Doubleheader Joint Pre-Match Press Conference (vs. POR) • Friday, June 2, 2023
OL Reign x Seattle Sounders FC
Joint Pre-Match Press Conference • Friday, June 2, 2023
OL Reign Head Coach Laura Harvey and Defender Lauren Barnes
Seattle Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer and Midfielder Cristian Roldan
Opening remarks:
Brian Schmetzer: “I will make this brief. Talking to Laura just about our teams’ ups and downs and struggles as coaches, it’s great to catch up, so thank you for being here. Thank all of you for being here. I think it’s a pretty big day. I remember a couple years ago, because we had a year hiatus between this event, and I remember watching the last bit of your game and you beat Portland and then [Laura] told me to go stick it to Portland or something along those lines, I don’t want to swear or anything, but she kind of tried to motivate us and me and myself and unfortunately, we couldn’t do it, so we’re going to try and reverse the tables this year. We’re going to play first, we’re going to try and win, let’s try and make sure that happens first and then we’ll watch the nightcap and hopefully you guys will have a good result against our archenemies from Portland.”
On the opportunity of having a doubleheader
Brian Schmetzer: “I think it’s great for soccer in this city. With the World Cup coming, lots of positive stuff, these events are great. I’m a massive supporter of this.”
Laura Harvey: “I think it’s huge. I think the first one that we did was a massive success. I think for us to be able to showcase our product in front of the (Seattle) Sounders (FC) fans that have always been so loyal to soccer in this city, I think, is huge. And obviously, it was such a huge success on the day for us and I think just the way that the fans took us in was fantastic, so we can’t wait for tomorrow.”
On how the approach might be different this season:
Lu Barnes: “I think the first doubleheader we had was just exciting because it was the first time we’ve ever done this. So, coming around a second time, I think it’s just great to showcase, like (Head Coach) Laura (Harvey) said before, and have another set of eyes on us, as well, is really beneficial for the club and I like to say, once you come to one game and you see us play, you hopefully want to come back. So, I think that’s super important with these games and doubleheaders, but I think we obviously have deserved to be in Lumen for a really long time, so I think, being able to carry that growth, see that it’s already going to be sold out and things like that is really important for soccer in Seattle. I think it’s really been a Sounders town for a really long time so being able to collab like this, I think it’s becoming a soccer city, which is really hopeful for women’s sports.”
On what their message is to the fans who are thinking about leaving after the Sounders game:
Cristian Roldan: “That there is no drop off in the quality in the women that play in this city. That’s important to our average fan, that haven’t really seen the Reign play and so for me, there’s no drop off and we want these young girls to be inspired and motivated, even young boys by the way they play. I go back to my neighbor who watches the Reign more than the Sounders and they know me personally, so that’s what I want to see in this city and I think coming to the game will be a huge factor in that.
Brian Schmetzer: “We want all the Reign fans to come to our game early.”
On this game being her 200th game coached:
Laura Harvey: “Yeah, feels great, it just means I’m old, I think [laughs]. I mean you probably couldn’t write a script better, everyone knows my feelings around Portland (Thorns FC), I haven’t kept them quiet the whole time I’ve lived in this city. I think I, from the first game of coming to Sounders-(Portland) Timbers, I remember walking through the concourse and a Timbers fan was walking past me and I had immediate hatred [laughs]. So, I think it just stayed with me forever. I’ve always said this, I think the thing that’s really cool about the rivalry is that there is respect between the two cities and the two clubs, both on the male and female side, but it’s a real rivalry, it’s not made up, it’s true and I think that’s what any football fan globally has always looked at – where do you find rivalries within the U.S.? And this one is, without doubt, the most authentic that I’ve ever seen. So, I know that we – us on this table – definitely all feel the same about it. So yeah, I feel very privileged and proud and lucky that I’ve been able to coach 200 games in this country.”
On what is needed for women’s soccer to be more successful all around the world:
Brian Schmetzer: “I can start, but I’ll let [Laura Harvey] finish because you’re probably more knowledgeable, but congratulations on 200 [games]. Number one, the women’s game is exploding in this country, too. I see snippets of 60,000 in Barcelona and stuff like that, the women’s leagues over there, but our league is growing fast as well. I think the boost of the World Cup is going to be here, women’s World Cup has been here, I think soccer just in this community is going to help all of us, all sports and I think there’s a lot of fans that want to see women’s professional soccer grow and I think they will.”
