Colorado State University Athletics
McDonald Has Her Voices in Perfect Tune
9/18/2019 12:14:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Sophomore goalie has helped Rams off to an impressive start
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – She hears voices.
They are internal, and they work well for Gabi McDonald. They offer direction, purpose and an unquenchable drive.
The problem was, no one was hearing her on Colorado State's soccer field.
"No, and we talked about this a lot in the spring," defender Lauren Jones said. "I would hear her, and the back line would hear her, but not the whole field would hear her. I'd say, 'Gabi, that's a great point, be louder Gabi.' I did that a lot in the spring, be louder and try to instill that confidence in her."
There's the catch. As internally motivated as McDonald is, she had to find her footing on the soccer team. Assistant coach Seb Furness said they pursued her with vigor out of Rocky Mountain High School, falling in love with her athleticism and the promised potential. While everybody else had confidence in her abilities, McDonald had to feel it herself in the role of replacing Hunter Peifer in net.
The urging of Jones and other teammates helped. So did encouragement from Furness. She just needed one more voice to tell her to push forward.
The one inside of her.
"Yes, I definitely feel more demanding now," McDonald said. "It's the way a goalkeeper should be. It feels like right at home.
"You know, yelling louder. They call it my man voice. I tend to talk kinda girlie, and then when I yell on the field, I sound like a different person. So, yeah, it's called the alter-ego man voice."
The true sophomore has played every minute in net as the Rams are off to the best start in program history, sitting at 4-1-1 as they head into a weekend swing against at Valparaiso (Friday, 6 p.m.) and a rematch with Marquette (Sunday, noon). She has a sparkling 0.78 goals against average and leads the Mountain West in saves (38) and saves per game (6.33), resulting in three shutouts to this point and her recognition as the conference's defensive player of the week for her role in blanking Denver 1-0 in overtime last Friday.
It was her second shutout in a row, the first coming against Grand Canyon. She had one against GCU as a true freshman, but there was a clear difference. While she could be heard loud and clear on the field this time, Furness had issues hearing her from the sidelines the year prior.
Furness, who works with the Rams' netminders, said they recruited her with the idea she could be the team's starter at this point in her career. Her tenacity to improve is what strikes him most, giving him the confidence any little liability they could find in her game would be dealt with immediately.
Such a character trait speaks volumes.
"So, Gabi, every day she makes me stay 10, 15 minutes after practice," Furness said. "She's got very specific areas of her game that she focuses on. It's almost like computerized is what she's working on. Right now, we're focusing on that ball striking, and she's trying to add different weapons to her game."
She came with talent, but she also had a list of improvements in hand. It's her ability recognize her own flaws which is so refreshing. For a coach, her desire to erase them can be exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.
So she makes Furness stay late, and she doesn't feel bad about it. The way she sees it, it's fun time for him, too.
"Seb had to talk me out of making him give me a written report, week by week," McDonald said. "I was going to write up a spreadsheet and make him evaluate every aspect of my game, week by week. I tell him I want black-and-white feedback all the time. I think meticulous and computerized is the right way to put it. I always say Type A.
"If myself or someone highlights something I need to work on, I'm going to work on it, not until it's good, but until I can't get it wrong."
It's that voice deep inside her, the one commanding her to compete. The main target this year was ball striking. She is fundamentally sound in the net and constantly improving there, but the team's philosophy this season is to have the defense spark the attack, and McDonald can be a weapon.
She spent her summer working on a ball-striking, and not just an old way. No, she was targeting a certain type called a side volley. As Furness explains, it is a more accurate way to deliver a long ball, and he knows she won't try something in a game just to try it. No, she has to practice it hundreds of times and feel she has the skill down at least at an 80-90 percent level before match action.
The task presented a perfect opportunity for her inner voice to direct her down a new path.
Her philosophy is to pick the person in front of her and try to beat them. Last year was easy, as it was Peifer who was the starter, and McDonald wanted to be better than her. To a degree, Peifer is still a target. McDonald figures she improved from her freshman to final year, and McDonald wants to show more improvement than she did, and not just by a little bit.
Now she's the starter, and the only player for McDonald to top is the one in goal.
"Now it's beating myself and making sure my standards stay high every day at practice, and every day getting better, because the person I was yesterday is the person I want to beat," she said. "It's a lot more fun this year, because I can look at what Seb is telling me to focus on, and it's fun to highlight aspects of my game and knowing it's making myself the best goalkeeper I can be and the certain type of goalkeeper I can be."
By the time her career is done, she wants to establish her own style. It is aggressive by design, as she will come off her line and use her physical gifts. She can direct traffic, and she and handle crosses, but she wants to be fearless in the process. It's her goal box, and she plans to dominate the area.
That's what her teammates are hearing this year.
"Gabi has really stepped up, she talks all the time and tells us what she wants, what she doesn't want," Jones said. "She demands the ball if she wants it, and if she doesn't, she gives you another option.
"I think it's so helpful, sometimes with my back to the goal, I can't always see every option, but she's loud and she's there and she tells me, and I have no hesitation if she says, hey play Kaitlyn Abrams out wide, then I play it. I trust her."
The "man voice" she found has proven to be loud and proud, demanding and dictating. And it's fun. A lot of fun, at least on the field.
She hasn't found it to work at home, and that's OK.
