Postgame Quotes
Syracuse vs. Northwestern
March 21, 2010
Christian Brothers Academy
Head Coach Gary Gait
On what needs to be improved on:
"We have to go back and work on our mental toughness and build our confidence up a little more so when we get into a game like this and get opportunities, we're able to relax and finish easy opportunities. We'll continue to work on it."
On how tough it was to stop Danielle Spencer in the draw control center:
"It's tough. They're five-time defending national champions. She and (Katrina) Dowd have won three national championships, they've been tested 100 times in close games and challenges. They have mental toughness and that's what the rest of us are trying to develop. We worked hard, but we didn't play that smart. We didn't keep our head in the game and stay focused the entire time."
On the positives to take away:
"If you look at the amount of turnovers and missed one-on-ones with the goalie, you have to take away the fact that we can play with them. If we put our game together and play with confidence, we can beat anybody. I think that's what you take away from it – we have the talent and we have the ability and now we just have to work on the mental side of the game."
On junior goalkeeper Liz Hogan's play:
"She played great. She played like a three-year starter who is a very good goalie. We need her to continue to develop on that and lead our defense. We'll work on that and hopefully we'll move forward improving every day."
On what the game plan was to break through Northwestern's aggressive defense:
"The key is to just keep your head up and have some game awareness. That comes from being able to relax, knowing you can protect the ball one-on-one and looking around. That's what we focused on – keeping our head up to see the players who are open. You just have to have some awareness. They had a nice little run when they were finding the players easily and they were communicating and things went well."
Michelle Tumolo, Freshman, Attack
On playing the No. 1 team in the country:
"I think we came out hard. There were mistakes we could've capitalized on and scored on them more, but I think we need to keep our heads up. We can play with these top teams. We should never let our heads drop. I think we'll see them again."
On her outlook playing Northwestern as a freshman:
"I think as a freshman I come out trying to win it for the seniors and the team. Since I've never played them, it's an adrenaline rush. We were the underdogs, we have nothing to lose, so why not go out and play hard and give it everything we have?"
Christina Dove, Senior, Midfield
On the closeness of the game:
"I think our team had a great first half. We got down in the beginning, but I think we were able to come back. To be able to spark a comeback builds a lot of confidence in our team moving forward for the rest of the season."
On scoring two goals in the second half:
"We knew Northwestern was going to come out hard on offense and defense, and I think we could have been a little bit more prepared. On offense, we were a little bit unlucky on the shooting. I think we hit some posts and their goalie made some great saves, so I think that changed the momentum a little in the second half."
On playing a team that could match Syracuse in athleticism:
"They are one of the most athletic teams there are. Virginia was a very athletic team and we're a very athletic team. This team was a good match for us and I think we're going to be doing well moving forward."
Liz Hogan, Junior, Goalkeeper
On what needs to be improved on defensively:
"The communication and the mental game. We made a few errors going too late or at the end of the game, we didn't make the right decision we wanted to make. It's all growing. We have some young kids on defense so I think we'll be fine."
On how the team stayed focused:
"It was a whole group effort, but obviously when (head coach) Gary (Gait) brought us in for those timeouts, they were key. They refocused us and made us relax and look at what our keys to the game were."
On what Coach Gait said in the timeouts:
"He just said we're a lot better than what we were playing. We just had to calm down and play our game and do what we can do."