Laura Harvey: “I think the thing that the NWSL and soccer in this country doesn’t get credit for, really, is that – the thing that we are, we’re a business too, people actually pay to come and watch us play. I think that obviously teams in Europe and teams around the world get some really good fanbases, but they don’t make the money we make and I think that that’s a testament to – people actually want to pay, they want to get money out of their bank and actually pay to watch this sport and the more that it explodes, the better that is. I think the World Cup in the summer will be massive for that. I think things like this is huge for it locally, but globally, the game is just going on a trajectory that I think will be – it’s unrecognizable from probably three years ago, honestly. So, I think the 2019 World Cup was huge for the women’s game and I think this summer’s World Cup will be too.”
On Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan and how he’s feeling:
Cristian Roldan: “Like we talked earlier, it’s been a frustrating – I think it’s seven-eight weeks now, but I’m feeling back to normal and happy to be back. I miss this sport. I hope you guys miss me and I’m just thankful to not have that pressure from the organization and to get things right the first time so that I’m not in this position again.”
On if Roldan will be able to play tomorrow:
Brian Schmetzer: “He will be playing tomorrow; I can guarantee that.”
On the Sounders losing their last four games against the Portland Timbers:
Brian Schmetzer: “That’s an interesting question because we did a little bit of history after the last loss in Portland, the 4-1 match. I talked openly about, is this a rivalry? Amongst our players and so today, during the film, we tried to pick out some of the good things that we did against San Jose (Earthquakes) and certainly we went back and watched some of the good parts of that Portland match down there. But, we gave a little bit of a history lesson, what happened – we haven’t won in this building against Portland since 2017, we had a couple draws, but that’s not good enough and yeah, they’ve had our number in the past. It was that little kind of moment in time where the away team would always win, we’ve had big results down there throughout the course of history, the 4-4 comeback, the 6-2 win. But reality says they’ve had our number, so I’m glad one Seattle franchise is doing the business, I’m certainly glad about that and I hope that our guys respond in a big way after a disappointing result on Wednesday.”
Cristian Roldan: “We have to play with a chip on our shoulder, with some emotion but you also can’t let that play into their hands because then it becomes a difficult game, you play off just emotion, you know, you can lose a game due to that. So, a fine balance for us and it’s a rivalry game, a rivalry game that you’re playing at home. So, a lot of pressure for us and we enjoy it.”
On how his concussion process went and when he got the concussion:
Cristian Roldan: “It was almost like whiplash injury, there was no real blow to the head, so it’s difficult to really pinpoint if that was the case. I woke up the next day with a massive headache and it’s frustrating. People don’t think that concussions are real, at times, and it’s a sad thing because players go into really dark places because you have a headache, you don’t feel right, you’re missing time on the field and so this was a nice wake up call for me, I think for my teammates to kind of re-educate ourselves on the concussion and the protocol that we have to deal with.”
On general manager Lesle Gallimore:
Laura Harvey: “Yeah, I think it was a position that was needed for us. I think (general manager) Lesle (Gallimore) is someone who just walks into a room and gets automatic respect from the players and the staff at the club because of what she’s accomplished, not just in the game, but locally, within this city. I don’t think she had to introduce herself pretty much to anybody because everyone knew who she was. So, I think that immediate comfort level was there. It was her first day with the team today. Personally, I would say I’m really happy. She knows where our top needs are and what we need to do on and off the field and obviously I think she can bring a little bit of stability in what is a little bit of an unstable time at the club, so I think her hire is a huge thing for us moving forward.”
Lauren Barnes: “Yeah, I mean, Lesle was recruiting me in college, so I’ve known her a very, very long time. We’re excited to have her and with us. I think she brings a great balance of both soccer knowledge and business knowledge, which is exactly what we need right now and honestly, just energy and new faces has been really good, so we’re excited to have her. She was out at training today and she came up to me and she goes, ‘Man, I just miss soccer.’ It’s the first time she’s been on the field in three years, so just having that fresh face and a new set of eyes and ideas and thoughts, I think, are really important for our club right now moving forward.”
