Q&A With Freshman Goalkeeper Tara Campbell

DURHAM, N.C.-Duke freshman goalkeeper Tara Campbell sat down with GoDuke.com this week to talk about the season and the Blue Devil soccer team. Campbell, who is a product of Cincinnati, Ohio, has started 13 matches in the net for Duke, while collected five shutouts and a 1.04 goals-against average. She has helped lead the Blue Devils to three straight shutouts and four shutouts out of the last five contests.

GoDuke.com: How has it been for you as a freshman to come in and play most of the time in goal for Duke?

Tara Campbell: It's been really exciting. I was hoping that I would get a lot of time -- that was my goal. And it's everything I could ask for to be playing. I'm working hard and having a chance to prove myself early on was great. I enjoy it, it's nice to be able to come in and play.

GD: How much different is high school soccer and college soccer?

TC: It's been very different actually. I only played two years in high school because I opted to play club all year round my junior and senior year. And I've noticed that it's just different building relationships. I played with my club team since we were like 11, 12 and the core group of girls I knew them really well. So it's just been different coming in at the beginning of the year I didn't know anyone and we all had to get to know each other, not just as people but how we play and things like that. So it's been pretty different.

GD: You have come in with six other freshmen and three of those have started on defense with you. How close is your class and how impressed are you of how well the defense has played for most of the season?

TC: I love my class. We joke around that we're the best class there is. We all get along really well and haven't really had any fights or issues or anything and we're always supporting each other. I think it was hard at first coming in just because of the fact that all the freshmen were starting in the back which is normally a place typically in soccer where you want your more experienced players. So it was just hard because we were so inexperienced at that level getting to know each other. But I think we've dealt with it pretty well. Gretchen's [Miller] in the back line, she kind of takes control a bit at first to help us all get settled. I just think it's so cool that we're starting in the back, I love it.

GD: Has there been any certain things you have been working with goalkeeper coach Michael Crane with since your arrival in August?

TC: We've been working a lot on footwork. You think you'd be working on diving and all this stuff but we have been doing more footwork than I've done in my entire life. Honestly, I'm really starting to see results in games. I'm making saves and we're going back and watching video and you can see I'm moving my feet when before I would've just dove and hoped that I got there. We have been really working hard on it and it's been paying off.

GD: Have you ever watched much video in high school or club before?

TC: I had never watched video before. It's very different for me but I like it. It's nice to actually specifically go back and point out what you need to work on and actually see yourself. Its one thing to be told you're doing something and you're like "whatever, I'm not doing that," but to be like "see look you're doing it right here," that's kind of nice I guess.

GD: One of the things I have seen you do a lot and have been very impressed with is your ability to stop one-on-one opportunities against other offensive players. What is the key to stopping those plays?

TC: We've been working on it lately -- break away situations, I think I'm very much a mental person. I can concentrate very well for the full length of the game. For example, I don't remember which game it was but we were winning 2-0 or 3-0 and I had a good save on a breakaway and I think the key for me is that I'm able to stay focused in. So even though we had the majority of the play the whole game, even when we had a break down in the back I was still concentrating as if we were being pummeled the whole game. And then I think a lot of it is confidence. You can't be thinking about "what if she scores," you have to be thinking about "I'm gonna get the ball." And we've been working on it at practice and Mike's been like "patience" because a lot of goalkeepers run out, just dive, flail their bodies at the ball and the forwards are so smart and controlled they just tap-touch it around you and there's an open net. So Mike's been harping on "make them make a decision," because you're relatively close to where they are if you think about it. The goal is not very big because of how much space you're taking right in front of them so by falling down you're opening up the whole goal.

GD: Being from Cincinnati, Ohio, how long have you been a Duke fan?

TC: I didn't know I wanted to go to Duke until I visited. I was interested in the high academic level -- I thought that was so cool that I would have a chance to go to a school where without sports I probably wouldn't be able to get in. So when I visited, it's such a beautiful campus. I had visited a lot of schools before I came and I couldn't decide which school I wanted to go to until I came to Duke and I was like "all the other ones seem the same," and then I came to Duke and I was like "oh my god this is so great."

GD: What age did you start playing soccer and especially in goal?

TC: Six years old.

GD: What year did you start playing in goal?

TC: 12 years old.

GD: You scored 16 goals as a sophomore in high school, what made you change positions?

TC: I was a goalkeeper part time. When I was 12 and 13 I played half of the game in goal and half of the game in the field. I didn't want to be a goalkeeper and my coach was like "you're good at it, you're the only one on the team who is really good at it and I think you have a lot of potential." So when we went to state cup my coach was like "you know Tara I'm gonna be honest with you, you need to play the whole game while we're at state cup because you're the best we have on the team." So kind of from then on out I got tricked into playing the whole game. When I got into high school, I kind of just looked at high school as a time to have a little fun. So I was playing no field for my club team unless we were winning like 6-0, so when I got to high school I was like "I'm just going to run around and play." Because the level is not as high in high school as it is in club.

GD: What do you like about playing goalkeeper?

TC: I think it's a lot of responsibility. It's so thrilling when you make a big save. I like the fact that I have a lot of control; I can watch everything and see what's going on. At first I didn't like it I was like "gosh this is so much pressure, what if I mess up and it's a goal?" But over the years I've gotten over that fact and dealt with it. I just think it's so cool you can help your team and they're all so excited.

GD: What do you like to do away from soccer?

TC: I love to sleep. I enjoy eating a lot. I probably watch too much TV -- I love watching the Food Network. I would like to try to cook but I'm pretty much a failure. I used to play basketball and I really liked that but I did not have time to do that a lot.

GD: What do people not know about Tara Campbell that they wouldn't expect?

TC: I love coloring in coloring books.