think we have had a great mentality going into games, we truly play every game as if it were a championship game, so when we are called to play in an important game like that we will be more than ready.
It is awesome to see this team develop, more specifically our freshmen have been playing great this year. Certain freshman are truly making a big impact on the game which is inspiring. We are currently 3-2 and have only allowed two goals in those five games which is great. We are working hard to make sure things stay going in that direction and keeping balls out of the back of our net. On the flip side, we have scored fourteen goals in those five games, which is also amazing. It is really great to see our forwards and midfielders have the success they have been having. With these statistics and seeing the way we have been playing lately, the opportunities are truly endless for us. There is so much potential within us and I can’t wait to see what we are capable of.
What’s something off the field that you’ve enjoyed about Campbell University?
Campbell is truly a special place. It really is an extremely close community. After every single home game, we always have a tailgate afterwards put on by families that live close enough. Everyone always pitches in in some way to make sure we have food after the games. It really allows our families to spend time together off the field and for us as teammates to get to know one another’s families. It is awesome to see faculty and staff members at our games cheering us on. Our athletic staff at Campbell is seriously the best, whether it be our strength and condition coach driving to our away games to warm us up or our athletic director taking time out of his day to come out to one of our training sessions. Everyone truly cares about us and wants to see us succeed.