Seattle Reign FC vs. Club Tijuana Pre-Match Press Conference • Saturday, July 27, 2024
Head Coach Laura Harvey and Midfielder Maddie Mercado
Head Coach Laura Harvey
On having so much time to train with the younger players, including the recent U-18 signings Jordyn Bugg and Ainsley McCammon:
“It’s been good. I think it’s been nice to be here nearly for two weeks now, back after the break, to really just train on us and allow people actually to have time to be able to do some individual work as well, which is great. So yeah, I think that getting on the field, giving them opportunities, getting them up to speed on everything because we’re trying to give them as much information as possible without overloading them. So yeah, just being back on the field as a collective has been good and fun.”
On facing an unfamiliar opponent and the threats Tijuana will have:
“Yeah, I think because of our mentality towards these tournaments, where we really try to utilize our roster, we try and make sure our processes are very similar to what we would do in the regular season. So, we actually have footage from the Portland game. We have footage from games that they played in their league, so we try and use that to provide the players with the best preparation possible to play against an opponent. We know that they’ve got some threats – Marta Cox, who plays for them as sort of like an 8 or 10, is very technically gifted – can shoot from anywhere, has great delivery on set pieces. One of their forwards is fast, direct, tries to get in behind you, so they have got some threats. They actually caused Portland some problems last week, even though the score line doesn’t really reflect that. I think what we try to do always is, give our players the best possible chance to succeed whilst knowing what we want to do as a team and what we think the opponent will do, so we try our best to provide them with that.”
On the Summer Cup schedule and the opportunities it presents:
“Well, I’ll say this, I think there’s no coincidence to me that there’s been a lot of injuries. Obviously, we’ve been hit by that and we’re devastated for Ryanne. I was a big fan of the Challenge Cup and I was a big fan of it because it enabled us to really hone in on giving our roster a chance to play. So, what we as a club decided was that we would allow the Summer Cup to be that opportunity. Unfortunately, because we play Sunday and then we play Wednesday, we can’t fulfill that duty because it’s unrealistic to think that players who haven’t played regular minutes leading to this point can be expected to play 90 minutes on a Sunday, travel to Portland on Tuesday and play 90 minutes again on Wednesday, we would be putting them at risk. There may be one or two who can do that if we feel that they’re loading their data and all those things that we spend a lot of time working on align, but that’s my frustration, we as a club, I as a coach, wanted to use the Summer Cup as an opportunity to help develop the players we have in our roster who don’t always get time to play – the scheduling has impacted our ability to be able to do that. That’s the unfortunate part.”
On if the team will rotate the roster between Sunday and Wednesday:
“I think our team will look different on Sunday than it did last week. Our team will look different on Wednesday than it does on Sunday.”
On if she can share more details behind the move to trade Alana Cook to Kansas City:
“Yeah, I think it’s been a tough year for Lani (Alana Cook) and I think we all sort of got to a point as a collective, her included, where maybe a new environment was the right thing for her. So, just from a personal, professional perspective, I think we thought that we would look at what that could look like for her and then from a team perspective, this is out of my job remit, but then you have to look at what’s right for the team and what’s right for the club moving forward. So yeah, outside of what I know in regards to the conversations I had with Alana, that’s what I can say. Outside of the other part of it, that’s not really my job to talk on. I don’t really know how the trade and what was traded ended up being what it was.”
On if she makes subs in the game in preparation for potential penalties or if it’s to try and win the game within 90 minutes:
“I mean, yeah, I want to win the game in 90 [minutes], no one wants to go to a penalty shoot-out, to be honest. But are we prepared for the penalty shoot-out? Yes. We had this a couple of years ago in the Challenge Cup and we were prepared then and we did a good job. We took it all the way to whatever it was – 11 or 12 kicks. So yeah, I always want to try and win the game in 90 for sure.”
Midfielder Maddie Mercado
On making her first start last week:
“It was really exciting. It’s kind of been long awaited, but it was really exciting to get out on the field and play with my teammates and everything. So, I had fun.”
On her reflection so far in her first professional season:
“Yeah, it’s been great. I mean, I think already I’ve learned so much. We have such an experienced team. So, being able to kind of play with them day in and day out, I’ve learned so much and I’ve grown as a person and a player already, so I’m just excited for more to come, but it’s been great so far.”
On how she has been able to learn from the veterans and work with the young players:
“I think, like you said, it is kind of a unique time where there’s more young players coming into the pro-environment from a younger age. I think a little bit of that is emulated from the European style, where you have those young players and you have those veteran players and you’re kind of able to coexist in a similar space. But I mean, like I said, it’s great for me because obviously I’m not 16, 17, 18, but I’m still young, so being able to learn from those veteran players and have them in the environment to teach us all from a younger age will help us, I think, kind of reach our heights quicker. They obviously have so much experience with different things within the league that go even beyond soccer. So, having them in this environment, and a good amount of them, too, on this team is great.”
On if she has tried to show support for the younger players joining the team:
“Yeah, I think our team is pretty unique. I mean, there’s young and old on this team and I think everybody’s pretty welcoming. I think the older players do a good job of kind of mentoring the younger players. But obviously, the younger players kind of stick together, you typically have more in common with people that are kind of similar to your age. So, I mean, just being encouraging. I know what I wanted when first got here, so being able to kind of give that encouragement and those little pieces of advice, on and off the field, I’m sure is helpful for them and obviously it helps me learn more as well.”
On playing an unfamiliar opponent and what she’s expecting from Tijuana:
“I mean, we think that they’ll play really man-to-man press. I think there’s been things that we’ve been working on throughout the week kind of based off our opponent and what we think they’re going to do. But for me, personally, and I think our team too, it’s exciting to play a different and a new opponent. It gives us an opportunity to adjust to them and learn something new and expand kind of what we’re doing as a team because obviously the NWSL is pretty small – you play the few teams kind of over and over again. So, to have this tournament have a look at a completely different league and a completely different team is good for us, I think, and it should be a good game.”
On conversations she’s had with the coaching staff and expectations she has for herself:
“Yeah, I think it’s obviously continuing to grow. There are certain specific parts of my game, on both sides of the ball, I think offensively and defensively where, there’s obviously room for improvement, but it’s also kind of homing in on what I already am good at and really focusing on those things and nailing those down and also executing those in games and practice and being consistent in both of them. So, that’s kind of the basis of, focus on continuing to grow and get better while also perfecting what I’m already good at and being able to show that within a game situation.”
On being able to take penalty kicks with both feet and when that started:
“It’s kind of a long story, but I’ll give you a little [condensed] version. So, when I was like, I don’t know 3 or 4, I was very right footed. I never used my left foot and then kind of as I got older, I think I was like 8 or 9, I sprained my right ankle really bad to where I couldn’t really put pressure on it and every time I kicked the ball for like a year, it hurt, so my left foot just got really good because it was literally the only foot that I could use. I think from then on, I just kind of got comfortable with both feet and now I push myself to my left a lot, but I still have my right, so it’s just kind of developed that way.”
On her approach to penalties:
“I typically, I mean, kind of with both feet, it depends. But I typically have a spot in my head before I go there, but I think I’ll train and practice going both places with both feet. So, I’m versatile in that way, but typically always have a spot that I go before I take the PK.”