Senior striker Sherron Manswell has been instrumental in leading Boston College men's soccer to a 4-1-0 record and a No. 13 ranking according to the latest Soccer America poll. Manswell scored twice in the Eagles' 2-0 home victory over then-No. 6 Maryland last Saturday and earned conference and national player of the week honors. The Trinidad & Tobago native is tied for the team lead (with junior Alejandro Bedoya) with 10 points - four goals and two assists - through the team's first five matches.
Congratulations on recently earning Soccer America National Player of the Week and ACC Player of the Week honors. How exciting was it to receive these honors and what do they mean to you?
It meant a lot because I've been practicing hard. The national honor came as a bit of a surprise because there are so many colleges all over the place. I was kind of surprised about that one. The talk was that I would probably get the ACC [honor], but not the National Player of the Week. I first heard about it at breakfast because one of the guys had the internet on his phone. He told me, "Sherron, you made National Player of the Week from Soccer America." I said, "Naw, you're playing." I was very surprised.
This is the Eagles' third season in the Atlantic Coast Conference. How will your experience in ACC play help the team this season in conference match-ups?
Every year you get better, you know the teams better, so you know how to work around certain situations and get over certain situations. The team has been practicing really hard. We worked hard in the preseason and now we just want to go into every game like we did against Maryland. If we do that, I'll think we'll be fine.
You return an All-ACC midfielder in Reuben Ayarna and add transfer Alejandro Bedoya to the midfield. Talk about what each of their abilities bring to this team.
Reuben and Alejandro are both special. They're both really good players. Alejandro is like a workhorse. He will run 90 minutes nonstop and he always gets in the right places and helps everybody else on the team. Reuben is like the stabilizer in the midfield. He's the one that links everything together, through Alejandro, through me. He's one of the best players on the team, so he helps us out a lot. You could say he's one of the biggest parts of the engine.
Team defense has definitely been a key in posting a 4-1-0 record thus far. BC has allowed just two goals through the first five games. Talk about the play of the defense.
This year, the defense has been really good because everybody knows what their responsibilities are. We realize that we can't have slip-ups like we've had in years past. Everybody's been practicing really hard. We've been working on the defense in practice, so that's been really good for us. Then, the goalie, Chris Brown, has been doing pretty well, too.
Junior Chris Brown is the team's starting goalkeeper and is one of the team's leaders on and off the field. What type of attitude does he bring to BC soccer?
He's always positive and always brings a serious side, making sure we keep our minds focused. He's the captain, so he has to show that responsibility. With his size in the box, he's so commanding. Anything that comes above head-high is his. He knocks everything down. I wouldn't want to go up against Chris Brown. He sees what's in front of the backs and he knows where the attackers are probably anticipating on going, so, he can help us adjust to where everyone is playing.
Two freshmen - Karl Reddick and Shawn Chin - have been regulars in the starting lineup through the first five games. How have they adjusted to competing at the collegiate and ACC level?
Karl and Shawn are both doing really well. Shawn has been playing the outside right position very well. Karl is helping Reuben stabilize the midfield. He is also a workhorse in the midfield because he helps keep order defensively a lot of the time. They've adjusted really well to the ACC and everything.
Your team has won three straight games - two over ranked opponents (Fairfield and Maryland). What has been the key to the team's success?
Well, Ed Kelly says, "No wishful thinking, just go and do what we have to do." We have to go out and play every game hard and make sure that we come out with a result. As I said earlier, we've lost a game that we shouldn't have, so we just need to go out there and do the job that we're supposed to do. The success comes from hard work and we've been working really hard.
What do you think is most important for your team as you prepare for your first ACC road trip to North Carolina on Saturday (at 7 p.m.)?
Their team is unique because they don't really play a set formation. They have a lot of floaters in the midfield, so they move around a lot. Today in practice we worked on defensively trying to contain the movement that they do. We're going to go into the game like every other game - make sure we come out hard, pressure them. We have to play our "football", or as they say in America, "soccer". I heard they have a good team and they're very stable, so it should be a very good game.
What are your plans for after you graduate from BC?
I would love to play professionally, especially in Europe. I would start off anywhere in Europe - maybe Belgium, Switzerland. Just get me out there, open a door for me and I'll be good. Just open one door.