University of North Carolina Athletics
Post-Game Quotes
November 24, 2001 | Women's Soccer
Anson Dorrance: on the win
-Obviously we are ecstatic to be alive in the NCAA tournament. Very Proud of the team to come back from the one goal deficit and I would like to credit the Rutgers coaching staff because I could tell that they were going to be ready for the game everything the coach said was right on the money. I have a lot of respect for the coach and his coaching staff and his players because they fallowed a great game plan. They know we attack the flanks and they doubled on the flanks every time we went down there and it presented problems for us.
I also want to publicly share that I am very proud of Anne Morrell. This is the first game she did not start all year and as all of you know one of things athletes without charter do is dissert their mission and their teammates and she didn't and she came in and played one of the best games she played all year. One of the most important goals that has been scored all year. SO I am very proud of her.
-I am not one of these people who says we are not going to win every game. In circumstances like that-It is very hard to score in this game. When a team scores in the first half I have a feeling that we will be ok because there are few teams that can shut us out for 90 but to get the second before regulation - I was ecstatic. The quality of that second goal- It was a world-class assist and an excellent finish.
Anson: on Jordan Walker
-She doesn't waste her goals
Jordan Walker: on scoring the winning goal
-Most of the work was done by Alyssa Ramsey she made a great run to get in fought her defender off she had patience and strength and knew where everyone was. She laid it to me and it was a fairly easy finish. No one was on me I am just glad I got it on the frame and it went in.
Walker: on scoring the winning goal for the third time during the 2001 NCAA tournament
- A lot of it is luck. When it comes to big games I think one of my strengths is mental toughness. I know that I need to focus in those types of situations. I just try to focus a little harder than I normally would. I have been in the right place at the right time and I get a great ball most of the time
Jena Kluegel: on the being behind
-We new we had to stick one in the net, that's the bottom line. We needed to score to get back in the game and two to win and we had 45 minutes to do that and that's what we did. I don't think it would have been helpful to panic. We just encouraged each other and say that we need to do this we need to get it done.
Anne Morrell: On her goal
- Remember getting the ball at the top of the box I don't know if it went off someone or if someone played it into me (Jena Kluegel played it in to Morrell) and turned and took a couple of touches because I wanted to clam myself down and not panic because I knew I could do it. I saw the goalie coming out and saw the far post wide open and so I just fired it in there.
Morrell: On relaxing self
-I just talk to myself. Saying 'you can do it'.
Rutgers post-game quotes:
Coach Glenn Crooks:
"We knew all about them, as most people do. The biggest thing I asked my team to do is come here and not be intimidated by the aura, come and play, and they did that and the result looked pretty good for a while. And much to their credit, North Carolina keeps coming at you. It's tough to defend them for 90 minutes. And they certainly deserved it. I'm certainly proud of my team because not everybody who steps on this field plays like we did today."
"We knew they wanted to play the ball to the flanks. All their offense is generated from the flank on in and they way we're set up in our 4-3-3, we have different people that have to go out and defend that, but I think the energy that we had to put into defending a team as athletic as North Carolina, you know, it's hard to do for 90 minutes. Ultimately, we wore out a little bit, which is what they generally do to teams."
On thinking ahead when Rutgers had the lead:
"No, if you ask my wife, I never think ahead at all. We were just thinking to the next minute how we should defend and how we should adjust. It was great to score early, our big thing is in the first 15-20 minutes, let's make sure we're not down 2-nil. We felt very strongly that if we were in the match in the first period, 15 to 20 minutes, where the team might come out a little enthralled by everything, but to their credit, we had some young players on the field and they just went out and played."
On how this game was similar to Rutgers' game against Notre Dame:
"The difference was we scored 2 goals early against Notre Dame, and then won 2-1, and it held up. I think North Carolina has more athleticism all over the field. But different styles, perhaps. Notre Dame wants to knock it around a little bit more. Anson and (Notre Dame coach) Randy (Waldrum) smartly recruit the greatest athletes, and they get them here. And when you're going up against great athletes at every position that can run like the wind, that's part of our job at Rutgers, is that's the kind of kid that we need to keep getting in and we're just getting it going now, so we'll see how it goes, but that's a big part of it, because I do think they wore us out eventually."
Atmosphere coming in:
"Just from an atmosphere standpoint, we practiced pretty well leading into this. We saw a tape of them, and we'd seen them play, and we know it's a 3-4-3, we knew Kluegel's the person they like to get it to a lot, so we prepared for the fact that they're going to get it to the flank, and then how we would defend that. We had two people around the ball carrier a lot, and that was how we wanted to defend them and hopefully win the ball in the center of the field, which we did, and then be composed, which we sometimes did."
"I knew coming in that they were foingf to get more opportunities on goal than us and the biggest factor there is that we have to cash in on our opportunities. We did on one and came close on a couple others, and that could have been the difference."
"I think people are moving closer to them, I think this is proof of it. I don't know what all the statistical things are, I haven't seen it. I think our victory over Notre Dame shows that."
On Anson Dorrance:
"The thing I like about him is he shares his knowledge. You know exactly what they're going to do, they're not going to change out of the 3-4-3, no matter what you do. They don't change for anybody, and the biggest credit to them is every time they come out, it's the opponent's biggest game of the year, and if you can win every match that way, that's pretty impressive."
Senior forward Keri Lages:
"It was a great feeling walking into our locker room knowing that we were up on UNC one goal. They came out in the second half with a lot of energy, and unfortunately they got another goal, but we were right there with them."
"They're a very physical team, and they're very big, and we went out there and we tried to give everything we had, and left it on the field. It was a good team effort."
Goalkeeper Christine Caldwell:
"All during this week we worked on set pieces, corner kicks, throw-ins. We knew that's how they get most of their goals. We just tried to step up our defense, which I think we did today. I think our defense played exceptionally well."
"Of course, it would be a huge upset, and of course we all think about it, like we all talked about it what it be like to beat UNC. And of course you want it, but things didn't turn out that way, and you have to give them a lot of credit because they played excellent."
