University of North Carolina Athletics
NCAA Tournament Quotes
November 29, 2002 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 29, 2002
North Carolina
Head Coach Anson Dorrance
We are very excited to advance to the Final Four, beat a very competitive A & M team and also score some goals. It was great to see all of our seniors play so well in their final game at Fetzer Field.
Getting a goal that early was a bit of a relief, but as the half went on we played worse and worse. It was a mixed blessing. You can really see though that our leadership on the field has been extraordinary. There is no question that the team is playing for their leaders.
There reasons why we are playing so well right now are that we are not fatigued like we had been earlier in the season and we are healthy so that we can have our best line up out there. Also, this team always and great focus in the NCAA and ACC Tournaments.
Alyssa has always been and extraordinary finisher, I think she should take more shots. This year she has added more pieces to her game, evolving into a more complete player. With her performances this season, she is showing that she can score against the best.
Susan Bush
I grew up playing with a lot of their team. They went out and played very tough and we had to match their intensity for all 90 minutes.
Alyssa Ramsey
On the first goal, it is my job to bury it when I get a ball in so close with that much space. I was just in the right place at the right time and I knew I needed to get a good first touch on it and I did.
Leslie Gaston
We play so hard because this is the postseason and we know that any game could be our last. The team plays for the seniors and I am happy for this group to be playing so well for me.
Texas A&M
Head Coach G. Guerrieri
First and foremost, the best team on that field won today. Carolina came out strong and scored some typical Carolina goals with a strong attack. After the goal and the first three minutes, our players did a good job in the first half of adjusting, playing good defense and creating some scoring chances up front.
I am very pleased by our team's effort. After last week's result people thought we were a team that bunkered and that is far from the truth. We believe in combination play and defending and attacking as a team.
They are as very dangerous in the first minute as they are in the last two minutes. They have an unrelentless attack that we saw today early and late last week vs. Tennessee.
Heather Ragsdale
The only time we have really had trouble creating shots were against the last two teams we played, UCLA and North Carolina. Time after time we got there but could not connect on the final pass that would create shots.
North Carolina is considered by many people to be the Mecca of college soccer. Now I know a lot of girls coming up want to be on the team that beats Carolina. I put the challenge out there for the rest of the team's in the country to play them to win.
Andrea Starns
Right now I am just sad. I couldn't be prouder for my teammates for the successes we have had and I am happy for the future of soccer at Texas A & M. Our goal is to go out and play good soccer while having fun and we have done that here for four years.
