Hard Work Paying Off for Muñoz
By Kevin Ivany
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A sophomore midfielder on the University of Miami women’s soccer team, Ariana Muñoz continues to make improvements to her overall game by taking the time to learn from her coaches.
“Ari is really passionate about playing soccer and she comes to training every day ready to give her best,” Miami head coach Sarah Barnes said. “She is really good about listening to the coaching points, absorbing everything from the video sessions and she is one of the first people to come in and ask to see one of the coaches after every game.”
Now in her second season at UM, Muñoz has continued to impress Barnes and her staff week in and week out. And five matches into the 2019 campaign, the sophomore has already surpassed her minutes played from all of last season.
“Keeping last year in mind, I kept believing that hard work must eventually pay off at some point. So, last fall, apart from our team training sessions, I would go out on my own and not just do my own things on the field, but also in the gym,” Muñoz said. “Over the summer, I basically trained every single day with the mindset of going into this season strong and trying to earn more playing time and opportunities to kind of show all the hard work I had put in, hoping that would pay off.”
For Barnes, not only has she seen the Jacksonville, Fla., native improve physically, but also mentally.
“Her fitness level has improved dramatically from the beginning of her freshman year until now,” Barnes said. “Also, her speed of play has really improved. At the high school and youth setting, I think games were sometimes too easy for her, where on the college setting, everyone is bigger, faster and stronger. I have enjoyed seeing her understanding of how to kind of adapt from those settings continue to grow.”
In Thursday’s 4-0 victory over Stetson, Muñoz made the most of her 45 minutes on the pitch tallying her first career goal.
“It was honestly such a good feeling. After the game I thought, ‘Wow, all that work has finally paid off.’ So, it was such a good feeling and hopefully it was the first of many,” Muñoz said. “It was great, not only getting the first goal but also helping someone else get there first goal. It was just such a great feeling overall and I just hope to keep going up from there.”
Just 2:36 minutes after blasting the ball into the back of the net on Thursday, Muñoz was back on the attack and led Sierra Frey into space, as the sophomore defender buried it home.
It was this three-point effort and overall match in particular that really stood out to Barnes.
“Every game I think she has gotten better and this past performance I think was the best she has played,” Barnes said. “She was deceptive, we got to see a lot of her creativity because she has a lot of soccer savvy to her. So, once she starts to get in a rhythm during a match, you see some of that creativity that is a little unique, start to take over.
“I think we saw her savviness shine Thursday night and it was exciting to see her not only score her first goal but also see her set up a great assist for Sierra, on what was also Sierra’s first goal,” Barnes said. “We are really excited about what Ari is bringing to the table. Her commitment to be the best she can possibly be, is something that is going to take her a long way. She is one of those kids who is fun to work with every day and our job is to help her reach her goals.”
For Muñoz, it is not only about the work she puts in on the field, but also continuing to build strong connections with her teammates off of it. In particular, helping this season’s four freshmen international student-athletes–Melissa Dagenais, Mari Horpestad, María Jakobsdóttir and Ine Østmo–continue to adapt to the Miami city and team culture.
“For some reason I feel that every time an international [student-athlete] comes in, I feel like I immediately connect with them,” Muñoz said. “I just try to not only show them around campus but also show them the responsibilities for being a member of this team. They are also so willing to come out and put in the extra work. So, it is always good to have those people who are always willing to play because they love the sport as much as I do.”
Despite being born in Jacksonville, Muñoz mother, Ana Corregidor, is from Spain and her father, Juan Muñoz, grew up in Peru. And prior to attending elementary school, she spent two years in Spain and she believes that has a lot to do with the connection she now has with her international teammates.
“I grew up speaking Spanish and I only speak Spanish when I’m at home. I think knowing my parents do not speak English very well and knowing what that feels like, and then seeing these internationals come in with that same situation, I feel like I can relate to them better,” Muñoz said. “So, I think knowing another language and other cultures just helps me understand their positions better.”
Rooming with Østmo during road trips, the two midfielders in particular have built a strong chemistry and it has proven true in practice. As a warm up for upcoming matches, Barnes and her staff have implemented a game of soccer horseshoes to work on everyone’s first touch.
For the duo, they have continued to dominate the game, securing the title in each of the first four competitions. Most recently winning six straight matches Sunday morning to claim the championship.
“We always look forward to horseshoes, but now we are starting to feel a little bit of pressure from winning in the past,” Muñoz said. “But we are always super excited and just take it one game at a time. But it is always a great feeling to get that first win out of the way and keep going from there. And then playing alongside Ine, she is also my roommate and we have that connection on and off the field.”
With practice now in the rear view window, the team’s mindset quickly shifts to Sunday night’s contest with in-state rival Florida at 6 p.m.
A rivalry that dates back to 1938 when the programs’ football teams squared off for the first time, the soccer squads will meet for just the 10th time and first time since 2015.
“In general the Florida and Miami rivalry is obviously huge, but I think from a women’s soccer stand point, Florida has a massive soccer history and tradition and has been really successful over the years. Their coaching staff has done an unbelievable job at creating an elite mentality,” Barnes said. “They have played a really tough schedule this year, so we are going to need to step into that match and perform at a conference level to be competitive and impose our will on them.
“I think it is a great opportunity to play Florida. I am excited to be challenged by them I think there are a lot of challenges that we can impose on them,” Barnes said. “But more importantly, I think it is no question the closest game to an ACC Level opponent we will play. So, from a preparation stand point it is critical for us to head into the game and sort of get our mindset right as we begin to approach conference play.”
Muñoz shared Barnes’ thoughts and said, “I think this is the best game to have before ACC’s, because it is going to help set the bar for how every match is going to be in the ACC. That is because all of the teams we are going to compete against are either as good as Florida or even better. So, I think it is just a good challenge to see where we are now and where we will need to be down the road.”
Following Sunday night’s match, Muñoz and the Hurricanes will open conference play Saturday, Sept. 21 when they head to Blacksburg, Va., to take on No. 16 Virginia Tech.
