Photo by: Stephen Wandzura
Women's Soccer Q&A: Trinity Watson
10/18/2019 8:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer, Competing With Purpose Blog
Trinity Watson, a central defender on the Pepperdine women's soccer team, is having a successful season. She recently scored her first career goal, then had the game-winning goal against LMU. We discuss those accomplishments, her position change, and how previous injuries have strengthened her physically and mentally:
Q: You scored the game-winning goal in overtime against LMU on Sunday. How did it feel to lead your team to victory?
A: It was honestly such a great feeling, not just for myself, but to be able to win it for my team, is such an incredible feeling. It was such a big moment for us, so I think that was the best part about it. It was in the second part of overtime, and there was about five minutes left of it, so I think it was really huge for us. All I felt was passion; it was such a great feeling.
Q: You scored your first career goal on a penalty kick the previous weekend vs Portland. What went through your mind when you scored the goal?
A: I really just wanted to finally break through. I also wanted to step up for my team and get the job done. It was still 0-0, so I wanted to get it done for my team, and that was just an open opportunity for me to step up and show the hard work I've been putting in. I feel like, hopefully now, the goals will start to come for me, since I got the first one out of the way.
Q: You played an attacking position last year, but you've moved into a central defender position this season. What has that transition been like for you?
A: It's definitely different. My mindset is completely changed. I've been an attacker my whole life with playing soccer, so this is something that's so different for me. It's where my team needed me to step up and play. I think it's honestly perfect for me. A senior left, and I just had to step into her shoes and help lead the team. I think that's what I'm trying to do. It's just a great spot for me. It's definitely different being back there, but you get to have the whole field in front of you, which is awesome, because then you can really see and understand the game better. I think it's a great spot, and I'm just glad that I can be there for my team.
Q: You have a great partnership with Isabel Nelson as central defenders. How have you built that?
A: Moving into that spot has definitely helped our relationship grow. Honestly, I can say that we're best friends, which is awesome because I love her so much. She's such a great player, and we're just so similar in so many ways. We just work really well together back there. It's definitely helped our relationship off the field as well, which is really cool. We feel like a power couple back there.
Q: As a Pepperdine scholar-athlete, how do you balance school and soccer so successfully?
A: It's definitely not easy, and I'm sure every student-athlete can say the same thing, but it's just staying on top of your stuff. We have all the resources here that are going to help us. We have academic advisors and major advisors. We have so many people that want to help us, and so I think that's a huge, important key part of it. If we didn't have all of that, I think I'd be falling apart probably. Advisors, coaches, and all the professors -- everyone wants to help you, so I think that's huge at Pepperdine.
Q: What has been your favorite memory during your time at Pepperdine so far?
A: Beating Stanford is my favorite memory. That was the craziest game that I've ever played in. Every single person on my team put their body on the line. It was crazy. I've never seen a team work so hard defensively, as a unit. It was such a collective win. That was the greatest memory honestly. That tops everything. For it to be a home game and everything, It was insane. Izzy's header goal; that was crazy in the beginning of the game. We had people sliding on the goal line to save goals from them scoring. It was unreal. It felt like a dream. At the end, we all had a dog pile, and I was on the bottom, so I really felt that, but it was so great.
Q: What has been the best piece of advice you've been given over the past couple of years at Pepperdine?
A: Coming in as a freshman, something I struggled with was being fit and being able to run. Before I even got here, I was injured. I've torn my ACL twice, the same knee. The first time was freshman year of high school, and I was out for nine months. That was pretty tough on me, but I knew I could come back. I came back and played my whole sophomore year, and I was accomplishing so many things, like getting invited to different national camps. There were so many opportunities coming my way, so I was on this huge high, and then my junior year, I tore it again. I pretty much blew it out because I tore other things with it, like my meniscus, LCL and MCL. There was a little bit of doubt in my mind because I was like, "Why is this happening to me? Is this a sign?"
Before I tore it the second time, I verbally committed to Pepperdine, so that was crazy timing. I called the coaches after it happened the second time and they said, "We still believe in you. We still want you to be here. We know you want it. We know how much you care about the game and how you can help our program." That's crazy that they still believed in me. It motivated me a lot to come back, and I did. That took me a year and a half to play my first game. That was pretty tough mentally, and I think it's only made me stronger, especially with the whole being fit thing.
I wasn't at the level that my coaches and my team needed me to be at, so I think that's something that I really struggled with. Going through all of that, I would always have upperclassmen or my coaches tell me, "If you just keep working hard, it will come. Hard work beats talent." You can't be too hard on yourself. Staying patient is honestly super important, and I think that's just something that I took and ran with because if I just kept working hard and grinding, I hoped it would come. It's not just going to come overnight either; it's something that takes time.
For me, I wanted to see results the next day and I wasn't, and that's not reality. I think that's something that was eye opening for me, and I had to realize that and understand that. That's good advice that I've gotten. That sticks out to me because of the obstacle I had to go through.
Q: What goals do you have for yourself and your team for this season?
A: For my team, I really want us to win conference. That's a huge part of our goals as a team. We're hoping, and we really would like to make it into the NCAA Tournament this year. Unfortunately, we didn't last year, so I think we've all been wanting to get into the tournament. Individually, just getting better for my team honestly. Each day in practice is another goal for me to get one percent better. We always talk about that, and I think that's huge individually. That will also help my team if I continue to get better.
