SEATTLE REIGN FC at UTAH ROYALS FC POSTGAME QUOTES
Sunday, October 13, 2024 • America First Field • Sandy, UT
Head Coach Laura Harvey
On how she balances talking to the team about a tough loss while also considering that it’s just a game:
“It’s not about my speeches, to be honest. It’s about recognizing what things aren’t working. It’s about, in the first half, I didn’t think we did a good enough job of recognizing their pressure. We kept playing ourselves back into the pressure rather than dealing with it and skipping it and solving it. But I think in the second half, obviously the scoreline is the scoreline, but I said to the group at halftime, we have a choice – you either give up or you come out and you show who you are as individuals and who we are as a club and as a team, and I think we did that. Someone’s going to have to fine me for that penalty because that is a disgraceful, disgraceful decision to flip the penalty off, and honestly, I think she should have been sent off and that that maybe changes the game – you get a penalty, she gets sent off, game is completely different. How can you book somebody and not give the penalty? Tell me how that works. That was our day.”
On if she entered this game and selecting the lineup with the consideration of the long-term picture:
“No. Today’s game was about trying to win. Ji had a knock in training this week, so she couldn’t compete in training. She only really did a little bit of one training session leading up to the game. I wanted to give Emeri a start because I felt she did well coming off the bench. So yeah, I mean, they were the two big changes, really. But Ji’s was mainly about the fact that she got a knock this week in training, and Zee (Tziarra King) was about just giving Emeri a shot because she’d been doing well when she came off the bench. So no, this was about coming and trying to compete and get a result, but unfortunately it wasn’t good enough.”
Midfielder Olivia Athens and Forward Tziarra King
On how the balance the fact that the performance was not good enough while also considering that it’s just a game:
Tziarra King: “I think the reality of the situation is, we wouldn’t be professional athletes if we didn’t want to perform at our best all the time and expect the absolute best out of ourselves. We are our own biggest critics and hardest evaluators. So, obviously this s**t hurts. The history of this club, we want to come out every day and represent the badge and put respect on the history. So yeah, I think, like you said, it’s a game, but it’s also our livelihood and what pays our bills and keeps food on our plate. So, it’s just not good enough and we all hold ourselves to that accountability and when we come off the field, I think we realize we have to focus on ourselves as individuals and as a group expecting better.”
On if it has been a struggle mentally to come back after dealing with frustrating moments early in the match:
Olivia Athens: “Yeah, I mean, I think it’s an important part of the game. I think if you’re not switched on this league, you get punished. And unfortunately, yeah, we need to start games stronger. When something like that happens, we need to regroup and focus, and I think we kind of let our guard down a bit, and yeah, we were punished for it. So, we need to be better in that regard.”
Tziarra King: “I think, too, it hasn’t been this way all year. We’ve had performances this year where we’ve gone down and come back and rallied. We’ve had performances this year where we’ve gone down a player and come back and rallied. So, it’s inside of us and we know that, and I think that makes that even more painful, knowing that these moments should never deflate us the way that it did today. So, it’s just learning from it. It’s just, this is something that leaves a bad taste in our mouth and every game this point forward the rest of the season and next year and beyond, I hope we can remember what this s**t feels like and not allow it to take the wind out of ourselves.”