Seattle Reign FC Post-Training Press Conference • Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Head Coach Laura Harvey,
Midfielder Angharad James, Midfielder Ji So-Yun, Defender Lily Woodham
On preparing for the home opener and how training has been:
Lily Woodham: “Obviously, it’s been nice to be out here. Everyone on the team has been lovely and really welcoming, so that’s been nice, just to get a feel for how the team plays and enjoying being back on the pitch.”
Angharad James: “I guess the transition has been made easy from the people who are here. From the day that we got off the plane to now, it’s been really easy and that’s thanks to the staff and the players and everyone here. So yeah, we’ve worked hard over the last week and few weeks that we’ve been here and we’re really looking forward to kicking it off this weekend.”
Ji So-Yun: “Training has been great and obviously I’m happy to be joining the team. Yeah, we’re just focused on this weekend.”
On what they’ve heard about the club and the fan base from midfielder Jess Fishlock:
Lily Woodham: “Obviously, Jess has loved being here for the long time that she has been. I spoke with Laura (Harvey) before I came out here and just got a really good feel for the club and obviously we’re all aware that the fans are amazing and the stadium gets pretty full. So yeah, it’s been nice to actually feel it in real life.”
Angharad James: “Yeah, every time that we get on [international] camp and we speak to Jess, Jess says how wonderful of a place Seattle is and I hear the summers are good here, so we can’t wait for that. Since Jess has been here, I think it speaks volumes for how long she has stayed at a club for her to come over here and be here for over 10 years, speaks for itself. I’m really excited to be a part of it.”
On how the team is coming together ahead of Sunday’s home opener:
Laura Harvey: “It’s been good. I think finally getting everybody together – Sunday was the first time we had the whole group together for the first time. So just having everybody together, seeing how each other can play together, the partnerships that we can create, I think is really exciting. We’re looking forward to opening up at home on Sunday.”
On joining a successful club and how much that factored into their decision to sign with the Reign:
Lily Woodham: “I mean, obviously the club has done well for the last couple of years and we obviously speak to Jess a lot, so we knew a lot already. It’s exciting to go somewhere that’s got really high ambitions within the league and it’s obviously shown that the last couple of years that that’s where the team is aimed to be every year. So yeah, to be a part of that is exciting.”
Angharad James: “I think as soon as I found out that Seattle was interested, it was an easy decision for me to make. To come to such a prolific club with such experienced players and great, young players coming through too, it’s an environment that I could see myself and picture myself being in and I want to win trophies and we win trophies here.”
On if they have been able to get a feel for the fan base so far after playing a friendly against University of Washington and through social media:
Angharad James: “I think the UW game, it was nice to see everyone coming out, that doesn’t happen as often in England. So, it was very nice and also the messages on Twitter and stuff as it got released in the press. It’s been welcoming from everyone, from the media side of things as well as the players and staff too and collectively, Seattle is known for its sport and how everyone comes out regardless of which game it is and who is playing, everyone comes out to support the teams. So, that’s something in the community that I’m really excited to be a part of.”
On what they have heard of the league and what they know about the teams and the players:
Lily Woodham: “Obviously, we had the friendly game against Portland over the weekend and everyone’s very athletic, a lot of quick, fast players, I’ve found out. But yeah, it’s really exciting. I think it just offers a different kind of style of play and learning different things. So yeah, I’m excited to see what other teams have to offer and hopefully speed up a little bit.”
Angharad James: “I’ve played in this league before and I kind of know what to expect and it’s good to be back, I’m really excited to be back in the league and the style of football here is a little bit different to what we’re used to back at home, but it’s one that I feel like I can challenge myself and I might be out of my comfort zone at times, but that’s pushing to get better and to be better for the team. The winning culture that we’ve created here and has been created over the last few years was an environment that I want to be a part of. It was an easy decision to come back into the league and to play for Seattle.”
On what she is hoping to continue and what she is hoping to change from what fans have seen over the last few years after signing the new players:
Laura Harvey: “The hardest thing I think in this league is sustained success and, when did I come back? August 2021 – I think from that onwards, we’ve been consistent, which is key. I think that’s the goal is to try and find that consistency with a new group and I think bringing in the players that we’ve brought in is really exciting. I think keeping the players that we’ve kept is really exciting. I think some of the younger players that we’ve got coming through, also really exciting. So, I think it may take a little while to find consistency, but I think one of the things that we’ve set a tone pretty early is our training environment is competitive and high standard. On the ball, I feel like we are going to be even more demanding of wanting to be better on the ball, which I think in [20]22 it was quoted quite a lot that that wasn’t the way we were successful. We were successful by defending really well, so that’s always a blueprint of who we are, but I think having the players that we’ve brought in, who are so comfortable in possession, I think trying to find ways where we can keep that hard-to-beat mentality and defensively be really solid but also be really proud of what we can do on the ball and that may look a little bit different than it was over the past couple of seasons because the people we’ve got on the team are a little bit different.”