Postgame Quotes
Syracuse vs. Hofstra/Le Moyne
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Carrier Dome/Syracuse, N.Y.
Coach John Desko
On the games:
“It was great to go against somebody else and very good to have two scrimmages in one day so we can try different combinations of people on offense, defense, man-up and man-down. So guys who have been doing pretty well in practice showed what they need to work on, and some guys really did better than what we thought they were going to do. We still have a lot of work to do and we made a lot of mistakes today on both ends of the field. We did improve as the day went on which is encouraging, and now we’re going to watch some film and get ready for Harvard next week.”
On what needs to be improved upon most:
“We tried different combinations of people. I think Harvard will tell us a lot more about ourselves. I think it’s just game situations. We gave up a couple of goals in substitution situations and you need a full field to do that. If Mother Nature will cooperate that will help us get outside to be able to do that.”
On Tim Desko’s performance:
“I’m happy with what Tim did today. Some of our attackmen got stuffed a couple times and didn’t shoot as well. It was nice to substitute him in and I thought he finished the ball very well. He had a couple good dodges and a couple nice feeds as well. It was nice to see him out there giving us a good effort.”
On the offensive performance:
“It’s spacing and execution. There were a lot of times when we got out there and guys did what they felt like doing. When you get into a big game you have to rely on execution of the offense. You want people to go out and make plays on their own, but you need to get into the offense, get settled, and have everyone doing what they have to be doing out there.”
On the defense:
“I thought they did a pretty good job. They got off to a little bit of a slow start and there wasn’t great communication. These guys really haven’t been in a game situation with each other so they were a little slow to help out at times and I think the other team got some good shots off. You hate when they just dodge and score, which they a couple of times. Eventually we picked the communication up and some people came in and did a nice job.”
John Galloway, So., GK
On the difference between this year and last year at this time:
“I feel a lot more comfortable in the cage right now. There are a few that I felt I could have had today, but I feel a lot more comfortable. There’s still a lot more to improve upon this week in preparation for Harvard.”
Tim Desko, RF, A
On the difference between playing midfield in high school and attack in college:
“It’s a lot faster – it’s a faster game and you have to get used to it. Last year I didn’t feel comfortable on this field and I didn’t feel fast, and now it’s worked out better for me.”
On the change from midfield to attack last year:
“About halfway through the year last year I started playing attack. I would actually do both – switch back and forth. Then I just stuck to attack and I became more comfortable with it.”
On the team’s offensive performance:
“Everyone was clicking with passing and catching. We still have to work on our offense. There were some people who weren’t doing the right things. We just have to find our chemistry because this is a whole different team from last year.”
Kenny Nims, Sr., A
On where the team is now versus where it wants to be:
“As far as playing hard goes, we’re there. But we have a lot of work to do cleaning things up around the edges, so in the next couple weeks we’re going to really try to do that.”
On the play of Tim Desko:
“He had a big day. He may have shocked the people who haven’t seen him play, but not those of us on the inside. He plays hard every day and today he made the most of his opportunity. I said that someone new is going to be stepping up every week and today it was Tim.”
On the difference between the attack this year versus last year:
“We try to start our attack with the midfielders and then spread the ball around. I thought we did a nice job today of spreading the ball around and waiting for our opportunities.”
Matt Abbott, Sr., M
On the team’s performance:
“I expected pretty much what we got. There are a lot of things to work on still, but we’re pretty happy with the effort. We’ll learn from our mistakes and get better for next time.”
On some offensive surprises, particularly Tim Desko:
“He’s been doing that in practice. We know what he’s capable of. He found some open spots and he put it home for us. There are a bunch of guys at any given time that could step up. It’s nice to have such depth on offense.”
