Seattle Reign FC at Portland Thorns FC Pre-Match Press Conference • Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Head Coach Laura Harvey and Defender Lily Woodham

Head Coach Laura Harvey

On how she’s preparing the younger players for a rivalry match in Portland:

“I think the spanner in the works is the fact that we played Sunday, honestly, which you know I’ve not been quiet about. I think it has meant that some of those players that obviously played a lot of minutes on Sunday aren’t in a position to really do that again on Wednesday, unfortunately. So, we’ve got to rotate again and probably bring in some of these older players just because it’s unfair. I just don’t think you can think that players can go and do 90 [minutes] on a Sunday and then go and do 90 again on a Wednesday, so we’ve got to try and sort of map it and manage it a little bit. So, there will definitely be more rotation again, probably see some more familiar faces on Wednesday. But yeah, with the bench obviously being a lot of the younger players that can come on and get minutes late in the game if needed.”

On looking back at the 3-2 loss to Club America and seeing the fight from the team to try and come back from 2-0:

“Outside of their goals, I think it’s been good to see that we’re still creating chances. We created numerous chances on Sunday that we should have scored and outside of their goals and maybe one more, they didn’t really have anything and that was credit to us because we dominated the game. So yeah, just real positives in that. I think Emeri’s goal was excellent as well. On reflection, she’s created multiple chances for herself in the game and scored the hardest one. So, how can we help her to turn that around a little bit where the hardest ones are the ones that everyone talks about, but she’s also scored the easier chances too? I thought Jordyn Bugg was excellent. I think she was a huge positive note in the game. I thought Liv Athens did well. I thought Maddie did well. I think, obviously, you take the result away, there were a lot of positives because we dominated every aspect of the game except the one that will live on the results page for the foreseeable future. So, I think we have to take the positives out of that, but obviously disappointed with the result.”

On the last time they played Portland and how she will use that to help prepare for tomorrow:

“They’re playing a little bit differently in the Summer Cup – tactically, they’re playing with a back three, or they have been playing with a back three, I’m not sure they’ll do it tomorrow, but they’ve been playing with a back three, so I’m sure they’re using this as a test for maybe doing things later in the season and obviously it worked really well for them against Tijuana. They got exposed a little bit against Utah. So, I think we have to look at those two games, as well as our last regular season game. I think the key for us is, how can we keep creating chances first and foremost? We’re in control of that. How can we make sure that we make it as difficult for the opponent to score? We did a good job of that when we played Portland the last time. And then take the chances that we create, that’s the grinding hamster wheel that we’re on right now is, make it difficult for the opponent to score, which we’ve done a good job of late up until the Tijuana game and how can we make sure that we take some of these chances early in games to make life a little bit easier for ourselves.

On Olivia Van der Jagt and if we should expect to see her available again soon:

“Honestly, O (Olivia Van der Jagt) is just going through some stuff that is day to day. We’re using this time to just give her a bit of a breather, to be honest, so that hopefully we can get her back in a good place come the regular season start.”

Defender Lily Woodham

On the team’s spirits after a tough loss on Sunday:

“Obviously, we were looking to kind of get the points from the last game, but that didn’t happen and it’s OK, we’re learning. There were a lot of new players playing together and I think it’s kind of just building that and the way we kind of fought back and got back into the game just shows a lot of character. I think now we’re just all positive and ready for the next game. We obviously don’t have a game for a while, so it’s just kind of building some momentum in the Cup.”

On playing Portland:

“Yeah, I’ve been at the Portland games and yeah, the experience is crazy. I think it’s really exciting. It’s really fun to be involved in. I think as a rivalry out here, yeah, it’s easier to kind of get ready and get excited for that game and we’re all really looking forward to it.”

On what she looks to bring to the team when she plays higher up the field to help with the attack:

“Just for me, I’ve always been someone that wants to get the ball in the box and kind of put crosses in, so I’ve been working on that in training and kind of trying to position myself to be able to do that. We’ve got a lot of aerial threats within the team, so just trying to be able to put in crosses that are kind of easy for them to finish. So yeah, that’s something I’ve been looking at trying to improve, for sure.”

On her experience so far in her first year in the NWSL:

“No, I’ve really been enjoying being a part of the league. I think it’s incredible. Yeah, since I’ve been here, the girls, the team, the staff, everyone involved have looked after me and kind of shown me the ropes within training, within games. So yeah, I’ve enjoyed being out here, for sure, I think traveling back for Wales and the time difference is still something I’m getting used to. But yeah, I’m really enjoying it. It’s an amazing league to be a part of and I’m just glad to have the opportunity to be here.”

On her conversations with the coaches and what they want to see from her:

“I think there’s just a lot of things for me to learn – game experience, just kind of more on my defensive side, just kind of being aware of what I need to work on in that sense. Still stuff to do with attacking. But yeah, more so being ready. This league is very transitional and you’ve kind of always got to be ready for balls in behind and people trying to score. So yeah, just kind of defensive stuff, really, that I need to be focusing on more within training.”