McKenzie Hunninghake gains experience abroad
Each athlete takes different approaches to their offseason. For some, it’s necessary to take some time off to recover from the strenuous season while still doing basic drills and practices. But for sophomore goalkeeper McKenzie Hunninghake and others on Utah State’s women’s soccer team, this offseason was used to increase their level of competition. Hunninghake spent her summer playing in France with a scout team before playing in the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) with Austin Rise FC.
“When I went over to France, my goal was to just kind of perform well and show who I am. I was one of the older kids in the group, so I wanted to show my leadership on the team and in front of these coaches as well,” Hunninghake said.
One benefit of playing with Austin Rise FC, according to Hunninghake, was getting an increased amount of game repetitions in a competitive environment.
“Whenever we go over to these teams, everyone you’re playing with is good. So just kind of being in those situations where you’re practicing with someone that’s just as good as you or better than you, or you’re playing against someone that’s just as good or better than you,” Hunninghake said. “It really pushes us to strive to be that better player on the team.”
During the summer, athletes can play competitively in the WPSL and other programs. Creating an environment where players take advantage of these opportunities has been emphasized since Manny Martins was named head coach in 2021.
“We encourage all players to find opportunities to challenge themselves in the summer,” Martins said. “We try to help them in terms of understanding what good environments look like so that over the summer they enjoy themselves. Most importantly, they’re continuing to sharpen and evolve in their position and their skill sets.”
As the USU women’s soccer team takes the field this fall, Martins said he is pleased with the team’s improvement from last season.
“I’m really excited about the group. They’re getting older with us, but they’re also going out and playing throughout the summer. They’re looking more mature and sharp,” Martins said.
The experience of playing against high-level competition outside of the traditional regular season schedule is invaluable, according to Martins.
“There’s an old saying that says, ‘Repetition is the mother of all learning.’ So the more they get to train and play, they’re seeing game scenarios more often,” Martins said. “If they played eight to 10 games this summer and eight to 10 games last summer, it’s equivalent to having played an additional season of soccer. To me, that growth helps us because we end up with a more mature player, a technically more refined player, and a player that also has some different layers to bring back to us.”
As for Hunninghake, she hopes to improve both on and off the field after starting eight games as a freshman and recording 15 saves on 17 shots on goal.
“I feel like a personal goal I have is just trying to step into more of a leadership role on the team,” Hunninghake said. “Being in that goalkeeper position, you have to step up as a leader. I feel like I do really well of that on the field, but I want to do it off the field as well.”
So far, the change in Hunninghake’s demeanor after playing in France and in Texas this summer has been evident to her coaches.
“One thing I’ve seen is an evolution in her conviction in terms of where she wants to go with her game. She obviously went out this summer and got to travel to Europe and be in a training environment with one of the top teams in the world in the women’s side of the game,” Martins said. “When she got back, she met with me and just kind of wanted to share her desire to play beyond college and her commitment to give everything she’s got into the team, and she’s been training that way.”
Hunninghake is part of a goalkeeper unit that includes graduate student Diera Walton and freshman Shay Kercher-Pratt. Despite competing for playing time, she praised the camaraderie that exists in her position group.
“We just have a really good atmosphere of positivity,” Hunninghake said. “No matter who’s on the field, we’re always cheering each other on.”
Martins said he feels like the team has three “starter-level keepers.”
“It’s exciting because at this point, we have three goalkeepers: we have a freshman who’s very, very good, and then we have two returning players,” Martins said. “Obviously, Diera has an incredible amount of experience, but now McKenzie’s got a lot of experience as well, and they’re both training well, so we’re in a great place.”
For more information about USU women’s soccer and their schedule for the 2023 season, visit utahstateaggies.com/sports/womens-soccer.