Portland Thorns FC vs. FC Kansas City Quotes
August 4, 2013
Thorns FC head coach Cindy Parlow Cone
On the game overall:
“Losing, and losing in the way that we did, was very disappointing. I’m very proud of our mentality to battle back, and for Alex [Morgan] to get the second goal and for us to keep pushing for the equalizer.”
On the play of FC Kansas City:
“They’re a fantastic team. They’re tough defensively. They’ve got a great goalkeeper in Nicole Barnhart, and obviously [Erika] Tymrak, [Lauren] Holiday, [Merritt] Mathias and [Melissa] Henderson up front, it’s a very good group, and I don’t think we did a good enough job today stopping their counterattack. We knew going into the game that they were very good on the counterattack – Tymrak, especially, very good on the dribble – and they’re very good at making the runs in behind off the counterattack. We didn’t do a good enough job of defending that today and that’s where the goals came from.”
On the play of FC Kansas City’s Lauren Holiday:
“Lauren Holiday, no question about it, is a world-class player. She’s proven it time and time again. She’s having a fantastic season. In my opinion, she’s been, if not the best, certainly one of the best players in the league this year. She’s scoring goals, she’s setting up goals, she’s just a fantastic player and we didn’t do a good enough job stopping her or Tymrak today.”
On the team’s goals for the remaining three matches of the regular season:
“First and foremost, we want to secure a playoff spot, and then further from that, we want to secure home-field advantage, and if we get the opportunity, we still want to win the league.”
On the 17,619 in attendance and fan support all season:
“Our fans are unbelievable. The city of Portland is just … my heart goes out to them, because I know that they are just as hurt and disappointed as we are when we lose or when we tie. But they’ve been fantastic, they’ve been behind us 100 percent, rain or shine, win, lose or draw. This city is just an amazing city to be coaching in, playing in, and just to be part of this experience has been unbelievable.”
Thorns FC defender Rachel Buehler
On the team’s reaction to the result:
"Everyone is really disappointed. It's the last official home game of the [regular] season with an amazing fan turnout tonight. We really wanted the win for playoffs, standings and home bid.”
On how the result affects playoff picture:
"I think you have to look at the positives, and I think we, overall, have had a pretty solid season and put ourselves in a good situation regardless of having this loss tonight. So, we're sitting still at a good spot for sure."
On the two-goal performance of Lauren Holiday:
"[Holiday] is an incredible player and I think for the most part we did well, at times. But, she is also just one of those special players that can make things happen and I think she is very good and did make a few things happen at times."
On defensive approach down the stretch:
"I think as a back line we can be more aggressive, at times, and we just have to work on that kind of mindset and style of play a little bit more."
Thorns FC forward Danielle Foxhoven
On her reaction to the loss:
“It was hard. I feel it a lot. It’s kind of in my stomach. It never feels good; losing never feels good, especially in front of 17,000 fans and against the first-place team, who I think we were better than during a lot of the game today. The goals, especially the last two, replay a lot in my mind because they came down my side of the field and I think I had a lot of responsibility in them.”
On how the team will rebound from the loss:
“We need to move on past this game. I think right now everybody’s feeling it, and we’ll give it an hour, but we leave tomorrow morning bright and early and we’ve got to get onto the next game. We have to win the last three. That’s what it comes down to. It’s always asking ‘What’s next?’ No matter what, ‘What’s next?’ If we had won this game, we’d still be waking up at 5 a.m. tomorrow to get on the road and saying ‘What’s next?’ so that’s kind of the mentality.”
On the support of the home fans:
“It’s unspeakable. I wear this crest over my heart with pride. This is my home and I play for this city because it’s a part of me. I feel passionately about it and I want to say thank you to everybody who supported us from the beginning to make this happen, because it’s incredible. It’s unlike any other place in the world, in my opinion. A lot of us have played at the highest levels and there’s nothing like this, playing for your city. It’s a community and everybody’s behind you. Looking around today, and the sign before saying ‘superheroes,’ you know that’s kind of how we feel, and you guys have made us feel that way, so it’s an incredible feeling. Thank you.”
Notes:
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Sunday's attendance of 17,619 is an NWSL record and ranks as the largest attendance at a women's professional soccer match in WPS and the NWSL.
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Portland's average home attendance of 13,320 for the inaugural NWSL season ranks second all-time among women's professional soccer teams in the United States, behind only the 2001 Washington Freedom (14,421).
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Thorns FC have recorded 15 or more shots in six consecutive games.
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Forward Alex Morgan tied a club record by registering a point for the fourth straight game. Morgan previously recorded a point in four consecutive matches from April 21-May 16.
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Forward Danielle Foxhoven tallied her first goal as a starter this season; three of her four goals have come as a second-half substitute.
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Midfielder Allie Long has registered a point in back-to-back games with an assist on Sunday and a goal against Sky Blue FC on July 31.
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Midfielder Mana Shim's streak of four consecutive matches with a goal ended on Sunday. Shim registered two shots (1 on goal) against FC Kansas City.
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Defender Kathryn Williamson upped her Thorns FC club-record streak of consecutive minutes played to 1,710. Williamson has appeared in every minute of all 19 games this season.
- Midfielder Elizabeth Guess made her first appearance since June 16 against Chicago; playing 16 minutes as a second-half substitute.
