Editor’s Note: The Seahawk found UNC Wilmington women’s soccer coach Paul Cairney for a brief Q-and-A session about his team’s progress at the midway point of the season. The Seahawks are 2-6 overall with a 0-2 CAA record.

The Seahawk: What’s one positive aspect of the season so far?

Paul Cairney: Our team, despite not winning games recently, are still working very hard in practice. (They) are still preparing very well to win the next game, and that’s a testament to our team’s spirit and commitment.

TS: How about one negative?

PC: When it’s soccer, the margin of error is so small and one decision and one moment in the game can change it. Some of the games we’ve lost have been just one moment where we don’t finish a chance, or we miss a chance and then the other team scores and then we’re chasing the game, so that’s been tough.

TS: What’s something you’d like to improve on for the remainder of the season?

PC: Staying confident and understand(ing) that it just takes a moment in a game to change it. I think that once we get a couple of wins under our belt, the confidence will come.

TS: Best on- or off-the-field moment so far?

PC: I think coming back against Davidson. We had played Charlotte on a Saturday; it was a game that was postponed. Normally we play Friday/Sunday, (but) the game got postponed on a Friday, and Davidson had played East Carolina on Friday. We had to play on Saturday against Charlotte and then turn around and play Davidson–with no rest–and our kids did a great job. We were down 1-0, and we came back and we won that game 2-1.

TS: Any pre-game rituals?

PC: We meet in our locker room whether we’re on the road or here at home. We spend about 10 minutes going through our expectations for each player and that position, and try and give them some pointers on how to improve their performance.

TS: What’s the strategy: patience and ball control or aggressive attack?

PC: A combination of both. The ball changes possession so many times, so when you’re in possession you want to be controlled. You want to keep the ball as long as you can, but the moment you lose it you want to be aggressive and win it back. So, there’s a fluctuation between those two moments in the game when you have the ball and then when you lose the ball, and those are really the key elements of soccer.