Q: You guys are currently 4-3 on the season, what can you say about your team’s performance thus far?
Botterill: It is improving. Especially now with a few days off we have time to improve. We put a lot of time in on the training pitch and then we analyze the games as well so that helps. It is all about knowing what mistakes we made, we know what we did well, doing that again and making sure those mistakes do not happen again. I feel like we have been doing that quite well especially the past two to three games.
Q: How is your freshman year going and what has it been like being here at Fairfield University?
Botterill: It has been great. It had its challenges as well. Coming over [from England], it is a different culture, there is different football. But ultimately with the other international guys on the team it has been pretty easy. During the preseason we would go on away trips and every time we came back this place felt more like home.
Q: This past weekend you guys got a huge 2-0 victory over Temple. What does a win like this mean for your team?
Botterill: It was our last non-conference game so it was good to finish off with a win. Coach Rees talked to us about how good the other side was and that they beat us 4-0 last season. Leaving it all out on the pitch was very important. Our first MAAC game is next Wednesday against the league champions so I feel like we are in good niche.
Q: In that game, you earned your first shutout of your collegiate career giving you three wins in your four starts. What can you attribute to your success?
Botterill: I would not call it success yet. I feel like it is individual progress as much as it is team progress. Stats are important over in this country as well so that is nice to have that clean sheet.
Q: You were named MAAC Soccer Defensive Player of the Week. What does this mean to you?
Botterill: That was a nice surprise. I was not expecting it. Some of the lads on the team were not expecting it as well. I think it helps confidence wise as well but it is not something you can think about too much you just have to move on to the next one.
Q: What do you have to do to keep the momentum going for you guys?
Botterill: We need to stay focused. That is the cliché answer I would say. We need to keep the unity on the team and make sure everyone gets along and keep doing what we are doing.
Q: With MAAC play right around the corner, what do you guys have to do to start on a right note?
Botterill: As long as we can keep the momentum going and keep the same standard especially against Temple. Maybe not the entire 90 minutes but we can pick and choose certain aspects that worked in our favor. As long as we play our cards right I think we got every chance in every game.
Q: What are your team’s expectations for the rest of the season?
Botterill: One of the main ones is to stay unbeaten at home which we have done so far so we want to keep that going. We want to take it game by game but ultimately we want to finish on top.
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