Questions and Answers -From Dean Caparaz (former associate editor of Soccer America Magazine)

How much has Steve Swanson's coaching helped you?

"Playing under Steve has actually been an awesome experience. I didn't know him coming in, or when he coached at Dartmouth. Ian (Sawyers) was the one who recruited me. I could tell from the very beginning Steve puts everything into soccer and his family. He teats us like his family. He really gets angry at us when, one, we're not thankful for what we have -- like the Nike contract, if we don't take care of the things Nike gives us -- and, two, if we don't work hard I don't think I would be the player that I am without him. He has helped me. I don't think I've reached my potential yet. He's definitely gotten me farther along the road than I think I've been."

What parts of your game has Steve helped you improve?

"As a college coach I don't think you can do too much with technique. Everyone pretty much knows how to play. You can tweak things. He's helped me with my free kicks. We took a bunch of them my sophomore year, junior year. When I first joined the (U.S.) U-21s he helped me with my long ball services. But the part of my game he's had the most impact is the mental aspect. He's always expected me to work hard, but there's always days you don't want to be there, want to work hard. He's helped me be more consistent."

How is your senior season going?

"Great. Really, really well. I think this is the best our team's ever been as long as I've been here. We do have a lot of depth, the team's definitely different. We've got great leadership from our captains, Jen O'Sullivan and Shauna Itri. I think that everybody is contributing this year. Everyone's on the same page as far as our goals.

I think Steve's done a really good job making sure we're rested, because we have a different schedule from other teams. It's difficult to account for the schedule when school starts. There's a month and a half when we're not doing anything but soccer. It is a big difference to make up for."

Would you have liked to play a more attacking role through your years at Stanford?

"It'd be nice, but I think more importantly where the team needed me was in back in the defense my freshman year. I was trying to fill (for star) Jessica Fischer's shoes at sweeper for part of the season. When we started playing a flat back four, needed someone to fill the central defender position too. It kind of doesn't matter what I want to do because ultimately it's the team that gets somewhere."

How often do you get mistaken for Lorrie?

"Here (at Stanford), not very often. Sometimes when I run into somebody here from my high school."

You've played extensively with the U.S. under-21 team but have only been with the full national team briefly. Do you think you'll get more national team exposure after the Olympics, when many of the current veterans are expected to retire?

"You have to plan a little bit for the future. Yeah they have to bring in obviously a lot more players because that veteran squad is so good. They will have some big shoes to fill. They've been playing for the national team since their teens. Those amazing leaders and amazing people ... it's going to be hard to find players of that caliber. I would love to be able to play for the women's team. I've got a lot of work to do, but that's definitely one of my goals."