Before Logan Nidy and the San Diego State Aztecs head to the Mountain West Tournament, there is a story to be told about a player who changed her position and her mindset. Her sights remain on one thing though: a championship.

Moving Positions

Nidy, who played with Academica over the summer in the USL W, had a unique junior season. She changed positions to start the year, spending a portion of the season as an outside-back before moving back to her natural position as a forward.

Nidy says she wasn’t overly confident taking the role, but did say it was something she volunteered to do to help the team. It also wasn’t the first time she had played the position either. “We had lost an outside back who started last year to back surgery, so I just volunteered to step in. Growing up, when my parents coached me, way back when, they would always put me at outside back, just for fun. Then in club soccer, every once in a while, if we were up by a lot, I’d be like, ‘hey, I’ll play outside back, give someone else an opportunity to go play forward’.” 

She did face pretty hefty competition while trying to learn the position at the collegiate level, as the Aztecs played Stanford who were ranked second in the nation, as well as other ranked teams early in the season. 

Despite saying she missed playing forward at times while being used as an outside back, Nidy was clear about the fact that she was just happy to be playing.

A Second Home Stadium

San Diego State has a tradition that started in recent years. They play at least one game at Snapdragon Stadium, the home of the NWSL’s San Diego Wave. Nidy talked about how it felt for her to be on the same field that has been graced by players like Alex Morgan and Naomi Girma.

“We get a full experience where we get to dress up before the game, they take pictures of us, they hang up our jerseys. It’s awesome, they make us feel so special. I feel like that’s everybody’s favorite game. We come into those games just so excited and ready to play. We have yet to get scored on in that stadium. It feels like we’re almost unstoppable in that stadium. I go watch Wave games, so to think about how we’ve probably shared the same locker room as Alex Morgan and Naomi Girma, like all these big-time players, that’s pretty special, and that’s pretty cool.”

High Expectations

Heading into her junior year, Nidy said her coaches didn’t have too many more expectations for her. She said the expectations were always high, but most importantly her coaches and teammates believed in her.

“I think that my coaches have always had pretty high expectations of me, so I don’t think that really their expectations have changed. I know there’s a big difference from last year to this year because last year I was coming back from a knee injury. So I know I wasn’t the same player that I was this year, but like when I talk to my coaches about just like the different years that I’ve been here it seems like they believed the same in me in my freshman year as they do now.” 

Nidy tore her ACL late in her freshman season, and as a result, she was unable to play in the Mountain West tournament. Despite her injury, Nidy says the coaches and teammates were very supportive. “My teammates have always been so supportive and so loving of everything. So they make me feel so special, and it’s so wonderful.”

During her sophomore year, Nidy had to wear a brace because of her injury and she feels it influenced the way she played considerably. “I had to play in a brace all of last season, and it just took away some of my strengths as a player. I wasn’t able to be as quick as I usually am, and then, side-to-side movement was a little bit difficult for me. I think also, just being a shorter player and a brace taking up a majority of your leg, was pretty difficult on me. I wasn’t able to do things that I normally do.” She then added, “I think that where I am now is a completely different player than what I was last fall.”

Mountain West Tournament

The Aztecs will start their playoff run tonight, as they host the UNLV Rebels in the first round of the tournament. They’ve defeated the Rebels once this season, a 2-0 victory at home. Nidy mentioned how important it is to not get overconfident heading into the first round though. “We’re not going to be like, ‘Oh, yeah, we got this game, it’s easy’ because UNLV is a good team. They made it there too, and we’re only one rank apart. I do think that it’s going to be a good game no matter what, and we’re going to go in knowing that we can play our own game, and we’re capable of winning that game,“

Nidy is excited that the Aztecs earned the right to host the tournament this year. She said it’s very difficult to play on the road in the Mountain West. “At home, I feel like we play so much better than we do away because in the Mountain West Conference, you travel to places with different elevations, you travel to places that have thicker, longer grass. So when we play at sea level, and we play on our grass, there’s nothing that could stop us. I believe that for sure, but I’m definitely excited.” She then added, “It’s just so exciting to finally play in front of our home crowd and get our own fans out here and cheer us on.” 

She’s also going to be familiar with her opposition, as she’s previously played with some of the players at UNLV. “It’s also really cool because I’m playing against some of my club teammates on UNLV. So that’s also pretty exciting, just to compete against people that you know and love.”

Part of the motivation for Nidy is playing for the seniors who have yet to win a Mountain West championship. “There’s something so special about these seniors.” She said before adding, “When I committed to San Diego State, and I knew I was going here, I would watch them on TV. I’d put them on TV and watch their games. So I’ve watched these players and kind of fangirled over them before I was their teammate.”

Nidy continued to stress how important this group of seniors is to her by saying, “The majority of my college experience came with these girls. These girls mean so much to me. They’re such special players, and they’re even more special people. The bonds that I’ve built with these girls, I know they’re gonna be in my life for the rest of my life. So to win a game for them, and to win the tournament for them, it means everything. Every single time I step on the field, I’m like, ‘Alright, this is for our seniors.’ This is the last time I’ll be playing with these girls, and I don’t want it to end ever so it means everything. 

I think that’s one of our main motivations going into the tournament. We’ve got 11 girls on this team who haven’t had a Mountain West Tournament Championship yet, so that’s that’s what we’re aiming for.”

Nidy didn’t need any additional motivation though, as she has goals for herself which include winning the Mountain West. She mentioned how in high school, she wanted to win a Valley Championship. She wanted that hat more than anything at the time, and she achieved that goal, multiple times. At the collegiate level, her mindset is the same. She wants a championship ring before she leaves the Aztecs. 

“I went into high school and I was always like, ‘the one thing I want is a Valley Championship hat.’ I don’t care about anything else. I think I have the same exact mindset coming into college, like, I want a Mountain West hat so bad. That is just top of my list.”

Nidy then continued, saying she’s very confident heading into the tournament that this could be the year it happens. “To win the tournament, and to experience the NCAA tournament, that’s top of my bucket list right now. That would just be so exciting, so exhilarating. I cannot wait. It being at home, we all know it’s possible. We all know that we can do it. There’s no doubt in our minds that we’re going to come out in this tournament guns blazing and get after these games because we’re all confident that this tournament is ours.”

Looking Back on Academica

Nidy said one of her favorite memories over the last few months was the ability to play with players she grew up with again over the summer with Academica. “I think that playing with players that I played with in high school again, like Ciara [Wilson], Bailey [Bracha], and Taylor [Phillips]. Even getting the chance to play with Emma Brown, all those girls that I grew up with, playing against, getting to play with them, that was pretty special. So I really enjoyed that. 

She then stressed how there was a major difference between collegiate soccer and the USL W. “On top of the seriousness, being able to play soccer where you’re just able to be yourself and kind of be free in a way, was extremely fun, and to experience that alongside my teammates was also pretty special.”

Nidy continued, “I feel like I was able to just really play, have fun, be myself, and just get away from the stress sometimes that comes with college soccer. And one thing is you sign up for what’s to come being a Division One athlete, no matter what you’re going to experience it. “

Related: Meet Academica SC: Logan Nidy

Overall, Nidy has had a strong junior season on both an individual level and with her team. With the playoffs ahead of her, the sky is the limit as the Aztecs look to fight for a championship.