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Hub Q&A with Moorhead's Olivia Watson, the state's top goal scorer

By Kassondra Burtis, SportsEngine, 09/21/20, 10:45AM CDT

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The senior forward is the new MSHSL girls' state record holder for goals in a single game.

Spuds senior captain Olivia Watson has already surpassed her offensive output from 2019 during this pandemic-shortened season, helping her become the state's leading scorer. Photo by Tracy Strom

Spuds senior captain Olivia Watson has already surpassed her offensive output from 2019 during this pandemic-shortened season, helping her become the state's leading scorer. Photo by Tracy Strom

The 2020 fall sports season may look different for Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) athletes than in has in past years, but that hasn’t stopped Moorhead senior Olivia Watson from blazing a path through this pandemic-shortened season.

MN Soccer Hub: This year's fall sports season has been different than it has in past years. Your team is 6-0, so it seems like you have been able to respond positively to those changes. How has the season been different for your team specifically?

Olivia Watson: Because of COVID-19, Moorhead has gotten put into [the Central Lakes Conference] which we haven’t been in before. I think it’s kind of hard on our team, but I think it has boosted our confidence this season, and if we do have section playoffs I think we’re going to be ready just knowing that we can beat teams now that we know how to work together.

MN Soccer Hub: Have there been any other differences for your team this year?

OW: We have a new team this year. We lost about half of our starting lineup last year after they all graduated. It’s a pretty young team this year with new freshmen and new faces.

MN Soccer Hub: For you personally, has that new team makeup changed the way you play, or get ready for practices and games knowing that you’re someone that your younger teammates are likely looking up to?

OW: Personally, it hasn’t affected me too much in that way because the past couple of years I’ve had a big impact on the Moorhead team as well. Being one of our top goal scorers, it’s a little bit of pressure but we’ve been able to get the job done.

MN Soccer Hub: The first game this season was record-setting for you when your team defeated Rocori 17-0 and you scored 11 goals. You now hold the record for most goals in a single game in MSHSL girls’ soccer history. Did you know what that record was going into the game, or when did you find out that you’d broken that existing record?

OW: About halfway through the game I had scored six or eight goals, and that was when me and my coach had discussed that the record was eight. So I just started going for it after that moment because I knew I could get it.

MN Soccer Hub: Through six games you already have 40 points and have exceeded your points total from last season's 30 points in 18 games. What do you credit that increase in production to?

OW: I would credit that to our offseason training and our new conference, because through quarantine all of last spring and this summer I feel like our team has been training a lot harder. Also, individually I have been training more. I think that my decision-making is a lot better because I studied the game a lot when I wasn’t playing during quarantine, so I think it’s mostly because of that.

 I play better when I listen to pump-up music, and mentally prepare myself and think about the game. Otherwise, if I just go into the game without doing any of that, I feel like it’s a bad start to the game.

--Olivia Watson, Moorhead senior forward

 

MN Soccer Hub: Your teammate Maria Zanotti is second in the state with 17 goals and is the only one in the state to lead you in assists with 11. What is it like having someone else on the team to sort of share that offensive strength with?

OW: Me and Maria have been playing together our entire lives, so I’m not really surprised that we’ve been working so well together. She definitely has a huge impact on the team as well, and only being a junior it’s really impressive for her. She’s been training with me all summer too, so I think that that just kind of set us apart from a lot of the other teams.

MN Soccer Hub: Is there someone who’s been a really big influence in your life, whether in soccer or just personally, and why?

OW: I would say my coach, Marco Campoverde. He’s the high school coach this year but everything about soccer changed for me when he started coaching me sophomore year. I think it’s the way he coached us individually more so than during our high school season right now. He’s really taught me to enjoy the game and after hearing about all of his soccer experiences in the past, I think it’s just made me realize how far I can actually go if I put in the time and effort. I think soccer has become a lot more important to me than it was before he started coaching me.

MN Soccer Hub: Other than your record-setting performance to start this season, what’s another favorite soccer memory you have throughout your career?

OW: Other than that game, it would probably be my sophomore year when we went to section finals against Rogers. We ended up beating them, which was surprising to a lot of people because we ended up being in the section final game against St. Michael-Albertville. We got them into a penalty kick shootout, too, and it had been years since Moorhead had gotten that far.

MN Soccer Hub: You’ve committed to going to North Dakota State University. Do you already know what you want to major in?

OW: I’m thinking about going into exercise science or biology.

MN Soccer Hub: What is a fun fact about you that most people would be surprised to find out?

OW: I’m really good at cooking and baking.

MN Soccer Hub: Do you have a favorite thing to cook or bake?

OW: Probably just chocolate chip cookies.

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