Q&A: With Maddie Bauer

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford sophomore Maddie Bauer has been a key figure in the Cardinal’s 16-1-2 record, No. 3 ranking, and 15 shutouts this season.

The Newport Beach, Calif., native is a two-year starter in central defense and among the leaders of a team that concludes regular season play Thursday (2 p.m.) at California before making its 17th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance on Nov. 14 with a 7 p.m. first-round home match.

Bauer recently sat down with GoStanford.com to talk about the season and Stanford’s defense.

Q: Where is this team at this point of the season?
A: We’ve been playing extremely well, but I don’t think we’ve peaked. Hopefully, that will come in the NCAA tournament.

Q: Does Stanford’s defense  continue to improve?
A: We’ve grown up a little bit. Stephanie (Amack), me and Jane (Campbell), are all in our sophomore years, so we know how things work, compared to last year. We know what we want of each other and what we expect. We can demand a lot of each other because we know what we’re capable of. Being next to Kendall and Laura Liedle, who are so experienced, it’s hard to not play well when you’re around them.

Q: You seem to work well with Alex Doll and Andi Sullivan in the midfield.
A: They just work so hard. They’re always there. I don’t know how many miles a game they run, but they always seem to be there. They’re always open and they always want the ball. It’s nice because I can play it to them and feel safe. I know when I give it to them, it’s in good hands.

Q: Stanford’s central defenders also play a role in launching the offense.
A: It depends on the game, because different teams play us differently. Teams will step up to the center backs and so we give it to the holding mids. Or, sometimes if they’re tight on our midfielders and outside backs, then Kendall and I have the ability to go up and playmake. Everybody has the ability to start the attack, but I do like that it starts from the backline because we can see everything and see what’s on or see what’s not on. That’s a really good asset.

Q: Do you like those moments where you or Kendall can see how far you can go?
A: It’s fun. I love doing that. It’s one of my favorite things to do, but I think I was a little tentative in the beginning of the season to push forward, because we didn’t want to get countered on and I didn’t want to lose it. But this season has progressed and you see what’s on. If there’s no one on me, I’m going to dribble and if someone steps to me, I pass it to whomever they left.

You have to be really smart when you’re moving forward with the ball to connect your pass. If I go up, the holding mid shifts behind me. When Kendall goes up, we all shift. Everyone has each other’s backs. Everyone’s covering in such great positions that even if I do happen to lose it, we’re fine. We’re in good defensive shape.

Q: It doesn’t seem the defenders have to scramble too often, whether on counters or buildups.
A: We’ve been really calm handling counterattacks -- that’s how you should handle them. You shouldn’t freak out, because that’s how they score. In training, we do a lot of 3 v. 2’s or 2 v. 1’s. We’ve done them so much, it’s not a big deal in the game. It feels like training, because we know what to do, and we know where to force them -- force them to the outside, so they can’t play right through the middle.

Everyone is dropping back, everyone wants to help get the ball back. That helps too, because if you’re by yourself and no one’s retreating back to the goal to help you, then you panic and you probably get beat. But if you have center midfielders sprinting back and yelling at you, telling you they’re there, you just feel so much better about what you’re doing. You don’t really freak out.

Q: You never seem to get rattled.
A: I just think that every situation on the field can be solved. It’s like a math problem. You just have to solve it with numbers and organization. If you look at it like that, it’s not that hard. It’s just a matter of placing people in the right spots and everybody doing their job right. If you got everybody organized in their right spots, then there’s no reason why anything should really go wrong.

I like that. I like organizing and getting the numbers right because it’s fun to beat the math. You figure it out and get the ball back.

Q: Were you upset about not making the U.S. Under-20 World Cup team this summer?
A: I wouldn’t say I was upset. If I had made it, it would’ve been great. But if I didn’t make it, nothing’s changed – I’m going to preseason, I’ve got this to focus on.

Maybe not making it was good for me because I really started to focus on preseason and getting fit, and working on things I need to work on. Just establishing a good environment in the preseason with the team was really important to me. Because I was there, I was able to do that and able to get better. However, if I had made the World Cup team, it would have been incredible. I would have been honored.

Q: What are your biggest challenges?
A: The challenge I face is being consistent for my team and not making any dumb mistakes that would cost us anything. I know how hard my team’s worked. I’m working hard so we can accomplish the same goal, but I don’t want to be the one to mess it up.

I’m trying to be perfect, but it is a game and I do make mistakes. But I am a perfectionist and if anything does go wrong, I’m not happy with myself. That’s one of the challenges I face, to not be such a perfectionist.

Q: Did you play other sports when you were younger?
A: I played volleyball pretty competitively, and basketball and swimming. I had to stop playing volleyball my freshman year, because I started going to a lot of national team camps and I realized I wasn’t getting any taller. I thought I was so tall. I was taller than anyone in middle school. Then I totally stopped. But I do love to play volleyball. I play beach sometimes here with my friends.

Q: You said you missed out on a lot of high school experiences (at Mater Dei in Santa Ana) because of your soccer commitments.
A: I did miss out on a lot, but I did have some great experiences in soccer and those experiences led me here, and I’ve never been happier. I can’t regret anything. I’m here now.