Seattle Reign FC Pre-Match Press Conference • Saturday, April 13, 2024
Head Coach Laura Harvey and Captain/Defender Lauren Barnes
Head Coach Laura Harvey
On her overall thoughts ahead of the match:
“We’re excited about it. I think coming to new cities is always interesting when it’s the first time, obviously a nice stadium, expect a good atmosphere. So, we’re excited to be here.”
On if everyone is healthy:
“We have got rid of the flu bug that we had go around, so that’s positive. Yeah, we’re pretty much as close to full fitness as we could possibly be – we just have one injury with Jordyn (Huitema).”
On Jess Fishlock reaching 150 caps with Wales:
“It’s a phenomenal achievement. I think anyone getting that for any country is a fantastic milestone. I think the thing that I think about in regards to Jess’ (Fishlock) specifically is, I would love to know the amount of miles she’s traveled just to get to be at camp, to have done it whilst living on the opposite side of the world for as long as she has, I think makes it an even bigger achievement. To have consistently been able to perform at that level and to be, not only just to have 150 caps, but be such a pillar of her team for as long as she’s been, and again, whilst doing it playing thousands of miles away from where her home country is, I think makes it even more special. I thought what the Welsh national team did for her – the videos they did with her family and stuff were amazing and she deserves all the recognition, for sure.”
On if all the international players returned fully healthy aside from Huitema:
“I mean, if we say health is without an injury, they all came back without an injury except for Jordyn. I just think they’ve traveled a very long way. The Welsh players flew Seattle to Wales, played in Wales, flew Wales to Kosovo – look where that is on a map – flew back from Kosovo to Wales and then Wales to Seattle and then Seattle to the Bay, so that is a lot of travel. Ji (So-Yun) went to South Korea and came back, so again, quite far. I’m very, very glad we’re not one of the teams playing on a Friday. I think that is a ridiculous ask of our players in this league to play on a Friday after playing at international. So, [Jordyn Huitema] is the only injury we have. [The internationals] were at training yesterday and did a little bit and they will be training today.”
On if having the internationals travel so much will play a factor in how she selects the starting lineup for tomorrow:
“Well, I don’t want to give too many secrets away. For us, it’s about seeing how they feel. Often when it’s these sort of travel games after international, you have to make late decisions on that, which we have done, we’ve traveled everybody who is healthy to come to the Bay so that we can have that opportunity to make last-minute decisions, which I honestly didn’t know how else we could pick the team if we didn’t do that, so that’s been good. So, we’ve got everybody here who is healthy to pick from and like I said, we’ll be making last-minute decisions on whether it’s best for people to start and come on or whether it’s best for people to come off the bench. Obviously, we don’t just have the internationals coming back, we also have players coming back from injury – Veronica (Latsko), Quinn and Alana (Cook), who are still in a potentially minute management situation. So, we’ve got to make decisions on a lot of people for tomorrow.”
On the nature of Huitema’s injury:
“We don’t know too much yet. I think you could see in the game she was saying on the field it was her back, she could feel something in her back and that’s the extent of what we know, really. But we’re doing everything we can for her and getting as much information as possible and Jordyn’s a tough kid. I knew, knowing her, that when she got up, tried to play on and then went back down again, I knew it wasn’t going to be great because she is a very, very tough kid and to come out of a game when you play for Canada against the US in a final, it takes a lot.”
On what the team has focused on offensively to create more chances:
“I think, obviously against Washington (Spirit) that was what we want. The game against Washington, if I could write a script of how we want to play, that was close to it. So, if you want a blueprint, that’s it – creating opportunities, making it really hard for the opponent to stop all the things that we can do. I think we’re renowned over the last couple of years for being a crossing team; we’ve scored a lot of goals from that, we’ve created a lot of opportunities from that. I think we can still have that as a weapon for our attacking opportunities, but I think with the players that we’ve brought in and the players that we have here, we also have other ways that we can score goals and I think we showed that against Washington with some of the chances that we created. So, I think that’s the blueprint, sort of meshing what you saw in Washington, the second half against Chicago and honestly against San Diego, I thought we got ourselves in really good positions to cross and we either chose not to cross or we crossed and we didn’t have the runs to attack the cross. So, I think we’ve just been talking about how we can sort of mesh all of those things together.”
Captain/Defender Lauren Barnes
On her overall thoughts ahead of tomorrow’s match:
“I think it’s exciting. Obviously, when you come into new markets and you see the league continue to grow. There are so many variables that play into that, being at a new stadium and new expansion team, it’s difficult, but also exciting at the same time, we’re adjusting, figuring things out as we go. But yeah, I think the team’s excited. We’ve been really focusing on us and what we can do in this game on Sunday and I think coming off two losses, this is an important game for us. So yeah, I think we’re focused and we’re ready to go.”
