University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes
April 28, 2006 | Women's Lacrosse
April 28, 2006
ACC Women's Lacrosse Championship
Semifinal Round - Friday, April 28, 2006
#2 Virginia vs. #3 North Carolina
North Carolina
Head Coach Jenny Levy
Opening Statement:
It was an exciting game for the fans. I know that myself, our coaching staff and players are disappointed to end up on the short side of the stick. As all ACC games go, it's always a nail biter till the very end. You got to finish your game strong in order to come out on top. It was a well fought game, I thought both teams showed a lot of guts on the field and individuals certainly stepped up and had some opportunities to shine.
On the change of momentum late in the game as North Carolina was making their comeback:
I think the draw control is critical. At that point you can't relax and think that you have the game won. I don't think my kids did, but the draws are a dog fight. The art of it isn't so clear. Virginia did a good job of getting the next two draw controls which turned into the equalizing goal and then the go ahead goal, so actually it was three straight draw controls that I thought really hurt us.
On the scoring of Virginia's Tyler Leachman:
Tyler is a great player. She's a competitor with a lot of experience in these types of situations. The combination of her, Kim Conners and Nikki Lieb, they've been in these types of situations before. They have had a lot of success through their four year career. I know as a coach coming in to this game that those three individuals would be critical to Virginia's success today because they have that big game experience. I don't think my kids were intimidated by Tyler; she certainly took her opportunities and made the most of them. She was determined on the field and did a great job. I think three of her goals were from the eight meter and as a senior you have to convert on those opportunities.
Sophomore, Attack - Meg Freshwater
On the possibility of playing Virginia again in the postseason:
I definitely believe it's a good chance we could see them again in the postseason.
Virginia
Head Coach Julie Myers
Opening statement:
I thought it was an incredibly competitive game today. I thought Carolina had a great game plan, great players on the field, they were really able to push us and challenge, they really made us play; make some big plays, especially down the stretch. I'm incredibly proud and impressed with my team for coming back from a two-goal deficit. I think we scored three goals in about a 25-second window there (actually 44) to go up one. I think it really characterizes the strength of our team. For Carolina to score to tie it and bring it to overtime and for us to bounce right back and really make sure that the ball came Virginia's way. Draw controls were obviously huge today. I think we ended up with 17 of the draws that were taken today, so it just gave our team more and more opportunities to get the job done and they stuck together and they got the job done with a great statement today.
On just about everything going Virginia's way, other than the stick check:
You're pretty desperate when you try the stick check. I think our girls, especially Jess Wasilewski, had a couple of huge draw controls in that stretch where we did climb out of that two-goal deficit. You try everything you can, and I think the girls on the field really created chances and opportunities and we just believed that the next shot was going to go and that we were going to find our way to get the job done. I think from the goalkeeper through the line defenders, the middies, the attackers, they never doubted and they never gave up hope.
On Tyler Leachman's performance (7 goals, 1 assist):
Oh, did she score? Tyler is a true shooter, and a true attacker. I think it's a great way for a fourth-year player who was just on the All-ACC team to really make a statement in the first round. Tyler has been doing that for us all year. Today was obviously exceptional, with seven and one in a championship format. We expect maybe a few more on Sunday. She did a great job and really made some gutty shots there at the end.
Senior, Attack - Tyler Leachman
On the mindset of the team when it was down two goals late in the game:
To be honest with you, I never thought for a minute that we were going to lose. We came out of in that timeout, we knowing that we had three minutes left and I think that as a team we decided that we were going to come back. I think every single person on the field had some sort of input on our win. We definitely did it as a team. We were up by two, then down by two, and we tied it up and went into overtime and won. I'm proud of everyone on the team.
Senior, Midfielder - Kim Connors
On what happened at the end of regulation when Virginia was trying to run the clock out:
The ref called an illegal stick check, and since it came out of my stick and went out of bounds it was a turnover. I would contest that, but that's okay, it didn't go our way. Luckily, they tied it up, we came back in overtime with the mentality that we were going to come out and win the game and not go down because of what had just happened in regulation time.
Junior, Attack - Katie Breslin
On scoring the game-winning goal:
I don't really know what exactly I was thinking. I don't know if I should have actually gone low there, just because Kristen Hordy is just an unbelievable goalie, but luckily I just got the shot off and I knew that if I was able to make that shot we would have been able to hold onto the possession because Jess probably would have gotten the draw again.
