University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC-Denver Press Conference Quotes
May 20, 2013 | Men's Lacrosse
2013 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Quarterfinals
Denver (13-4) vs. North Carolina (13-3)
Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, Ind. | May 19, 2013 | Noon
North Carolina Quotes
North Carolina Coach Joe Breschi
Opening statement...
"First I would like to congratulate coach (Bill) Tierney and the Denver Pioneers on a terrific game and a great comeback. I would like to thank our seniors for a terrific season, it is never easy. We fought hard all year long and broke great ground for this team and these seniors did a great job in providing great leadership. The whole group was terrific. We had great energy the first half for sure. We didn't necessarily match their intensity and the pace of their offense at the end of the day. I think overall it was a terrific lacrosse game and I commend (Denver) for a great win."
On pace of play...
"I think it is a tough situation to be in when you are playing a lot of defense and losing some face-offs. You are trying to get into transition and having shorter possessions at that end puts a lot of pressure on your defense. You can look at it a lot of different ways. We had great energy in the first half. We were putting pressure on them immensely while we still weren't having great success in some areas. At the end of the day, we played defense mostly during the second half. When we did have opportunities on offense we were outshot 16-5. They had the ball for a lot of the game and had great momentum. I think it wears on you when you play a lot of defense like we did. Someone making a play at the end was going to be the difference."
North Carolina senior attackman Marcus Holman
On Denver's switch at goalie...
"At that point in the game we were feeling pretty confident. They made a switch and I guess it was the right move. (Jamie) Faus played well and made a lot of timely saves. It gave (Denver) a little bit of momentum and it was unfortunate we couldn't get any more shots in on him."
On transition goals from first to second half...
"We prided ourselves all year on our early offense and transition. We feel whenever that ball crosses the midline we have six offensive threats. We certainly showed that with Ryan Kilpatrick, Greg McBride and Mark McNeill stepping in with two goals. I think we couldn't really get into a rhythm in our six-on-six offense all game. Obviously two goals in the second half is not going to get it done especially against a fantastic offensive team like Denver, hats off to them. (Denver) played tremendous and their defense was solid. We didn't get too many great open looks on the cage and when we did they made great saves."
On Denver's defense...
"Coming into the game we weren't too certain of what (Denver) was going to play. It looked like (Denver) stuck with man most of the time. I felt we didn't play the speed we normally do with the six-on-six style, any person on our team would reiterate that. I think you get comfortable when you score a couple transitional goals and take a 9-4 lead at halftime. We should have just played better. Our motto all year has been play fast and play together. I thought (Denver) did a great job of controlling the tempo at the defensive end."
North Carolina senior defenseman Kieran McDonald
On time of possession for Denver...
"We have been working throughout the year on playing a full game. There have been plenty games in the past where things didn't go our way and we battled through it. Today was one of those days were we battled and we got a little bit tired. We tried our hardest, we were in a tough position and communication could have been picked up a bit and we just couldn't come out on top."
Denver Quotes
Denver Coach Bill Tierney
Opening statement...
"First off, as always, I want to thank our Lord and His blessed mother for this opportunity. This is a rare thing that these guys get to go through and we're thankful for it, we're happy for it and we're thrilled about it. We're thankful for Indianapolis and the people who put on this great event and the NCAA for having such a great event. North Carolina. What a train that was trying to stop that coming downhill at us early. Mostly, I'm proud of these young men and teammates for persevering. You don't get too many opportunities in life to fight through such adversity and come back ahead. I'm just proud of everybody at the University of Denver and everybody in our organization."
Denver senior attacker Eric Law
On settling into a rhythm after such a quick start by North Carolina...
"From the offensive side, we felt that we were getting good opportunities in the first quarter, especially with our first two possessions. I think on both of them we hit pipes and kind of gave them good transition opportunities and they were getting out quick. I think it was just as much on the offensive product of settle the ball down, get really good possessions and when you get the shot, stick them, and if for some reason the ball did get on the ground make sure we get back and limit their transitions. But they're an unbelievably athletic team and showed it out there today."
Denver junior goalkeeper Jamie Faus
On settling into a rhythm after such a quick start by North Carolina...
"Like Eric (Law) said, early on we hit two pipes and the bounces didn't really go our way. But after that we just tried to get into the hole as quickly as we can and just talk through everything. I think when we talked we really started to settle down in there."
On mindset on the sideline when he got the call to go in to the game...
"I didn't know I was going to be going in, but you always have to be ready. When I got in there I just tried to get a feel for how the defensemen in front of me - Kyle (Hercher), Harley Brown, Drew Babb, Carson Cannon - were feeling and they were all calm so we just went from there and talked through everything."
