Sept. 24, 2010
Senior goalkeeper Nikki Weiss has played every second of every game for the Irish women’s soccer team heading into their Sept. 24 game at home against Cincinnati. A two-year starter for Coach Randy Waldrum, she owns a 7-1-0 record this season with a 0.37 goals-against average and six shutouts. Earlier this week, the Redding, Conn., native sat down with UND.com’s Sean Kaveney to tell us more about herself and her game.
1. Why did you decide to come to Notre Dame? I decided to come to Notre Dame because it offered the perfect balance between soccer and academics. It is a great program and a great school.
2. Do you have a favorite professional soccer player/soccer team? I don’t really watch too much professional soccer, but I guess my favorite soccer team would be Manchester United. And I’d say my favorite player would be David Beckham because he looks nice.
3. What is the most difficult part of playing soccer at Notre Dame? The most difficult part of playing soccer here would probably be managing my time. Being able to get my schoolwork done and coming out here every day.
4. What made you get into soccer initially? My older brother played when I was growing up. I always wanted to be just like him when I was little. He told me to play, so I did.
5. Did you grow up as a Fighting Irish fan? Not really. I was more of a UConn fan. I probably shouldn’t tell too many people that.
6. North Dining Hall or South? For me, I would say North.
7. What is your major and why did you pick it? My major is marketing, and I like it because it fits my personality well.
8. Where is your favorite place to study on campus? My favorite place to study would probably in my room. I like to be by myself.
9. What is the last song you listened to? That’s a tough question. I’ve been listening to James Taylor and Carole King in my car, but I’m not sure what the last song is.
10. What do you miss most about your hometown? The thing I miss about my hometown is everything. I miss being in the woods. I kind of live in the middle of nowhere. It’s really secluded.
11. Do you have any pre-game rituals? The only pregame ritual I have is that I straighten my hair before every game, but other than that not really.
12. What are your other hobbies outside of soccer? I guess just because of where I grew up with my family, I do a lot of hiking and backpacking.
13. If you could give on piece of advice to an aspiring soccer player, what would it be? The one piece of advice that I would give would be to practice every day.
14. Have you always played the goalie position? Yeah, I have always been a goalie.
15. What career do you intend to pursue when you are done playing soccer for Notre Dame? That’s a good question. Right now I am looking for a job in sports marketing.
16. If you hadn’t chosen to play soccer, is there another sport you would have liked to play? If I didn’t play soccer, I would be playing basketball.
17. Favorite pre-game meal?
My favorite pre game meal would be peanut butter and jelly.
18. What is your favorite facility to compete in other than Alumni Stadium? We played at Soldier Field a couple of springs ago. It was just a spring game, but it was awesome.
19. What is the one thing that you are going to miss about Notre Dame? The one thing that I am going to miss is my team.
20. What is the best part of playing goalie for ND? Everything. Just having a team in front of you that you know will do anything to keep the ball away from you.