Speaker 1: Time for another soccer down here, one v one and
Speaker 1: it is another visit for us at the SDH Network
Speaker 1: to Central America. We get to catch up with money
Speaker 1: Go Carnally who played in the SEC played at Georgia Impact.
Speaker 1: And where are you right now?
Speaker 2: I'm currently in Guatemala City, Guatemalda, that's right now.
Speaker 1: How did this come to be?
Speaker 2: It was just but I mean I was playing pickup
Speaker 2: soccer and silver Backs in Atlanta. Uh. I ended up
Speaker 2: meeting one of the players there and we we connected
Speaker 2: and she was talking to me about her experience playing here,
Speaker 2: and I said, I was interesting and I wanted to
Speaker 2: know more about it. And she was the one that
Speaker 2: got me in contact with the coaching staff here and
Speaker 2: they they got to see my, my, My, my highlight
Speaker 2: videos and they actually liked it. So we got in
Speaker 2: contact and that's how I got here.
Speaker 1: What has it been like for you so far?
Speaker 2: So far, it's been really cool. The people here are
Speaker 2: really nice. The place is beautiful. I like being out
Speaker 2: in nature and it's very tropical and the style of
Speaker 2: play is nice as well. So so far, I'm actually
Speaker 2: enjoying it. You know. The people are being good to me.
Speaker 1: For those that don't know and want to follow you
Speaker 1: out down there in Guatemala. What team are you playing
Speaker 1: with these days down there?
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, so the team is called a unifort Antigua.
Speaker 2: They are currently the ring champions in the the Guatemalian
Speaker 2: league here. So we are going to have our games
Speaker 2: stream I can also I'm gonna go ahead and put
Speaker 2: the wings on my social media for whoever wants to
Speaker 2: go ahead and follow and watch. We're excited for seeing
Speaker 2: us about to start this upcoming week.
Speaker 1: And it is a club from the research that I
Speaker 1: have done, they ran the table their top of the ladder.
Speaker 1: These are the folks at the top of the mountain
Speaker 1: that everybody wants to knock off every single time out.
Speaker 1: How did the conversations go and how quick was it
Speaker 1: for them to get in touch with you once you
Speaker 1: had the interest, and how long did it take for
Speaker 1: this whole deal to sit there and go yep, I'm good,
Speaker 1: I'm coming.
Speaker 2: And usually with these type of things it goes it
Speaker 2: goes quick. So when they saw my my highlight video
Speaker 2: and they got in contact with me, I got on
Speaker 2: the phone with their general manager. She just told me
Speaker 2: about the club and who they are as a team
Speaker 2: and just express the interest that the club and the
Speaker 2: coaches had in getting me here to play for the club.
Speaker 2: And after that, I was like, oh, yes, Mom, I'm
Speaker 2: interested to you and it sounds like you guys have
Speaker 2: a good plan and structure going on and there's something
Speaker 2: I want to be a part of. And after that,
Speaker 2: it was about maybe a week or two and I
Speaker 2: was on the plane coming kind of here at the
Speaker 2: bunder my way, So it went it went quick. It
Speaker 2: was a quick uh talk and turnaround.
Speaker 1: How much of a culture shock has it been for you?
Speaker 1: Or have you just been able to focus on playing
Speaker 1: and getting ready for the season or is it a
Speaker 1: little bit of both.
Speaker 2: It's actually a little bit of both. Just coming here
Speaker 2: is different. There's a language barrier. I don't speak Spanish,
Speaker 2: but I'm currently learning, so it's a little bit harder
Speaker 2: to communicate. But there are some players on the team
Speaker 2: that do you speak English, And everybody's coming together and
Speaker 2: helping me learn and just be as comfortable as it
Speaker 2: can out here.
Speaker 1: The Pride of Booth When Pennsylvania, Georgia Impact and now
Speaker 1: hanging out in Guatemala, Honeygo Carnally dropping by here for
Speaker 1: a soccer down here one v one and she is
Speaker 1: in Guatemala, and so we wanted to catch up with
Speaker 1: her before things really picked up the pace and all.
