SEATTLE REIGN FC vs. PORTLAND THORNS FC POSTGAME QUOTES
Sunday, June 16, 2024 • Lumen Field • Seattle, WA
Seattle Reign FC Head Coach Laura Harvey
On her overall thoughts on the team’s performance:
“I think we were defensively good. I thought we were solid at times. I thought we gave a few opportunities to them in the first half that we’ll look back on, but obviously with what our recent run has been, I think getting a clean sheet was a big positive. I just said to the group at the end there, I think we just have to make sure when we have performances like that defensively, we show the quality in the final third to get the finish. But, you’ve heard me say that before.”
On having Claudia Dickey back in the lineup:
“It was a really last-minute thing to whether she was going to be ready or not and having her back was great. But, like I said, I think she didn’t really have to do a lot on the saves, but she came and got crosses well, she was dominant on that, which I think is good. But overall, having her back, having her and Laurel competing again will be a positive.”
On the team’s confidence:
“It’s actually really interesting. I think, Kaylie, who has been our goal keeper replacement since Claudia’s been injured, she actually spoke to the team on Friday, when we knew that Claudia was going to be cleared, and she said something that really stuck with me was, she’s never been around a group that’s as resilient as this and I think one, the results is one part of that – losses are tough, but the goals we’ve conceded, you could turn up and not want to play soccer ever again with some of the things that have happened to us and we just have not had that mentality. The day after a game or the first time we see each other after a game, the group is very vulnerable and upset and disappointed and we watch film and we try and drag ourselves through it, but by the time the next game comes around, you just see this air of confidence come through them and I’ve said this before, I truly think that’s because we’re very process driven and we believe in what we’re trying to do and even in every single game, as tough as some of those scorelines have been, I can put multiple times where I think we could’ve come out of it with a result – even in Kansas, 90 seconds of craziness and that game is really different. So, I think we’re resilient. I think that builds confidence. I think we don’t lack character either and we’re going to need that if we’re going to keep pushing to get where we want to be.”
On the team being resilient cohesively and if that’s a credit to the team culture:
“I think we talk about it a lot. We as a team have always been a group that, for us to be successful, we have to do it together. We just have never really had those one individuals that can turn games around for us in moments. I mean, Pinoe (Megan Rapinoe) is probably the closest to that. So, we’ve always had the mindset that if we’re going to achieve anything, we can only ever achieve it together. It’s something we’ve spoken about for weeks now. We maybe have come off that track at times in games and that’s where we’ve been punished and I felt today that we did not fall off that track – we stuck together, both defensively and then later on in the game when we were really pushing, you saw it on the offensive side because yeah, some of the patterns of play were amazing. I just think, again, in those moments, can we find that little bit of quality to put the ball in the back of the net and we’ll be OK.”
Seattle Reign FC Defender Ryanne Brown and Defender Phoebe McClernon
On their overall thoughts on the performance:
McClernon: “I think it’s something to build off of. Obviously, I think we want to be able to convert our chances and I think we had a number of chances today. So, I think all we can think about right now is just being a better team than we were in our last game and we definitely did that today, so I’m proud of us.”
Brown: “I feel like with how things are going, and Laura touched on this as well, it’s important to take the positive out of this game and that’s a clean sheet, so I’m proud of us for that.”
On if this result was a huge improvement compared to the team’s 4-0 loss to Portland earlier this season:
McClernon: “I felt like our last game against them, specifically in the first half, it did look a lot like today, we were able to dictate play a little bit and show the soccer that we like to play. I think we were just able to make that a little more sustained today. So yeah, again, just building off of it, it was an improvement and I think as long as we can keep taking those wins and being honest with each other and taking accountability for the ways in which we’re still falling short, we have a lot of room to grow and I think that’s an exciting prospect.”
On getting involved in the offense:
Brown: “I felt like I was definitely able to get high and wide and Jordyn was tucking in a lot, so I felt like that gave me a lot of room to get into the attack a lot more.”