Portland Thorns FC vs. Washington Spirit Quotes
May 19, 2013
Portland Thorns FC Quotes:
Thorns Head Coach Cindy Parlow Cone
Overall thoughts on the match:
“I think everyone saw the fatigue that both teams had in their legs. I think it’s a difficult turnaround to play Thursday and Sunday. Both teams gave up some counter attacks, and that’s just the nature of playing Thursday-Sunday. All in all, it’s a tough turnaround. I think we played all right, but was it as high a quality soccer as I would have liked us to play today? I don’t think so. But we’re very happy with the result.”
On the play of Christine Sinclair:
“I can’t say enough positive things about (Sinclair). She does anything for the team, both on and off the field. If we need more defense, you see her dropping in. If we need more attacking, she’s pushing forward, trying to get the goal or assist. I’m not surprised by her spirit, her effort or her attitude at all today.”
On the team playing its second game in four days:
“I told them that I knew fatigue was an issue and that we weren’t going to be able to press defensively like we would want to. On the flipside of that, we have to do a better job of possessing. When we win the ball we need to do a good job of possessing and conserve some energy and protect our legs so we could save it for late in the game.”
On the playmaking of midfielder Allie Long:
“Allie Long is one of the best playmakers in the game today. She sets up so much of the attack for us, and one thing that gets looked past a lot is her defensive pressure. I thought she did a great job today defending.”
Defender Marian Dougherty
On the improving chemistry of the team:
“I think our communication is just getting better and better each game. I think we’re just molding together. There are still some things we need to work on, but I think we’re right there.”
On rebounding from a loss in the previous match:
“I think last game, we were lacking something, and she really challenged us to find that fight. I know we were tired and it’s hard to play games that close together. Cindy told us to dig deep and find that fight, and I think we did that as a team.”
Thoughts regarding the crowd atmosphere:
“The crowd is phenomenal. When you have 12, 13 thousand people cheering the whole time, it does nothing but bring you up. The support is phenomenal.”
Forward Alex Morgan
On getting back to the field after Thursday’s loss:
“We were lucky to have a game to come back with. We wanted this game right away … just to get our confidence back up. I think we did that today; we came out wanting to work hard for each other, put the effort in and I think that we did that. I think it was a good performance for us to bounce back from last game.”
On her second-half goal:
“Courtney Wetzel found me perfectly in behind, and I had already had one breakaway that I missed so I wasn’t going to let another slip through my hands. When I see a counter attack starting, and when Sinclair had the ball I was trying to find open space; trying to drag the defender away. I think we were on the same page and if you get enough opportunities, you’re going to put those away eventually.”
Thoughts on her performance this season, individually:
“I think my start to the season was a little slow, but obviously I’m my own worst critic … I think that this game was good finally getting that goal. Just pushing their back line, opening up space; showing your team that you’re working hard for them, tracking back for them, it is really contagious.”
Forward Christine Sinclair
On the fatigue factor playing two games in four days:
“We knew both teams were going to be tired. It was very important for us to get that first goal. It was nice to get a late goal to relax us a bit going in to halftime. To get a second goal in the second half, it was like ‘Finally, we’ve got this one.’”
On the amount of counter attacks generated:
“It was actually kind of nice to play on the counter. Washington is a very dangerous team when they send numbers forward. As a result, we caught them on the counter a lot. We created some chances off that. Hopefully, we can continue to build on that and catch teams on the counter.”
On maintaining her attacking mindset from the midfield:
“It’s something that I’ve been working on just in general, especially in that midfield role now. Doing my defensive work, but not losing my offensive flair that I bring when I’m up top. It’s just me being aware of not losing my attacking presence that I know I have.”
Notes:
•Courtney Wetzel recorded her first career NWSL assist on Sunday. Wetzel has appeared in six of seven matches as a second-half sub for Thorns FC.
•Allie Long registered her first career NWSL assist on Christine Sinclair’s go-ahead goal in the 41st minute.
•Portland has earned a win in five of its first seven matches.
•Alex Morgan has attempted five or more shots in three straight matches, and has recorded a goal in four of the team’s last six games.
•Portland’s 11 goals rank first in the league.
•Forward Jessica Shufelt made her first appearance at JELD-WEN Field for Thorns FC, entering the match as a late sub for Allie Long.
•Morgan is tied for first in the league in goals (4), and leads all players in shots (31) and shots on goal (20) following Sunday’s game.
•Goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc’s 0.57 goals-against average leads the league and her three shutouts is tied for the lead (with FC Kansas City’s Nicole Barnhart and Sky Blue FC’s Brittany Cameron).
•Thorns FC have registered 10 or more shots in six straight games.
•Portland is 5-0-0 when scoring the game’s opening goal.
•Thorns FC have scored two goals in each of the team’s five wins this season.
•Portland is 3-0-0 in games played on Sunday.
•Sinclair’s goal in the 41st minute marked Portland’s third goal overall scored in the final 15 minutes of the first half, the most of any period in a game this season.
•Washington goalkeeper Chantel Jones made her NWSL debut on Sunday, replacing regular starter Ashlyn Harris.