Speaker 1: When you look back at your time with Georgia Impact,
Speaker 1: what did you learn about yourself? If I'm not mistaken,
Speaker 1: it was seven matches four go on the board last
Speaker 1: season with the Georgia Impact that you played. What did
Speaker 1: you learn about yourself as a professional soccer player playing
Speaker 1: in the w PSL.
Speaker 2: H I've actually learned a lot, to be honest, just
Speaker 2: going over there and playing. I was I was playing
Speaker 2: multiple different roles in different positions, so I had to
Speaker 2: learn how how the other players play and just being
Speaker 2: comfortable in that environment. But overall it was a really
Speaker 2: good experience. I got to know a lot of the
Speaker 2: players there, and those girls are really cool that the
Speaker 2: coaches were nice as well, and I got to just
Speaker 2: improve and better my my my style and my game
Speaker 2: of play. So overall it was a good experience.
Speaker 1: What do you think you still need to work on
Speaker 1: while you're learning your craft down there in Guatemala?
Speaker 2: I would say, uh, I just need to work on
Speaker 2: one learning my learning Spanish and finding a way to
Speaker 2: community communicate with the players here and just just being
Speaker 2: just just basically knowing my role with the with the
Speaker 2: coaching staff and everybody here, just knowing being being open
Speaker 2: minded and knowing exactly what they what they need from
Speaker 2: me and how they want me to play. So that
Speaker 2: that is the one thing that I need to I
Speaker 2: feel like I need to improve on just trying to
Speaker 2: understand their style of play and how how I fit
Speaker 2: within the team.
Speaker 1: So, how how is Oonyfoot playing stylistically? What are they
Speaker 1: doing formationally that you're having to kind of learn here
Speaker 1: on the fly and your place in it? What are
Speaker 1: they telling you that here's how we do things. Things
Speaker 1: Now that you're out there on the practice field, you're
Speaker 1: learning about it, But how are they stylistically and how
Speaker 1: do you fit?
Speaker 2: Uh? Yeah, So the coach here, he is very tactical,
Speaker 2: So he likes certain players to be certain places based
Speaker 2: on where the position of the ball is. So we
Speaker 2: do functionals and stuff like that just to make sure
Speaker 2: we're in the right position based on where the ball is.
Speaker 2: So it's just a lot of tactics. It's something that
Speaker 2: I am getting used to and growing into being being
Speaker 2: playing in the position of centerphore or attacking midfielder. So
Speaker 2: for example, if the ball is with the left centers
Speaker 2: and center back, the movement of the players, people come in,
Speaker 2: people go out, and if for check, what the afford
Speaker 2: to go back. It's just that tactical movement piece that
Speaker 2: I am absorbing and just trying to understand how he
Speaker 2: wants us as a team to.
Speaker 1: Play your time in the SC where as we all know,
Speaker 1: it just means more. You got to play at Mississippi
Speaker 1: State and be there in Stark Vegas when it came
Speaker 1: to the college ranks. How do you get from Pennsylvania
Speaker 1: to Stark Vegas and play in the SEC? I guess
Speaker 1: I want to go back another step. How do you
Speaker 1: go from Pennsylvania to Stark Vegas.
Speaker 2: It was it was actually a quick transition as well.
Speaker 2: So I was playing high school, high school, high school soccer,
Speaker 2: and I didn't even think I could play soccer in college,
Speaker 2: so I was I was very late in the recruitment process.
Speaker 2: So I was in eleventh grade, almost getting into twelfth
Speaker 2: grade when I started playing on a club team called
Speaker 2: Penfusion down in Westchester. So I will go and train there,
Speaker 2: we will go for tournaments and stuff like that. And
Speaker 2: in games, and one day at school, one of my
Speaker 2: teachers was just talking and she was trying to encourage
Speaker 2: us to think about where we want to go to
Speaker 2: school and like the major that we want to major in.