"No. Not with two older football-playing brothers," she said. "Really, it's just if I'm on the soccer field, or if I need to yell and get someone's attention. Or scare them."
They are internal, and they work well for Gabi McDonald. They offer direction, purpose and an unquenchable drive.
The problem was, no one was hearing her on Colorado State's soccer field.
"No, and we talked about this a lot in the spring," defender Lauren Jones said. "I would hear her, and the back line would hear her, but not the whole field would hear her. I'd say, 'Gabi, that's a great point, be louder Gabi.' I did that a lot in the spring, be louder and try to instill that confidence in her."
There's the catch. As internally motivated as McDonald is, she had to find her footing on the soccer team. Assistant coach Seb Furness said they pursued her with vigor out of Rocky Mountain High School, falling in love with her athleticism and the promised potential. While everybody else had confidence in her abilities, McDonald had to feel it herself in the role of replacing Hunter Peifer in net.
The urging of Jones and other teammates helped. So did encouragement from Furness. She just needed one more voice to tell her to push forward.
The one inside of her.
"Yes, I definitely feel more demanding now," McDonald said. "It's the way a goalkeeper should be. It feels like right at home.
"You know, yelling louder. They call it my man voice. I tend to talk kinda girlie, and then when I yell on the field, I sound like a different person. So, yeah, it's called the alter-ego man voice."
The true sophomore has played every minute in net as the Rams are off to the best start in program history, sitting at 4-1-1 as they head into a weekend swing against at Valparaiso (Friday, 6 p.m.) and a rematch with Marquette (Sunday, noon). She has a sparkling 0.78 goals against average and leads the Mountain West in saves (38) and saves per game (6.33), resulting in three shutouts to this point and her recognition as the conference's defensive player of the week for her role in blanking Denver 1-0 in overtime last Friday.
It was her second shutout in a row, the first coming against Grand Canyon. She had one against GCU as a true freshman, but there was a clear difference. While she could be heard loud and clear on the field this time, Furness had issues hearing her from the sidelines the year prior.
Furness, who works with the Rams' netminders, said they recruited her with the idea she could be the team's starter at this point in her career. Her tenacity to improve is what strikes him most, giving him the confidence any little liability they could find in her game would be dealt with immediately.
Such a character trait speaks volumes.
"So, Gabi, every day she makes me stay 10, 15 minutes after practice," Furness said. "She's got very specific areas of her game that she focuses on. It's almost like computerized is what she's working on. Right now, we're focusing on that ball striking, and she's trying to add different weapons to her game."
She came with talent, but she also had a list of improvements in hand. It's her ability recognize her own flaws which is so refreshing. For a coach, her desire to erase them can be exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.
So she makes Furness stay late, and she doesn't feel bad about it. The way she sees it, it's fun time for him, too.
"Seb had to talk me out of making him give me a written report, week by week," McDonald said. "I was going to write up a spreadsheet and make him evaluate every aspect of my game, week by week. I tell him I want black-and-white feedback all the time. I think meticulous and computerized is the right way to put it. I always say Type A.
"If myself or someone highlights something I need to work on, I'm going to work on it, not until it's good, but until I can't get it wrong."
It's that voice deep inside her, the one commanding her to compete. The main target this year was ball striking. She is fundamentally sound in the net and constantly improving there, but the team's philosophy this season is to have the defense spark the attack, and McDonald can be a weapon.
She spent her summer working on a ball-striking, and not just an old way. No, she was targeting a certain type called a side volley. As Furness explains, it is a more accurate way to deliver a long ball, and he knows she won't try something in a game just to try it. No, she has to practice it hundreds of times and feel she has the skill down at least at an 80-90 percent level before match action.
The task presented a perfect opportunity for her inner voice to direct her down a new path.
Her philosophy is to pick the person in front of her and try to beat them. Last year was easy, as it was Peifer who was the starter, and McDonald wanted to be better than her. To a degree, Peifer is still a target. McDonald figures she improved from her freshman to final year, and McDonald wants to show more improvement than she did, and not just by a little bit.
Now she's the starter, and the only player for McDonald to top is the one in goal.
"Now it's beating myself and making sure my standards stay high every day at practice, and every day getting better, because the person I was yesterday is the person I want to beat," she said. "It's a lot more fun this year, because I can look at what Seb is telling me to focus on, and it's fun to highlight aspects of my game and knowing it's making myself the best goalkeeper I can be and the certain type of goalkeeper I can be."
By the time her career is done, she wants to establish her own style. It is aggressive by design, as she will come off her line and use her physical gifts. She can direct traffic, and she and handle crosses, but she wants to be fearless in the process. It's her goal box, and she plans to dominate the area.
That's what her teammates are hearing this year.
"Gabi has really stepped up, she talks all the time and tells us what she wants, what she doesn't want," Jones said. "She demands the ball if she wants it, and if she doesn't, she gives you another option.
"I think it's so helpful, sometimes with my back to the goal, I can't always see every option, but she's loud and she's there and she tells me, and I have no hesitation if she says, hey play Kaitlyn Abrams out wide, then I play it. I trust her."
The "man voice" she found has proven to be loud and proud, demanding and dictating. And it's fun. A lot of fun, at least on the field.
She hasn't found it to work at home, and that's OK.
"No. Not with two older football-playing brothers," she said. "Really, it's just if I'm on the soccer field, or if I need to yell and get someone's attention. Or scare them."
Players Mentioned
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