By Adam K. Ellis
Wicked Local Rochester Sports Writer / September 30, 2011

Casey Mathews

ROCHESTER — Tri-town native Casey Mathews scored a pair of game-winning goals this past week, helping her Stonehill College women's soccer team continue their red-hot start of 7-1-1 – currently good for third-place in the Northeast-10 Conference behind Saint Rose and Merrimack Colleges.

A 2009 Old Rochester Regional grad, Mathews tallied the first game-winner of her collegiate career on Saturday, Sept. 17 notching her first goal of the season in overtime against Pace University to give the Skyhawks a 1-0 win.

Three days later, the 5-foot-3 speedster struck home another game-winner against Saint Anselm College, corralling a deflected ball in the box and lifting it into the upper left corner for a 1-0 win.

Coming off the best week of soccer she has ever played, Mathews recently caught up with Sentinel Sports Editor Adam K. Ellis for a one-on-one interview to make some sense of her newfound stardom. 

Question: First things first. Two-game winners in one week. Quite a memorable experience. Can you ever remember a span of games like this – whether it be a week or month – as good as you've had this past week?

Answer: Honestly…no. It's been really exciting for me, especially that first one, scoring it in overtime. 

Question: Had you scored a game-winning goal before that one?

Answer: Someone else asked me that. Maybe I have. I don't know. If I did, it's not something I have a clear memory of…well nothing that sticks like this week. 

Question: As a freshman, you appeared in 13 games for the Skyhawks (six starts) and played admirably off the bench, recording 13 shots and one assist. But just seven games into this season, it seems as though you are regaining the form that made you an Eastern Mass. All-Star in 2009 as well as a three-time South Coast Conference All-Star in your four years at Old Rochester. What has changed?

Answer: I think as a sophomore I have more of a leadership role. We lost eight seniors last year, and only have three this season. That, combined with the fact that we changed our formation from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3, I have a bit more responsibility this year. This year, I'm asked to be more of an offensive center-mid, which is more of an attacking forward. Not only do I have to get back and defend, I have to pressure the ball more, try to create goals and basically just attack the opposing defense. 

Question: For those who haven't played or experienced the difference between collegiate athletics and high-school, can you describe what's different?

Answer: It's pretty much completely different. The competition is a lot more intense than in high school. And the commitment level, training wise, we have to train all summer just to be able to play at this level. So it's a big change.

It's also tough trying to balance schoolwork with soccer. We do a lot more traveling and practice almost every day if we're not playing. 

Question: What have you taken to the college level that you learned from your playing days at Old Rochester?

Answer: A lot. I loved my coach at ORR, Mr. Lombard. He's a great coach who started playing me at midfield my junior year and really helped me a lot learning the position. I was also a captain for two years at Old Rochester, so it helped me gain some leadership skills that I think have helped me on the field (at Stonehill). 

Question: I've been told your Old Rochester team was a tight-knit group. How does the Skyhawks match up?

Answer: I think it's just like the same thing. Especially this team, this year. You spend so much time around your teammates, they become your best friends. So yeah, I'd say we are very close, especially with the group we have this year. 

Question: Time to get down to business, as in your major. What made you want to be a business major? And what do you want to do with the degree when you graduate from Stonehill?

Answer: Actually, I'm still kind of unsure of what I want to be doing. So I picked business because I feel like it's a broad major that I can do a lot with it. But I haven't focused on one specific subject or career path yet. 

Question: Speaking of graduation, your brother Timothy is a member of the Stonehill hockey team and has just one year left. Is there any sort of sibling rivalry there? Or is it more supportive than competitive?

Answer: I think it's more supportive. I'll say there's a little competition because I'll always brag to him. But this season, he's been real supportive and goes to all my games and it means a lot. 

Question: Alrighty, final question. Last year, you finished fifth in the league at 8-8-2. Comparatively, this year you're off to a flying start 7-1-1 start. Are there any limits to how far this team can go this year?

Answer: It's really hard to tell because this conference – the Northeast-10 Conference – is so evenly matched that we never really know if we are going to win when we start the game. And I think it's like that with every team. We just beat Southern Connecticut and they were a team had been undefeated and hadn't given up a goal all season.

If we can play as well as we did in that game, I think there's no telling how far we can go.