University of North Carolina Athletics
September 24, 2006 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 24, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery
On Carolina's six goals: "We thought that we played well, we could score some goals, so we did. Not just the starting unit, I was also excited about the passion that the reserves played with, we all played well, so yea, I am very happy with where we are right now."
On Katie Brooks header goal off a Melissa Hayes corner kick: "She was really off the ground and for some reason we struggled to score off corner kicks this year and I think we have the potential to be a very good finishing team off set pieces. That was great to see."
Last year's dominance compared to this years teams: "We are a different team than last year. We have six freshman on the field and they are talented freshman but their decision making is still catching up with their talent. The collegiate game is different game than what they are used to and also playing at UNC is different than what they are used to and slowly but surely I think this incredibly talented class adjusts into the game that we want to play, but I couldn't be happier with where we are right now. We are two games into the conference season and we are undefeated and the 9 or 10 game run against non-conference opponents, for us, against that kind of schedule to take just one hit that's pretty good. We want to try to, if we can, in the top four because that means that we will host all the way to the Final Four if we can keep winning so we would love to try to stay there. We are very excited about the way we are playing right now and we hope to continue to improve, but I am thrilled with the start to the conference season."
What he said to the team at the half: "We just felt that we could play better, we wanted to try to get two that first half, better than 2-1, so we challenged about trying to get at least three in the second half and the team responded and it permitted us to play the roster because they are all nice kids, they all deserve a chance to play, so we were certainly pleased with the final result."
On Heather O'Reilly's recent performance: "Her game has returned to the level to where before she was playing before we lost her to the national team. I mean, here is a girl we feel is one of our greatest players and her game, I think, is based on a foundation of energy and we started to see her huge commitment of energy against FSU, and then we continued to see it today even though obviously, she was tired from that and I think she's getting more and more comfortable, but she is also investing more of herself in each game that she plays for us."
On upcoming game against Clemson: "The hardest place to play in the ACC, right now, is at Clemson. It's just a great atmosphere down there for them and we have always struggled to play them well down at Clemson, so we certainly have our work cut out for us Thursday night."
