Postgame Press Conference (at LOU) • 4-29-23
OL REIGN at RACING LOUISVILLE FC
POSTGAME QUOTES
Saturday, April 29, 2023 • Lynn Family Stadium • Louisville, KY
OL Reign Head Coach Laura Harvey
On her thoughts from the game:
“I said to the players at halftime that was up there with one of the worst halves we’ve played in a long time in the first half. I’ll give credit to (Racing) Louisville (FC), they came out and they pressed us and we haven’t had that for a couple of weeks, so it put us on the back foot a little bit. But then, I thought in the second half, we started to move the ball – in fairness, before they scored the second goal, we started to move the ball a little bit more better and we were finding the spaces we needed to and then in the second half, I mean before the penalty, we were working but not getting too much and then yeah, obviously got – you know me, goals change games . Once we got that first goal, I felt like we were on the front foot, but they were a threat all night. I’ve said it to a lot of people, I think Louisville are a really good team. I think they’ll be making the playoffs this year, no doubt, in my mind. It’s a really good game for us to watch back and learn from. We don’t have a lot of time and I don’t understand VAR, I don’t understand it, so I don’t understand what we’ve got it for, honest.”
On forward Megan Rapinoe:
“I think she’s working her way back in. She’s on a minute management still. This was her first start. I think you could see that a little bit. But, she’s one of those players that, she needs one moment to do one thing – I’ve said it before, if we have a penalty, I would put my mortgage on (forward) Megan Rapinoe to score. She’s one of those players that she could have not the greatest of nights and I’m not sure it was her greatest night, but she just needs one chance and she took it.”
On how midfielder Rose Lavelle is doing:
“She is doing all right. I think we’re being very cautious with it. It’s definitely worse than what we first all thought but not bad. Her road to recovery is still on. We’re just not pushing her too much because we want to make sure that once she’s right for us and two, obviously she’s got a big summer coming up. So, I would say a couple more weeks and then she’ll be OK.”
On forward Jordyn Huitema’s goal:
“I think she can be a threat in the air. We haven’t seen too much of it yet, but it’s something that we’ve been working on and talking to her about – her and (Head Assistant Coach) Scott (Parkinson) have been doing some work on it. I think that’s why you saw their little celebration when she scored because I think (forward) Jordyn (Huitema) works so hard for us, she does so many good things and doesn’t necessarily get the reward by getting the goals that she maybe could get and deserve. So, I’m glad tonight she was able to get that one.”
OL Reign Forward Jordyn Huitema and Forward Megan Rapinoe
On her thoughts on the match with it being the league’s 1,000th regular-season game:
Megan Rapinoe: “Well, we decided to celebrate it by playing absolute [chaos]. So, yeah, it wasn’t great. We played terrible – good to get out of here with a point. Yeah, there were lots of cards and nobody used VAR, I know that.”
On how Racing Louisville FC played in the first half:
Jordyn Huitema: “I do not think it was (Racing) Louisville (FC) at all, I think it was us. We were our own worst enemy in that first half, for sure. I don’t think we connected passes, I don’t think our mindset was good, we just didn’t want to win. It looked like we didn’t care and I think it was more so us than them.”
On the team’s mindset and if there was anything in particular the team was struggling with:
Megan Rapinoe: “I just think they did a good job pressing and on our backs and making it difficult. I feel like we had the pictures in our gameplan, we just didn’t execute it on the field, so that’s on us. I don’t think it was a lack of a good gameplan from our coaching staff and preparing us, we just weren’t completing passes, turning the ball over and too many touches and then they score and it gets stressful. So, I just think we weren’t able to just settle into the game. I mean, sometimes it happens, like we just play terrible and it happens. There’s no excuse for that, that’s something that’s on players and something we need to get right. But yeah, they made it difficult in some phases of the game and we made it much more difficult on top of that.”
On what head coach Laura Harvey told the team at halftime:
Megan Rapinoe: “Well, she said we aren’t going out there and playing again like that. We knew we had to play better and just kind of keep in it. I think, we did a good job as a team, even in the locker room. It’s just like, just keep going, keep trying to connect passes, keep trying to be dangerous, put them in tough situations. Obviously, (forward) Jordyn (Huitema) getting on the end of that ball, drawing a penalty, keep putting the ball in the box, keep trying to be dangerous and keep trying to be who we are, knowing that it wasn’t really our day to come and play the style and the sort of free-falling football, but we’ve got to be able to win or get points on the road like this as well.”
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