Junior goalkeeper Molly Mersereau started all 20 of Nicholls’ matches in her sophomore year and led the Colonels with time in net.Mersereau finished second in the Southland Conference with 139 saved and tied for the top mark in the conference with a 6.95 save per game average.

Mersereau posted seven matches with 10 or more saves and was named Southland Conference Goalkeeper of the Week after recording 23 saves in her sophomore year.

Mersereau took some time after practice to answer some questions about soccer.

Q: What are your expectations for the season based on the summer training?

A: They’re leaps and bounds from where we were the past couple years. We cut down our losses from last year, but we are going to surprise people with how far we go this year.

Q: What’s so different about this coming season?

A: It’s definitely different since we have so many more girls this year. It puts a lot of pressure on our coaches’ shoulders. I don’t envy them at all. Figuring out who goes where is just going to come with time, but we definitely showed potential in our past game on Sunday.

Q: You hold some pretty impressive stats. Are you expecting to break those records?

A: I’m ready to shatter everything: shut-outs, saves, anything that I can. I think it’s very possible with the amount of defensive players our coach brought in this year.

Q: Can you tell me about your injury from freshman year?

A: It was my right shoulder. I did a lot of damage to it because I injured it in the first little bit of time I was here and played with it for the first year and a half. It just kept getting worse, so I had surgery to repair it. Today I’m good to go, but it is always a fighting pain.

Q: Do you have any pre-game rituals or superstitions?

A: I have a lot of superstitions. One is that I put all of my left footed gear on first. My left shin guard always goes on before my right as well as my shoes.

Q: What do you do to get psyched before a game?

A: I have to listen to calming music because I just get so pumped up that I can’t help it.

Q: In your four years of playing for Nicholls, what is your favorite memory?

A: This change from one coach to another, and reminiscing with the older players about the hell we went through and the crazy running days we had to go through. We’re not really sure how we made it through that.

Q: What’s the hardest thing about being a student athlete?

A: Figuring out which goes first. The hardest thing is deciding to go for a run or study. I’ve had a lot of experience though, and now I feel like a pro at it.

Q: What World Cup team were you rooting for?

A: I was anti-Spain. My favorite teams lost out pretty early, so I really just wanted anyone to win but them.

Q: Who is your favorite professional player?

A: He’s retired, but my favorite player is Oliver Kahn. He used to play for Germany, but he is still my favorite player. I used to have a poster of him that said “do you want be liked, or do want be a great keeper?” He had dirt and grass all over his face and just looks like the fiercest guy in the world.