Photo by: Stephen Wandzura
Women's Soccer Q&A: Leyla McFarland
10/4/2019 10:07:00 AM | Women's Soccer, Competing With Purpose Blog
Leyla McFarland, a sophomore midfielder/forward on the women's soccer team, discusses scoring her first two career goals, the team's non-conference performance and her experience playing for Northern Ireland:
Q: You scored your first two career goals earlier this season. How does it feel to achieve that?
A: It was really good. It felt like a lot of my hard work, coming into this season, actually paid off. It was just exciting because I feel like they were really good team goals. It was just a really cool thing to be a part of.
Q: Looking back on the team's non-conference performance, how do you feel the team did against such a tough schedule?
A: I think we prepared ourselves really well to go into conference. We've seen a lot of different teams, and we've experienced a lot of different games. I think it's just set us up in a really good position to be able to go into conference with confidence knowing we can beat anybody when we put our minds to it.
Q: Based on the team's performance so far, how do you expect to do going into the WCC season?
A: Obviously, you go through every game, and game by game you just want to get better. I think we've set ourselves up on a pretty good path to keep getting better and to go into conference and really just come together as a unit and get some good results. We're just going to take every game as itself, focus on it, and keep moving forward.
Q: What are some goals you have for the team and for yourself this season?
A: I think for our team, our goals are just getting better, really working together on the field and off the field, and being there for each other in both of those aspects. Every single person on our team is essential, and I think if we do all of that we'll get what we want out of the season. For me personally, I want to be an influential team member and do whatever I can to help us out.
Q: You have been playing in the Northern Ireland National Team system, including some games earlier this year. What was that process like and how are you eligible to play with them?
A: My dad was born and raised there, and my mom's actually from England, so I got my dual citizenship when I was 17. That was super cool. My junior year of high school, I went over there, tried out, and made the team for U-19. I played there for a couple years for U-19, and then last spring, I got to go play again. It's really cool to be a part of something like that, and it's a really good opportunity for me, so it was really fun.
Q: What have been the best experiences you've had with Northern Ireland?
A: When I was 17, we played in the U-19 European Championships. It was like the best eight teams in Europe for that age group. We hosted the tournament in Northern Ireland. It was a really cool experience when we played against Spain because there were like 5,000 people there, all Northern Ireland fans. It's crazy to see at the U-19 level how many supporters there were for a women's sport in a country that's really been all men. Seeing my dad's family and being a part of that has been really cool.
Q: Do you hope to continue playing with them in the future?
A: I think so. The next step is the full national team since they don't have another team between [U-19 and National]. I think if I can, hopefully after college, if I'm ready to be on a full national team that would be a really cool opportunity for me.
Q: You scored your first two career goals earlier this season. How does it feel to achieve that?
A: It was really good. It felt like a lot of my hard work, coming into this season, actually paid off. It was just exciting because I feel like they were really good team goals. It was just a really cool thing to be a part of.
Q: Looking back on the team's non-conference performance, how do you feel the team did against such a tough schedule?
A: I think we prepared ourselves really well to go into conference. We've seen a lot of different teams, and we've experienced a lot of different games. I think it's just set us up in a really good position to be able to go into conference with confidence knowing we can beat anybody when we put our minds to it.
Q: Based on the team's performance so far, how do you expect to do going into the WCC season?
A: Obviously, you go through every game, and game by game you just want to get better. I think we've set ourselves up on a pretty good path to keep getting better and to go into conference and really just come together as a unit and get some good results. We're just going to take every game as itself, focus on it, and keep moving forward.
Q: What are some goals you have for the team and for yourself this season?
A: I think for our team, our goals are just getting better, really working together on the field and off the field, and being there for each other in both of those aspects. Every single person on our team is essential, and I think if we do all of that we'll get what we want out of the season. For me personally, I want to be an influential team member and do whatever I can to help us out.
Q: You have been playing in the Northern Ireland National Team system, including some games earlier this year. What was that process like and how are you eligible to play with them?
A: My dad was born and raised there, and my mom's actually from England, so I got my dual citizenship when I was 17. That was super cool. My junior year of high school, I went over there, tried out, and made the team for U-19. I played there for a couple years for U-19, and then last spring, I got to go play again. It's really cool to be a part of something like that, and it's a really good opportunity for me, so it was really fun.
Q: What have been the best experiences you've had with Northern Ireland?
A: When I was 17, we played in the U-19 European Championships. It was like the best eight teams in Europe for that age group. We hosted the tournament in Northern Ireland. It was a really cool experience when we played against Spain because there were like 5,000 people there, all Northern Ireland fans. It's crazy to see at the U-19 level how many supporters there were for a women's sport in a country that's really been all men. Seeing my dad's family and being a part of that has been really cool.
Q: Do you hope to continue playing with them in the future?
A: I think so. The next step is the full national team since they don't have another team between [U-19 and National]. I think if I can, hopefully after college, if I'm ready to be on a full national team that would be a really cool opportunity for me.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Soccer
