Q&A: Islanders Soccer Staff Talks Historic Debut Season, Year Two Preparations

The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi soccer program marked the start of a new era ahead of the 2024 season, and based on the results that soon followed, it's hard to argue that the early goings were anything but an immediate success.

In the first year under new head coach Daniel Clitnovici, the Islanders had arguably the best season in program history, putting together their first-ever winning season while also posting a second-place finish in the Southland Conference regular season standings and making a run to the semifinals of the SLC Soccer Championships, both of which either matched or broke the previous bests. They also achieved numerous other firsts in addition to these, including their most total wins (10), longest winning streak (five games), most wins at home (six) and most shutouts in conference play (six), among others.

The accomplishments of last year have understandably set a new standard for the program moving forward, one that the Islanders will first try to meet again in the 2025 campaign, which officially gets underway in just over two weeks' time. The upcoming season will prove to be a different type of challenge as the previous one, with the team trying to maintain its winning ways and return to the top of the Southland while bringing in 18 newcomers to its group of nine returners coming back for another go-round on the Island.

Prior to their first full team practice this week, Clitnovici and the rest of the Islanders Soccer staff sat down to talk about their historic first season with the program and how they hope to carry that success into year two:
 

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Q: "We'll start with the excitement level getting into the new season, since you've got practice starting this week and the real thing coming up in a few weeks. How ready are you guys to finally get going?"
 
Daniel Clitnovici (Head Coach): "We're super excited to continue forward with this program into a new season. We had a lot of excitement last year with the season we had. The attitude, the culture, the on-field product, off-field product, in the classroom, the group that we had last year just excelled, and the ones that are still here continue to excel. Based on the success that we had last year, there's a really positive energy amongst this group. They did the work over the summer, and they're going to come into the season flying. We've set the bar pretty high, and hopefully we can get to that bar again in 2025."

Q: "You mentioned the success from last year. You guys came in as a new staff in the first season and were able to put together one of the best seasons in program history right away. How do you guys think you guys were able to reach that level while just starting off as a unit?"
 
Chloe Roberts (Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator): "I think we had a lot of buy in from the team and a lot of trust. We were a whole new staff with a whole new group of players that we'd never coached before, so I think we were just very authentic and honest with them, and they trusted in the process of whatever gameplan we put out there and what we were doing. They could also see that we could get along as a staff, and that was a big thing as well. We all get along off the field and they saw that, so they were able to mimic that both on and off the field themselves. It was just brilliant to be a part of. It was a season that I won't forget, and we just hope that we can have many more of those moving forward."

Q: "How big do you think it was from a culture-building perspective to be able to have success like that right off the bat to build upon for the future?"
 
CR: "It was a huge piece because I think we've set a really strong foundation for this program. With all the resources that we have, it shows that we can be successful here. For us, it was just a great stepping stone to where people now look at this program and think we can contend with the best and keep progressing in the right direction to be a very successful program. As a whole staff and a team, it just puts us in a really good spot moving forward in what we're trying to accomplish here."

Q: "Moving into this year, you guys have nine players that are returning from last year's team. How big do you think they will be in terms of continuity when you have such a new group coming in this time around?"
 
Kyle Clark (Assistant Coach/Player Development): "I think those nine that are returning are going to play a huge role in helping continue the expectations and standards that were set from last year, not only from a performance perspective but from a culture perspective with how hard that we work, when we show up, how we treat each other. I think it's a big responsibility for those nine to see what we did last year and not only lead, but lead by example to try to repeat some of those things."

Q: "With the new players coming in, what is the process of getting them caught up to speed with what you guys established last year, and what have been your first impressions of how they've been able to handle that?"
 
CR: "We've got 10 freshmen and eight transfers coming in, so we're going to be a new-look team with a lot of new faces out there. On the field, they've just got to get on board with what we want to accomplish here. From the first practice, they're going to learn really quick what the expectations and the standards that the previous players set are. For us, we just want them to trust the process, and we're excited to see what they can do."
 
DC: "The freshmen are going to be super hungry. They're excited to be part of a program that's had success, so they know that it's not going to be easy. As for our transfers, they're definitely going to be bringing experience with them, and we need that because of the players we lost from last year. The expectations for them coming in are not only to do well as soccer players, but to also make sure they're offering leadership and the experience that they're bringing on board to continue moving the needle in 2025. The standards and the overall approach with these new players coming into our program, we feel it's going to be pretty smooth, because they're all phenomenal young women that checked out really well throughout our process before we recruited them. We're excited to have them on board for sure."

Kennedy Stelling (Assistant Coach/Goalkeeper Director): "We've really placed a high emphasis on our goalkeeping unit and really honed in on what we expect them to be able to do and how they fit on the team, so when we were selecting the three newcomers for that group, we had a mold in our minds that we were trying to find fits for. I think we've done a really good job in finding two keepers with experience and one freshman that can come in to fill that mold and raise the standards and compete well with each other. We think they can show that they can have a voice and an overall presence, which is a box that we wanted checked and something that we're really excited about."