Speaker 2: So at the time, I wanted to do something in engineering,
Speaker 2: so I was looking for the best engineering schools in
Speaker 2: the in the US, and one of the top schools
Speaker 2: that came up with Mississippi State. So I just went
Speaker 2: ahead out of the blue and just emailed the head
Speaker 2: coats at the time tell them at this. I just
Speaker 2: emailed them and I was like, oh, Hi, my name
Speaker 2: is Manniso and I'm interested in playing for the for
Speaker 2: the team if you are. And then he told me
Speaker 2: to come to the camp. So I came to the
Speaker 2: overnight camp. I was there for a couple of days
Speaker 2: and then at the end of the camp, he offered
Speaker 2: me a spot on the team and that's that's that's
Speaker 2: that was it. I was like, okay, I'm I mean,
Speaker 2: I'll take it. And that's how that's how I got
Speaker 2: from thanksfullly next to State.
Speaker 1: What did your parents think about this? Uh? This whole
Speaker 1: thing where you pick up the sport then you end
Speaker 1: up with an offer to go play in the Southeastern
Speaker 1: Conference in Startville, Mississippi, which is not you know, hopping
Speaker 1: in the car and going down the corner to go
Speaker 1: to wah Wah and get groceries. I mean, it's it's
Speaker 1: a hike. What What did they think about you being
Speaker 1: that far away from home to yes, pursue in education
Speaker 1: and yes play soccer.
Speaker 2: Initially, my mom was she was worried because it's a
Speaker 2: it's far off her from where I'm coming from. It's
Speaker 2: I've been thirteen or fourteen hours dry. But I just
Speaker 2: explained to her. I told her that I've been there
Speaker 2: for the camp and the people there really nice. Starboard.
Speaker 2: Starboard is a good it's a good town. I love
Speaker 2: that place, so the people they're nice. And I told
Speaker 2: her her sister, my aunt, she lives in Atlanta. I
Speaker 2: was like, well, my aunt lives here in Atlanta and
Speaker 2: that's just four hours away, so if anything, I can
Speaker 2: be able to go there. And that that eased her
Speaker 2: her concerns and eased her mind. So I was like, yeah,
Speaker 2: my ins there, So.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what about now, I mean, it's not a four
Speaker 1: hour drive from your your aunt's place to go see
Speaker 1: you in college? How how constant is the contact with
Speaker 1: family now, going from you know, Pennsylvania and Atlanta and
Speaker 1: the Atlanta area to you and Guatemala. How how how
Speaker 1: are the ties back home these days?
Speaker 2: Oh? Yeah, so the the time difference is getting big
Speaker 2: right now. My mom is in she's in Ruby, Kenya,
Speaker 2: and my dad is in he's back at home in Liberia,
Speaker 2: So they're different. I think I think she's I think
Speaker 2: she's nine. I think eight to nine hours ahead of me,
Speaker 2: and my dad is around six or seven hours ahead
Speaker 2: of me as well. So most of the time when
Speaker 2: I wake up in the morning, I just sent her
Speaker 2: a text message or I will just I will call her,
Speaker 2: and sometimes if she doesn't hear from me for a
Speaker 2: day or two, she will message me and be like,
Speaker 2: I'm checking in. But I'm always talking to them at
Speaker 2: least three or four times a week.
Speaker 1: What about your relationships with teammates with Georgia Impact. Do
Speaker 1: you have any teammates that you're in like a WhatsApp
Speaker 1: group or anything where you guys can compare notes, or
Speaker 1: in college teammates or anything like that.
Speaker 2: I do. I do. I have a few from the
Speaker 2: Georgia Impact and my college days. I actually still talk
Speaker 2: to them sometimes we will message each other and she's
Speaker 2: just talk. Before I came here, I was actually training
Speaker 2: with one of the players from The Impact. We were
Speaker 2: training with a personal trainer. He's a good guy, Mike
Speaker 2: from Process FC, So yeah, we would do individual training
Speaker 2: trainings with him. Some of my really good friends and
Speaker 2: old teammates from Mississippi State as well. Some of them
Speaker 2: are living in Atlanta. They don't play soccer anymore, but
Speaker 2: we still talk about the game and we just hang out.