On Jess Fishlock reaching 150 caps with Wales:
“I texted her and I just – honestly, incredible. But I think for me, I’m not surprised that she’s been able to reach this, and at the level that she has. But I think a lot of things that we don’t see behind scenes is the sacrifices she’s made for her country and club and I’ve been a part of a lot of that, so for her to be in that position, seeing the videos and seeing her being celebrated is obviously what she deserves and I think she deserves everything and more. But yeah, I couldn’t be more proud as a best friend and teammate and family for so long now and to see her continue to break any obstacle and barrier in the way and continue to break records is something that I inspire and she continues to inspire us. So I think, for me, it’s just so cool to see where soccer’s gone, and I think for her to be a big part of that, especially in Wales and what they’ve accomplished, a lot of that has been her building and to see her celebrated is something really special.”
On how she thinks about prevention against the threats of Bay FC:
“I’ve played under Laura (Harvey) for so long and she is a defensive coach. So, being able to get set before anything happens like you’re saying, prevention is better than cure, I think is something that she continues to really implement and I think our team looks new, so I think revisiting those things has been really important and you can see us grasping the principles of that. So yeah, as much as we can, we need to make sure that we are focused. I think the biggest thing is always making sure that we’re switched on because it’s moments that we either have the ball or in transition when those things happen. So I think in training leading up to this week and since pre-season, that’s been one of our principles that we’ve really, really focused on. So, I’m very confident, it’s something that Laura’s always done for her in her career as well and she’s known for it. So, I think being able to help as a veteran player in the backline to make sure those things are being done is really important.”
On having more teams on the West Coast:
“I mean, it’s been incredible. I think it’s just something that was probably something as players we envisioned for so long. I think you look at a lot of leagues and they’ve got a lot of East Coast and maybe West Coast kind of conferences and I hope, someday, that our league can actually do that and I think it’d be really cool to be able to do that as well. But yeah, I think the hardest thing when people come into this league and what we continue to face, because I’ve been in here 11 years, is that travel is really tough, so being able to stay on the West Coast and it being shorter flights, no time change, really, really affects players. So, I think being able to have a few games where we don’t have that is definitely a plus and being able to play home and away now, I think, is really important as well.”
On being able to have family at more games:
“I think we have these fun things with family dinners in the team and I think something I’ve been really grateful for the last couple of years is being able to play in front of extended family as well. My brother lives in Central California, so he’ll be at this game. So I think for me, being able to see the growth of that and being able to see 45-plus people of family and friends, high school friends being able to come to these games is really, really special for me. So yeah, I’m loving it. I think the last two times we’ve been down in California though it’s been raining, so I’m like, let’s go California [laughs]. But yeah, it’s honestly such a joy to be able to be in front of the people I love.”
On if she noticed anything common between the team’s last two losses:
“Yeah, like I mentioned before, we’ve got a newer team, people that have never been in this league before as well, so I think executing and professionally seeing games out is something that’s really important and something that we’ve highlighted the last two weeks when we need to scrape up points, no matter what it looks like or when we need to go and grab some points as well, like we talked about, you travel back to back, it’s super hard – one is in Chicago, one’s in San Diego, they’re both really hard to play at – so really kind of shifting our mindset to how we can just really secure any type of points is really important. So yeah, I think that’s something we’ve talked about and focused on and from veteran players making sure that we’re able to execute that as well.”
On having a new training facility and what the early reaction is to having that:
“Yeah, I think for the longest time, Seattle’s been such a successful club on the field and I think kind of pairing that now off the field with things like facilities is really important. It feels very professional and being able to just recognize and celebrate the club’s history and the people that have also been a big part of that, I think is important for the legacy and what we want to continue to grow as generations and cycles end up moving on and that’s very natural. But to be able to have a space now where pieces of that stay with us and stay with the younger group and a good reminder, so I think that has been really special and for me it’s still like I’m in awe every single day I walk in because it is night and day for someone like me. I think new players coming in, that is the standard now, which is incredible, but it hasn’t always been like that since 2013 for a lot of clubs. So yeah, to see that finally come in to play and watching players be able to really experience a professional environment, I think, is really important and I think it’s what we all deserve.”
On how she’s preparing for players she hasn’t faced previously:
“I mean, you can say that, but you can also say most teams have these new players coming in and it’s exciting, that’s what you want to see in the league, you want to see players coming from all different parts of the world and impacting this league in a positive way. So, for us, we aren’t trying to change much of what we do, but obviously being prepared for that is really important and I think that’s what Laura does best with this team. So yeah, I’m excited. It’s fun to see these new players come in, but every single game in the NWSL is extremely hard and you deal with a lot of pace and a lot of physicality all the time, so it’s nothing that, it might be new people, but it’s nothing that we haven’t faced in the past.”