Coach Desko Post-Game Quotes
Syracuse vs. Georgetown
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Carrier Dome/Syracuse, N.Y.
What were you thinking with two seconds left in regulation when Steve Brooks tied the score?
“I have to go back and watch the tape because we had so many chances going down the stretch. I lost track of what happened when except for Brendan Loftus throwing in that last one. I thought their goalie did a great job today. When you look at the stats, here we are outshooting them 57-26 and the groundballs were 46-27. Anyone who looks at the stats would think it wasn’t a close game. I thought Georgetown did very well today. They were patient when they had to be, especially here in the Carrier Dome. Fortunately we played well when we had to in the second half.”
“I have to go back and watch the tape because we had so many chances going down the stretch. I lost track of what happened when except for Brendan Loftus throwing in that last one. I thought their goalie did a great job today. When you look at the stats, here we are outshooting them 57-26 and the groundballs were 46-27. Anyone who looks at the stats would think it wasn’t a close game. I thought Georgetown did very well today. They were patient when they had to be, especially here in the Carrier Dome. Fortunately we played well when we had to in the second half.”
Did Brendan Loftus score the game-winning goal on a designed play?
“We had set some plays up that we just kept going back to because we thought we were getting some opportunities. Georgetown did a good job of changing up their slides with the midfielders on some of the plays, sliding them down low. So we changed it up a couple of times. We went back to Brendan (Loftus) because he had the hot hand today. He was shooting very well. Fortunately we did it at the right time.”
“We had set some plays up that we just kept going back to because we thought we were getting some opportunities. Georgetown did a good job of changing up their slides with the midfielders on some of the plays, sliding them down low. So we changed it up a couple of times. We went back to Brendan (Loftus) because he had the hot hand today. He was shooting very well. Fortunately we did it at the right time.”
How do the experiences Steven Brooks has had help him get goals down the stretch like he has the past two weeks?
“I think those kinds of games help anybody. This is playoff game today, basically. Here we are against one of the top-ranked teams in the country, we’re at the Carrier Dome. We’re coming off an overtime loss last week. So to get this one this week is good for us. I think we learned a lot from last week’s game. I wish we had played a better first half. I think Georgetown did a great job and we weren’t doing some things well. We had 21 turnovers on the day. We’re going against the (Johns Hopkins) Blue Jays this weekend coming up. We have to get rid of the turnovers and shoot a little bit smarter.”
Are you surprised at Danny Brennan’s performance this season?
“Danny is playing very well. Last year you didn’t notice his play as much because we had Jon Jerome who also took a lot of face-offs and had a very high percentage. Danny just gets down in the trenches and goes to work everyday. He keeps plugging. It’s great to have him back this year because he is a big part of the success we can have.”
What does winning this overtime game help the team’s confidence going into the Johns Hopkins game?
“I think it does a lot. Last week we played Virginia, even though we didn’t come out on top, I thought we played pretty well. The guys learned from that situation. Here we are (today), right back in that situation. We were able to turn it over and come out with a win today.”
What was the first thing that ran through your mind when Brendan Loftus scored the game-winning goal?
“I was just happy. It took me a second because I didn’t see it go in. He really pinged the corner on that one. It seemed like there was a little bit of a delay for the referees to raise their hands. So when it went in I saw the team run onto the field. It was great to have the play work and have Brendan play so hard today.”
Do you feel good about the number of shots your offense generated?
“It makes me feel good that we were generating some shots. There were probably some shots we shouldn’t have taken. But, you’ve got such an emotional, intense game that guys are quick to pull the trigger. It’s good that our offense can generate that amount of shots. Now if we can just shoot a little bit smarter, and hopefully not go against a hot goaltender as we had this week (in) next week (against Johns Hopkins), hopefully good things will happen.”
How do you feel that John Galloway is playing this season?
“We’ve thrown John to the wolves as a freshman, with the schedule that we have. Last week’s game was at a professional venue with almost 20,000 people there. Here we’re basically in the same situation against a top-ranked team, the Hoyas who are playing very well. We throw him out into an overtime situation. He’s getting a lot of experience as a young player. I hope, as the team, he’ll keep developing as the year goes on. I’m sure he will.”
