Seattle Reign FC vs. Angel City FC Pre-Match Press Conference • Thursday, October 3, 2024
Head Coach Laura Harvey and Forward Ana-Maria Crnogorčević
Head Coach Laura Harvey
On what was different about Angel City FC last time they played them on September 6 from previous seasons:
“Honestly, not too much. I think they have a very clear style of play. I think they want to possess the ball, but they also have threats higher up the field with pace and power, which we knew about. I think we played probably 75-80 minutes brilliantly at their place, brilliantly, and had a slip up early in the game, and then turned it around, scoring three goals, and then that last, I mean it felt like 20 minutes, they really started to turn it on and sort of got rid of their identity in regards to playing and forced it forward quicker than they normally would and put crosses in the box a lot more than they normally do. So, I think we have to be prepared that they may come out a bit more direct against us and be a little less about their style of play and a little bit more ruthless, getting the ball towards the goal a little bit quicker.”
On if she feels the defense has continued to find success together despite the recent losses:
“I mean, yes and no. I think this has been the hardest year for us defensively and a lot of that is personnel. I think we’ve had to change so much of the backline so much that it’s been challenging. I always say this, yeah, the last few weeks, we haven’t conceded a lot of goals, but we haven’t scored one either. So, you’ve got to try and find that hard balance between the two, and I’d take 3-2 wins all week, every week if it meant that we got three points. So, I think you have to try and find the healthy balance, and unfortunately, the last couple of weeks we haven’t been able to do that.”
On the status of Jess Fishlock for tomorrow’s match:
“Unfortunately, she’s not going to make this week either. So yeah, disappointed with that.”
On the challenges having to navigate this season with using approximately 30 different players on the roster:
“I mean, I’ve said throughout this season a few times, and I’m actually going to change my opinion on it that, I didn’t think any year would be as challenging as year one in this League, but this probably tops it, and I think for all the reasons that you’ve identified. I think consistency, creating partnerships, creating habits, creating those things, they’re what makes successful teams, and unfortunately, through multiple different reasons, we haven’t been able to do that, and when we have, we’ve won games. So, I think everyone that watches us play and sees us play, there’s not been many games this year where I feel like we’ve been completely outclassed, outmatched, even in some of the big scorelines, I actually felt like we were the better team a lot of the time. I think the last couple of weeks have been challenging in regards to that. I think the performance against Houston wasn’t great. The performance against Bay wasn’t great, so I think we do need to mix it up a little bit, unfortunately again, potentially going into Angel City to try and get something out of it. I think what we have to do is look at who we have now, who we have on the roster and who can go out and execute depending on opponent and depending on what we’re looking for.”
On how different the league is now with the ability to develop younger players:
“I think, obviously, Ainsley and Jordyn coming in later in the year, it is probably like a little different dynamic. I think Jordyn is so ready, so ready. I think Ainsley is really close to being ready. I think the fact that she goes away to the World Cup with the U-17s on Saturday is testament to that. Emeri, I think we’ve been mindful of how we’ve managed her. I think she plays in a position where we could just play her every week and just let her go out and do what she does, but I think when we were in our really tough period – sort of April, May, beginning of June – my auntie instincts took over and I wanted to protect her a little bit in that period, so she probably played a little bit less at that time. But I think throughout what you guys get to see on the weekend is just a real small snippet of where the development comes. I think the development comes every single day in training and then the evaluation is at the weekend, honestly. So, I think that I am very passionate about developing the young players. I do think we have a platform now that we can do it a lot better than we used to be able to and we need to identify how we can continue to do that because I think this is the future of the league. I think finding young players, getting them in your environment, developing them at different levels and different stages and exposing them to when they’re ready to the environment of games is the future. So, I think we have to be at the forefront of that.”
Forward Ana-Maria Crnogorčević
On the last time the Reign played Angel City FC and what fans can expect for this game:
“Well, that was a tough game. That was an exciting game. I think [this] matchup is going to be kind of the same. We just played a couple of weeks ago. We know how to beat them. We know what we have to do, and I think that’s going to be a similar game. Obviously, it’s going to be a tough game, and we need points, they need points. Yeah, it’s a big game for both teams.”
On differences in the NWSL between now and her first time playing in the league in 2018:
“I think, first of all, more teams, which is cool, which is great for the league. Then the level from the teams, how they play, the playing style, everything got better. Obviously, it was a couple of years ago. Also, for me, the CBA, how they worked everything out and really taking care of the players, which is a big thing. I think a lot of other leagues could look up to the NWSL, how they try to treat their players and how they try to protect the players. Yeah, I think that’s one of the biggest differences to other leagues. Obviously, the league got better, has some huge players and you can see also that now a lot of European players coming to the NWSL, which is great.”
On what the team needs to do to score tomorrow night:
“Obviously, if I look back at the last game against Bay FC, that was actually one of the first games that we didn’t really create chances. I think we had chances against Houston, we just have to score them, we have to convert them. I think what happened against Bay FC, if we looked at the stats, we had more possession, but that doesn’t win you games. We have to create chances. So, that was the first game, I think, we didn’t really have big chances, so we have to get back to that. Once we have the chances, we have to score them, obviously. It’s like a crucial moment in the league. With scoring goals or not, you’re in or out, so I’m very aware of that.”
On what is different about playing in Seattle compared to her first stint in the league with Portland:
“Yeah, we didn’t play now. I mean, [the Reign] played already twice against Portland. I just know the game on the other side in Portland, obviously, was a huge game, huge rivalry. It made it a lot of fun. Yeah, so I can’t wait for next year to play on the other side.”