NCAA Quarterfinals Press Conference Quotes
Saturday, May 21, 2011 | Lacrosse
Florida
Head Coach Amanda O'Leary
Opening Statement…
“First I want to say congratulations to Duke, what a great job they did. They came out strong and put us on our heels early. It was tough to recover but our team came back, I thought, in the second half and played a very, very strong second half. It was a great season, unfortunately nobody likes to lose, especially this far in the game, but I'm so proud of these guys. They worked so hard… it's devastating but at the same time, what a tremendous season.”
On the come back and Duke's scoring
“Well I think we came out and pressured them, and they were stalling. Obviously we had to come out and get the ball. They are a great ball handling team - we knew it was going to be difficult… I think they scored a lot of goals as we were trying to get the ball back.”
On the experience of Duke
“Duke is the who's who of women's lacrosse… They are a phenomenal team. As we were thinking defensively how to shut them down, you know it's a challenge to shut down so many offensive firepowers. But I thought our team did a really nice job. They (Florida) don't like to lose. This team, they will carry this through the summer, through the fall and hopefully next spring, we will be ready to come out and compete against teams like this day in and day out.”
On coaching these girls…
“They compete hard, and as a coach, I don't think you can ask for anything more. They go out on the field and give you everything they have. Yes, they're very talented, but their work ethic and their team chemistry are just things that as a coach you don't have control over. They either have it or they don't, and this team has it.”
Sophomore Midfielder Janine Hillier
On the game…
“I feel that we came out really strong. It was difficult to get by them in the beginning. I feel like in the second half we came out stronger and everyone else on our attack. Like we said from last game, our team is a multidimensional program and I feel like everyone else stepped up as whole. It's unfortunate that we lost, we're going to carry this feeling to next season and play with a chip on our shoulder and just come out strong, and that all starts now.”
Sophomore Attack Kitty Cullen
On looking back at this years team…
“I think that what we've done this year is amazing. We're a bunch of sophomores who just made it to the Elite 8 - all the starters are 19 and 20 years old. We really made a mark this year and teams next year are going to really have to watch out for us. This isn't a good feeling at all, but looking back on the entire season, we really made history.”
On the chance of going to a final four…
“It's terrible, it's really upsetting, but looking at the season we did so well, we were so close. We could have been in the Final Four and I think that shows that now we all know what this feeling is like and that we're just going to work so much harder in the offseason because we're going to want it so much more.”
Sophomore Attack Ashley Burns
On age…
“I don't think it matters about the age today. I just think that we had to capitalize on their weaknesses. It's upsetting that we came out with a loss, but we've learned so much as a team this year it's unbelievable and I think we're going to learn even more next year and be more prepared.”
Duke
Head Coach Kerstin Kimel
Opening Statement…
“First I'd like to congratulate the University of Florida on an incredible season… I can't say enough about how hard we had to work this week to get ready for them.”
On the heat…
“I think it was definitely a factor, we weren't going to pretend it wasn't going to be an issue. I think it was an issue for both teams.”
On managing the game…
“Our offense did a really great job at pushing tempo at times and pulling back and being very deliberate with what we were running. Our intention wasn't to come into the game to stall, but we needed to be really on top of our game management in order to manage the heat that we saw today.”
On early lead…
“I think anytime you're able to get a lead in a playoff game, it gives you confidence. Our kids definitely felt confident. That's another reason why we felt like we didn't need to rush our possessions. We totally respect Florida's ability to score a lot of goals and very quickly.”
Senior Midfield Sarah Bullard
On the experience of the team…
“I think it absolutely was an advantage. The senior class on this team is the only class who has been to the Final Four and we talked about the fact that it was really important to bring the other classes to a Final Four and give three more classes that experience. We respected Florida as much as you could respect a team… we had confidence that we could stay our course and if we could play our game that we could win. And I think having the experience plays a lot into our ability to have that confidence.”
Redshirt Junior Midfield/Attack Emma Hamm
On the experience factor…
“I think at the same time our mindset this entire year has been to face every game as a nameless, faceless opponent… we're going in knowing who we are and what kind of experience we have.”
Junior Midfield Kat Thomas
On pressuring Florida…
“We pride ourselves on playing a full sixty minute game. Whether we're up by a goal, whether we're tied, or whether we're down, we're going to step on the gas and keep going as hard as we can.”