Q: "It seems like the theme with the newcomers was a mix of freshman along with transfers coming in with experience. Is the mentorship of the newer crop just getting into college athletics something that you're looking for from the upperclassmen?"
 
CR: "That is going to be a huge piece. I think all of us remember when we were freshman and leaning on the upperclassmen to show what the standard is. We want it to be a very holistic approach for them where they can ask questions about on- and off-field stuff, because it's not easy to come into a program. We truly believe that we have a great group of young women here that are not just great athletes but great people, so I think we've done a good job of creating the blend that's going to mold really well with the returning players we have and the transfers that have that experience."

Q: "As far as the schedule is concerned, you guys start with some solid Division I programs in nonconference play. How important is it for you to be able to play that caliber of team to prepare for the conference slate that comes later?"
 
KC: "I think it's really important. Playing top teams from other good conferences in Division I will definitely help us get ready for a tough in-conference season. We start with a very good Sun Belt team in Arkansas State and then our very first home game is against New Mexico, so our first two games right off the bat are going to be tough challenges. It's going to be good to see how the team responds to those challenges, and it's going to be a good way to prep us for some really tough opponents in conference as well."

Q: "Getting into Southland play, how do you think the other teams in the conference stack up going into this season?"
 
DC: "I think that the conference is getting better every year. The teams that were good last year are going to be good again this year, and the teams that maybe struggled a bit will have learned and got better for this year too. It's a challenging conference. The teams between second and fifth last year were within a win of each other, so it's going to be very tight. There's a number of schools that could finish first, so it's going to for sure be very, very close again."

Q: "Coming off the second-place finish last year, do you guys and the players feel any pressure from the teams gunning for you now, as opposed to how it was in previous years where you were the ones coming for the top teams?"

DC: "I think so. I think everyone knows what we're about. A lot of coaches complimented us last season based on some changes that we made here within the program, so I think they're going to be better prepared against us. Our staff always reminds me that it's a game-to-game process, so we don't focus too much on the end product, we focus on today and see where we end up from there."
 
CR: "I think the players are ready for that, and if they're not, they're going to learn quickly. Coming into a program that had success the year before is a good thing, so I think they're going to have a lot of excitement. I'm sure there will be a few nerves out there and a little bit of pressure, but we try not to put any of that on them ourselves in practice or in games. We keep telling them that we want them to be who they are, showcase who they are, and the rest will come."

Q: "To wrap things up, you've got a few weeks of practice coming up here before the real thing starts. What are you guys looking to looking to see from them and impart on them in that time before you really get going into the grind of the season?"
 
CR: "In all of our meetings, it's been talking about who we are, our identity as a team and what we expect, and like I've said, the rest will come. We know who they are as soccer players, but there's a deeper area to that with who we are as a program and what we want to be known for, both on and off the field. For us, it's about talking about all of that, so when they go on the field, they can push each other to be better and be a collective family. That's what we want to do."
 
DC: "We want to see what their attitude is like. We as a staff aren't worried if they make mistakes or struggle with certain things, but it's about their attitude and how they respond to everything that they're faced with. Some of them will need to learn to have a better attitude and some of them already have one that's really positive, but for us, it's definitely going to be key to our success from day one and moving forward. We think if we can help mentor them a little bit with that and help guide them through what type of attitude we're looking for, they're going to do just fine."
 
KC: "Having so many new players, it's just about connecting with each other, and they've already done a great job of this. That was a good thing that we had last year, having a united group both on and off the field, so we want to make sure that we give them the opportunity to both compete on the field and also connect as people off of it as well."
 
KS: "Piggybacking off what Chloe and Daniel said about identity, a huge piece of last year's success was their find-a-way mentality. Whatever obstacle we were faced with, we found a way to get over it. That energy is just so ingrained in Islanders Soccer, so we want to spread that and make sure everyone is on the same page to find a way. There are no excuses, and hard work isn't enough at times, so it's about being able to get over the hurdle. That's just a huge piece that we know the returners have, and I have no doubt that the newbies will have that as well."
 
DC: "With her having played here for four years, hearing Kennedy say that carries a lot of weight. As a staff, the bottom line for us is the find-a-way attitudes. There's no hurdle too high, and we're going to do this, no matter what we're faced with. You can still fail, but we want them to pick themselves back up and go again. That's the attitude that we're creating here, and we think that's super important."
 

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The Islanders officially get their season going on August 14, hitting the road to start things off against Sun Belt opponent Arkansas State in the first-ever meeting between the two squads. They then come back to Corpus Christi for the home opener on August 17, hosting New Mexico at the Dr. Jack Dugan Family Soccer and Track Stadium at 12 p.m. CT.

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