BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech women's soccer player Nicole Kozlova's most recent call-up to the Ukrainian Senior National team is one she will probably never forget as it featured several highs and ended with her returning to her hometown of Toronto, Canada instead of Blacksburg, Virginia.
Kozlova,and her teammates competed in the Pinatar Cup, which ran from March 1-11 in Murcia, Spain and featured three teams ranked in the top 30 of the FIFA World Rankings – themselves at No. 27, along with No. 18 Iceland and No. 22 Scotland. The matches served as warm-ups for the teams before playing qualifying matches in April for the 2021 Euros.
Her trip began with an unforgettable experience, being able to attend the El Clasico – a match between rivals FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Kozlova then started all three matches for Ukraine in the tournament, played almost 240 minutes, scored her first SNT goal and was able to help her team to a solid showing. It ended, however, with her scrambling to get back home to Canada due to the COVID-19 outbreak that has now shutdown most of the world.
Below, please enjoy this Q&A with Kozlova, who talks about her experiences during her fourth call-up to the national team and what she's been doing since.
Q: Overall, how was your experience this time around with the national team?
NK: "I was really excited to finally be back with the team, during my previous trip to Turkey, I made some new friends and felt more integrated into the team. So this time around, I was looking forward to growing my bonds with my teammates and I did exactly that. Playing soccer at this level it has given me the opportunity to travel the world and see some beautiful places. This was my first time in Spain and I really enjoyed experiencing a new culture and sightsee in a new country. The facilities we were at were unbelievable, all world-class grass fields, the best I've seen in a while. Overall, it was just a great experience."
Q: I know you had some other plans on this trip, can you talk about them?
NK: "I was able to go to the El Clasico because that was a day before camp and that was an experience of a lifetime! It was at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium (in Madrid, Spain), which is Real Madrid's home stadium and seats 80,000 people and it was a sold out crowd. I've been a Barcelona fan my whole life, so I it was just my luck that I was able to finally see them play at a game like this. Unfortunately, the wrong team won, Real Madrid dominated this game. So, I was a bit disappointed in the result, but it was still some great soccer to watch and the whole atmosphere was indescribable – with all the fans screaming and singing songs – it was amazing.
"And then I was supposed to meet up with Jaylyn (Thompson) after camp, because I was going to be in Madrid for another four days. The plan was for me to take a train ride to Zaragoza, but that's when there was a sudden spike with the virus and Jaylyn bought a ticket home the day before I was supposed to meet up with her, so we never ended up getting together."
Q: How did the matches go? Did you play all of them before the whole situation set in?
NK: "The virus didn't really affect the tournament itself, because we were in the south of Spain where the number of cases were low. When we were there, there wasn't any concern over games getting cancelled or anything. However, UEFA had made a rule that we could not shake hands with referees or the opponents to avoid contact. The only thing we were worried about was flying home, as there was a possibility of borders closing.
"We played three games in the tournament and I started all three of them. We opened with Scotland, who is a very strong team and was coming off the World Cup last year. For the first 60 minutes, we had some really great chances, but we weren't clinical in our finishing that day and we didn't put them our chances when we needed to. In the last 30 minutes, they put three goals away and so we lost 3-0. That was a really good game against some really good competition and we stood our ground.
"Our second game was against Northern Ireland and we wanted to come out and dominate, which we did. We won the game 4-0 and I scored a goal, had an assist and played all 90 minutes. We controlled that whole game, and we probably could have put away a few more. It's one of those games we had to come out and win and we did that.
"Then our third game was with Iceland and that morning I unfortunately woke up with a stiff neck, so I couldn't really move my neck very much. It got better as the day went on, and I decided to play and had started the game. We battled with Iceland the whole game. They are a very strong, big aggressive team and it was a big adjustment for me playing against them. Even playing in the ACC, it's not even comparable – these girls seemed twice as big, twice as strong and twice as fast.
"We lost 1-0 and finished third out of four teams, but we thought it was a very successful tournament because we competed against three solid teams. As I had mentioned before that tournaments like these are very important in the growth of our team. This was a friendly, so it didn't count for anything, but playing these games prepares you for when they do matter and that's something we've always missed out on. So the hope is, because we played well, that we will get invited to more tournaments like this."
Q: Personally, what did you take away from playing in these matches with such top-level talent?
NK: "When we played Scotland, I was playing attacking mid and their holding mid was their captain that game and plays for Man City and that is a very high-praised club. So, playing against girls that are already playing at the highest level, the level I want to reach, and being able to compete against them just makes me realize how close I am and it keeps me wanting to work hard and grow my game. It's a very reachable goal and it's eye-opening that I'm almost there and it makes me want to just put my head down and continue grinding.
