The Southridge Skyhawks pushed their winning streak to six games with a 3-1 win over the Westview Wildcats. KGW spoke with head coach Kibwe Cuffie to get his thoughts on where his team is at after the league opener.
1.) How do you think your team played?
"Disciplined. It was a disciplined performance. They had a gameplan and stuck to it. They showed good character after going down 1-0. It would be easy to fold on the road, but they had good belief in their ability and they did well to come back."
2.) Being behind is not something your team is used to. What did you think of their response?
"I think they did well. Even though some of the past games we weren't behind, they were focused and they knew what to expect coming into this. We have quite a few leaders, so the leaders make sure the younger players were prepared mentally for this. So, they were ready for it."
3.) It looked like your team stepped it up to another level in the second half. What adjustments did they make?
"Just some physical adjustments to put a little bit more pressure on them. Once we did that, we were able to have a bit more of the ball, and that was the difference."
4.) Your team did a really good job on the counter-attack. Was that part of the gameplan or just something that happened?
"Transition is something we've been working on. I'm glad it came out in the game. We want to focus on transition because we believe we can put the ball down, move it around, and score goals. We want to add that to our game, so it's something that we've been working on."
5.) Six straight wins now. Do you think your team is hitting their stride or is the ceiling even higher?
"I think we can play better. Results are on thing. Performance is another. I think we can perform even better because the players are still adjusting to me. If the results match the performance, I think we'll be good."
6.) What do you look for your team to improve on?
"The same things we've been working on. Concentration, defending set pieces, and then transition."
7.) What do you expect to see from the rest of the Metro League?
"The Metro League is difficult. The same as tonight. Close games, hard-fought games. The teams that take chances and minimize mistakes, those are the teams that are going to get points."
The win for Southridge moves them to 6-1-1 on the season. Their next game will be on Monday against Sunset.