Q: You scored the game-winning goal in overtime against LMU on Sunday. How did it feel to lead your team to victory?
A: It was honestly such a great feeling, not just for myself, but to be able to win it for my team, is such an incredible feeling. It was such a big moment for us, so I think that was the best part about it. It was in the second part of overtime, and there was about five minutes left of it, so I think it was really huge for us. All I felt was passion; it was such a great feeling.
Q: You scored your first career goal on a penalty kick the previous weekend vs Portland. What went through your mind when you scored the goal?
A: I really just wanted to finally break through. I also wanted to step up for my team and get the job done. It was still 0-0, so I wanted to get it done for my team, and that was just an open opportunity for me to step up and show the hard work I've been putting in. I feel like, hopefully now, the goals will start to come for me, since I got the first one out of the way.
Q: You played an attacking position last year, but you've moved into a central defender position this season. What has that transition been like for you?
A: It's definitely different. My mindset is completely changed. I've been an attacker my whole life with playing soccer, so this is something that's so different for me. It's where my team needed me to step up and play. I think it's honestly perfect for me. A senior left, and I just had to step into her shoes and help lead the team. I think that's what I'm trying to do. It's just a great spot for me. It's definitely different being back there, but you get to have the whole field in front of you, which is awesome, because then you can really see and understand the game better. I think it's a great spot, and I'm just glad that I can be there for my team.
Q: You have a great partnership with Isabel Nelson as central defenders. How have you built that?
A: Moving into that spot has definitely helped our relationship grow. Honestly, I can say that we're best friends, which is awesome because I love her so much. She's such a great player, and we're just so similar in so many ways. We just work really well together back there. It's definitely helped our relationship off the field as well, which is really cool. We feel like a power couple back there.
Q: As a Pepperdine scholar-athlete, how do you balance school and soccer so successfully?
A: It's definitely not easy, and I'm sure every student-athlete can say the same thing, but it's just staying on top of your stuff. We have all the resources here that are going to help us. We have academic advisors and major advisors. We have so many people that want to help us, and so I think that's a huge, important key part of it. If we didn't have all of that, I think I'd be falling apart probably. Advisors, coaches, and all the professors -- everyone wants to help you, so I think that's huge at Pepperdine.
Q: What has been your favorite memory during your time at Pepperdine so far?
A: Beating Stanford is my favorite memory. That was the craziest game that I've ever played in. Every single person on my team put their body on the line. It was crazy. I've never seen a team work so hard defensively, as a unit. It was such a collective win. That was the greatest memory honestly. That tops everything. For it to be a home game and everything, It was insane. Izzy's header goal; that was crazy in the beginning of the game. We had people sliding on the goal line to save goals from them scoring. It was unreal. It felt like a dream. At the end, we all had a dog pile, and I was on the bottom, so I really felt that, but it was so great.
Q: What has been the best piece of advice you've been given over the past couple of years at Pepperdine?
A: Coming in as a freshman, something I struggled with was being fit and being able to run. Before I even got here, I was injured. I've torn my ACL twice, the same knee. The first time was freshman year of high school, and I was out for nine months. That was pretty tough on me, but I knew I could come back. I came back and played my whole sophomore year, and I was accomplishing so many things, like getting invited to different national camps. There were so many opportunities coming my way, so I was on this huge high, and then my junior year, I tore it again. I pretty much blew it out because I tore other things with it, like my meniscus, LCL and MCL. There was a little bit of doubt in my mind because I was like, "Why is this happening to me? Is this a sign?"
Before I tore it the second time, I verbally committed to Pepperdine, so that was crazy timing. I called the coaches after it happened the second time and they said, "We still believe in you. We still want you to be here. We know you want it. We know how much you care about the game and how you can help our program." That's crazy that they still believed in me. It motivated me a lot to come back, and I did. That took me a year and a half to play my first game. That was pretty tough mentally, and I think it's only made me stronger, especially with the whole being fit thing.
I wasn't at the level that my coaches and my team needed me to be at, so I think that's something that I really struggled with. Going through all of that, I would always have upperclassmen or my coaches tell me, "If you just keep working hard, it will come. Hard work beats talent." You can't be too hard on yourself. Staying patient is honestly super important, and I think that's just something that I took and ran with because if I just kept working hard and grinding, I hoped it would come. It's not just going to come overnight either; it's something that takes time.
For me, I wanted to see results the next day and I wasn't, and that's not reality. I think that's something that was eye opening for me, and I had to realize that and understand that. That's good advice that I've gotten. That sticks out to me because of the obstacle I had to go through.
Q: What goals do you have for yourself and your team for this season?
A: For my team, I really want us to win conference. That's a huge part of our goals as a team. We're hoping, and we really would like to make it into the NCAA Tournament this year. Unfortunately, we didn't last year, so I think we've all been wanting to get into the tournament. Individually, just getting better for my team honestly. Each day in practice is another goal for me to get one percent better. We always talk about that, and I think that's huge individually. That will also help my team if I continue to get better.
Players Mentioned
D
/ Women's Soccer
D/F
/ Women's Soccer