"There was also another girl, she didn't play in our game, but she's one of their team's superstars and also plays for Chelsea. I played against her a couple years ago at the U19 level and she had scored five goals in that game. And I remember her from that day and after watching her play in this tournament, I believe the gap between us has shrunk so much. I was just happy to see that in myself and how much I've grown in the last two years, but also to see someone like that, a superstar, and to see how she plays the game."
Q: So, how did the whole situation hit the organization? When/how did you find out about the issues and what were your first reactions?
NK: "During camp, there were some talks and there were some girls that were a little worried about it, but as a whole we really weren't thinking much about it as our focus was on the tournament. It really didn't affect us as majority of the team made it back home to Ukraine smoothly and safely. At the moment it is the same in Ukraine as most other countries. All soccer games and practices have been put on hold. I think I took the biggest hit with the whole situation.
Q: OK, so how did this hit you? When did you get home to Canada?
NK: "Well, this was quite an experience. I have never, ever dealt with something like this. Originally, my ticket back to Roanoke was a bit later, because the camp had ended during our Spring Break, so I thought why spend four days in Blacksburg when no one was there when I can spend four days in Madrid, Spain and go sightseeing. So, my original flight back was supposed to be to Roanoke on Sunday, March 15.
"The first day I arrived in Madrid everything was still pretty calm. Everything was still open, people were outside and roaming around, everything seemed normal. The next day, the whole coronavirus situation started to hit. There were less people outside, all the museums and tourist attractions had closed. Then Trump announced that no one could enter into the United States unless they were U.S. citizens, and I thought 'I can't fly back to Roanoke, because I'm not a U.S. citizen'. So, my dad spent awhile trying to change my flight and was finally able to get a flight back to Toronto, but on the 15th still and at that point I still had three more days in Spain.
"At that point, things started to change exponentially as things were getting worse. All restaurants closed, the streets were silent, and the grocery stores were empty. Police were all over the streets. I was renting an Airbnb room from a lady and she actually left – she drove her car to Portugal, supposedly everything in Portugal was OK. So she just left and I was all alone in Spain.
"So the next few days, I would go outside for a run or go search for food. I actually had to go to four different grocery stores before I found chicken. My last night there, I went for a run and I noticed there were a lot more police on the streets, and I was curious as to why. It turned out that night, they announced a lockdown, which luckily for me, my flight was early on Sunday morning and I managed to fly out. But the biggest thing was doing it all alone, in a country where I didn't know the language, it was quite difficult."
Q: Spain is now one of the hardest hit countries in the world, how is that making you feel?
NK: "Personally, the virus doesn't scare me, but it would have been very unfortunate if I would have been stuck there, because although it's a beautiful country, there aren't a lot of people there who speak English there. That was, for me, one of the hardest things. I had never been there before and I didn't know the language, so I worried about not getting out and being stuck there. On my trip home, my connecting flight was through London and I had an eight-hour layover there and I went out to the city-center and I just loved it."
Q: Are you still in contact with any of your teammates? If so, what are their thoughts, concerns?
NK: "In Ukraine, they just recently went into full lockdown, so the girls are sitting in their homes. I also know that they've had all their practices and games cancelled. So, their all just still sitting at home. However, there are some who play in Belarus, and they're actually still playing, their season is still going on."
Q: How are you adapting to the online classes and getting in workouts/fitness during this time?
NK: "Online classes has been a smoother transition for me than for probably most students. With all my soccer trips, I've been doing online schooling quite a bit already. With my two-week long trips, it's basically doing online school for two weeks at a time. So, I do have experience with it, I just need to make sure I write out a schedule and make sure I follow it. Because if I don't, it's really easy to go spend time with your family instead of doing your assignments.
"Working out, I've had to get quite creative because gyms are obviously closed and all of our fields are closed. Supposedly, if you go on one, you could get fined, so I'm avoiding them. I've been going on a lot of runs outside, adjusting them based on if I am working on my endurance or speed. Weight-wise, we have a couple things in our house I've been using, but at the end of the day you just have to be creative – there's just a lot of things you can do. There are so many drills you can do with a soccer ball and all you need is a small space. I have focused on challenging my technical abilities with new footwork. I have also challenged myself to learn how to juggle a tennis ball 100 times. Creating small challenges like these has kept training fun for me and has given me something to work towards. I think I've done a really good job with staying in shape even though at times it can be mentally frustrating to not be able to go to a gym or do your ideal workout. It's been different, but the one thing is because we have no 'soccer' right now and I've decided to change my focus – having a really solid fitness base and working on basic technical soccer skills, because that's something you can control. And hopefully this is over soon and I can focus back more on soccer related things."