Speaker 2: So those are the friendships and relationships that I cherish
Speaker 2: because those people have been by my side throughout this
Speaker 2: whole journey, so I appreciate them a lot.
Speaker 1: Did you get to take anything from home with you
Speaker 1: there to where you're staying in Guatemala? Do you have
Speaker 1: any do you have any like little Impact? Do you
Speaker 1: have a do you have a Mississippi State bulldog? Do
Speaker 1: you have any of your old jerseys? What's what's there
Speaker 1: in the apartment, anything that you were able to bring
Speaker 1: with you?
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, I I have some of my my Misisispi
Speaker 2: State gear that I still wear. I don't want to
Speaker 2: picture of my dog.
Speaker 1: There you go.
Speaker 2: And then yeah, another thing is there's a pillow that
Speaker 2: my my dad got me.
Speaker 1: I was gonna say, yeah, go get it. Hey, yeah,
Speaker 1: there you go.
Speaker 2: That's that's something that my my dad got me. So
Speaker 2: I take that everywhere I go, even if I'm just
Speaker 2: going for a little trip anywhere. So those are the
Speaker 2: things that just reminds me of home or back.
Speaker 1: You know, moneygo Carnally hanging out with us here. She
Speaker 1: is now getting ready for the Guatemalan season with the
Speaker 1: UNIFOOT and they are the big dogs in the so
Speaker 1: it makes sense that you play your bulldog and now
Speaker 1: you're with the big dogs in Guatemala getting ready for
Speaker 1: the season down there. What excites you the most about
Speaker 1: the season coming up?
Speaker 2: Everything? You know, this is my first professional contract, so
Speaker 2: I just want to I just want to play. So
Speaker 2: I'm excited about the first game. I'm excited about playing
Speaker 2: our home stadium. I'm just excited to play. I'm excited
Speaker 2: to play with these girls that we've been training with.
Speaker 2: So I'm just saying I'm itching to get them a
Speaker 2: feeling and stop playing. So the excitement is definitely there.
Speaker 1: All right, go ahead, let everybody know one more time
Speaker 1: when the first match is and I know that you're
Speaker 1: gonna be posting all the links on your social media
Speaker 1: about where to watch. So give me the where and
Speaker 1: the when and how folks can hang out with you. Hello, yep,
Speaker 1: let let everybody know how you can. Let everybody know
Speaker 1: how they can watch. Yep, I got you. You're good.
Speaker 1: I got you. Nothing like Oh it's it's look. I'm
Speaker 1: in Atlanta and you're in Guatemala. Trust me, I trust me.
Speaker 1: I know it's all good. Uh, Like I said, just
Speaker 1: let everybody. Yeah, let everybody know how they can watch.
Speaker 2: Yes, So our game we're going to be playing this
Speaker 2: weekend where you're going to play on Sunday. The time
Speaker 2: is to be discussed, so we don't know the time yet,
Speaker 2: but we're going to be on Facebook Live. So I
Speaker 2: will go ahead and post that on my Instagram and
Speaker 2: my Facebook so everyone can go ahead and watch. So
Speaker 2: you guys can go ahead and just cheer us on
Speaker 2: from back home. I definitely post that on there, probably
Speaker 2: on Friday or Saturday, just so we all are aware.
Speaker 1: Looking forward to it. Money go Carnly hanging out with us,
Speaker 1: and she is getting ready for the Guatemalan season, and
Speaker 1: we could not be happier to see things with this
Speaker 1: first professional contract be safe, be well, stay healthy. Thanks
Speaker 1: for letting us know what's going on from down there
Speaker 1: in Guatemala up here to SDH network headquarters in Atlanta.
Speaker 1: Thanks for dropping by, Thanks for taking the time. I
Speaker 1: know you're super busy. I know you're crawling the walls.
Speaker 1: I know that you want to get things moving. But
Speaker 1: thanks for hanging out for a one v one. We'll
Speaker 1: be keeping an eye on things, and especially when you
Speaker 1: post those links for all those matches down there in
Speaker 1: the guatemal Like Thanks for dropping by.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me have a good day.