On if they have to express the importance of the rivalry matches to the new players:
Lauren Barnes: “I don’t think players necessarily understand when they come in. The Portland-Seattle, it’s just so different, it’s so different than any other game. It’s like a championship game every time we play, pretty much, from the women’s side. We have kind of noticed, obviously, our older players are sort of coming out and these new faces coming in that we do have to make sure that we continue the traditions, I guess, is what I like to think of. We’re very passionate about it – (head coach) Laura (Harvey) and I and the OGs that have been on and played a lot of Portland games, especially back in the day, we played them hundreds of times because they were the only west coast team that we had. But yeah, I think keeping our traditions alive is really important. Like right now, we’ve got roses hanging from our ceiling in our locker room, so it’s a big tradition of ours and just a reminder of who we’re playing. Obviously, we played San Diego midweek, so they were in there when we got here this morning. So, just things like that, I think is important. I think when new players come in, they see this and they’re like, ‘Whoa, this is different,’ so I think they can feel the environment we’ve created around these games, which is important and we hope that they carry that on after we leave. So, they’re fun.”
Cristian Roldan: “Yeah, I think for me, a lot of our signings these days are very young and this rivalry stems all the way down to the academy, so it’s almost like a reminder to those guys that are now part of the first team that hatred kind of goes all the way down to the academy. Then, more for guys that are coming from a different league, I think that’s when you have to share the magnitude of this game. I think for us, too, it’s a celebration of soccer in this city, bringing the entire city together and enjoying the sport that we love and bringing people together, I think that’s always been an important piece and if we can get the win, even better.”
On the Portland Thorns attack and how they can prevent them from scoring:
Laura Harvey: “I think our mindset is always prevention is better than cure with them. They’re fast, they’re powerful, they can get in behind you, so how we can solve that by limiting the amount of service that they get is a big thing for us and obviously after the disappointing game here against (NJ/NY) Gotham (FC), that was something that we went back and spoke about – our foundations as a team of being defensively hard to beat and we’ve got back to that in the last two games and I think that’s shown that not only have we not conceded goals, but we’ve actually scored, too. I think that’s just the blueprint of what this team is about and it won’t change any differently for who we’re playing against. if we can be aggressive in that defending moment, I think we make it really difficult for them. But yeah, they’ve got talented players, for sure. They obviously won the Championship last year and the championship team versus the Shield winner is always a difficult opponent to play, so we’re ready for that.”
On it being the first time playing a Doubleheader at Lumen with it being the Reign’s permanent home:
Lauren Barnes: “I think it’s been difficult for the Reign because we’ve been so many places; we never really got to call anything home. I still personally feel like Memorial (Stadium) is home to me because it’s where I had the longest stay and it’s when we came in 2013. So, I think like anything in life, we’re finally settled, we’re able to build from here and last year we did well and how we continue to do that is doubleheaders. I think representation is really important and we feel the support. I have friends on the (Sounders) I actually went to school with – (Sounders assistant coach) Andy Rose and (midfielder) Kelyn (Rowe). So, having their support is really important and I think the more that we can see that with things like this we’ll continue to grow in Lumen and make it feel like home for us, as well.”
Laura Harvey: “I’m definitely not going to ever forget the Doubleheader the first time [in 2021] because I think just seeing soccer fans appreciate the game was so huge and then coming here and this being our home every week, even though we get that one side pretty full, it’s loud, it’s passionate and then I’m sure tomorrow it’s going to be double that. So, excited for that.”
On the rose tradition:
Lauren Barnes: “We ended up bringing out the bouquet of flowers last time we played the doubleheader, someone stomped on them [laughs]. It’s all for representation. So yeah, it’s just something that we can have. It’s just a reminder when we walk in that how important these games are and who we’re playing.”
On what the message is to the fans:
Cristian Roldan: “For us, it’s a final. I mean, we talked about this in the locker room. We treat it like a final – standings don’t matter, like you mentioned, you could win and lose the game on any given play. It almost feels like we lost our last game in Portland due to one play and you have to be focused for the entire game and so our message is, we’re going to come out and we’re going to treat it like a final and I think that’s important. That’s the message that we’re saying in our locker room.”
Brian Schmetzer: “The message for the fans is, come out and enjoy a great afternoon of high-level soccer. Hopefully, the home teams are going to win, but it’s going to be a great afternoon. It’s entertainment. You’re going to spend a day watching wonderful athletes, talented athletes. You can enjoy all the activities that are going on around the stadium, it’s going to be a glorious Seattle summer day. It’ll be a great event.”
Lauren Barnes: “I think, too, it’s an advantage, we’re at home. So, as many people that can get out there, as loud as can be, make it awful for Portland, that’s what we want.”
Download here: Doubleheader Joint Pre-Match Press Conference (vs. POR) • Friday, June 2, 2023