Seattle Reign FC vs. Houston Dash Pre-Match Press Conference • Thursday, October 17, 2024

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Head Coach Laura Harvey and Defender Shae Holmes

 

Head Coach Laura Harvey

 

On Shae Holmes’ contract extension and how it shows the team is looking towards the future:

“Obviously, a young talent, someone who’s been around the area for a long time. We’ve always known with Shae that we had these stepping stones we had to get past with her when she came out of college, and she’s been amazing in regards to that. I think someone who’s had the injuries that she’s had, I think, to come in and get a pro career started the way that she has, has been fantastic. So, to have her around for the next couple of years is exciting. And yeah, obviously not turning our attentions to the future, but I think that just shows the level of commitment that we have to some of the younger players that we have on the roster.”

 

On how tomorrow will be different considering this match does not have any playoff implications:

“No different, to be honest. I think I say this all the time – I think we’re very process driven. We live through how we prepare and how we respond to what’s happening and that means that when their highs are really high, we don’t get too high, and when the lows are low, we don’t get too low. So, I think with that mindset, you go into every game with the same mentality of trying to put out a performance against the opponent that you’re up against that you feel will be able to get a result in the game and that doesn’t change, no matter what’s on the line.”

 

On what she is looking to get out of these last two matches:

“Honestly, just keeping it really simple, I want to try and win. That’s what I’m going out to try and do. I’m trying to put a team on the field that I think we can win with. Do I think that we can maybe risk some things that we may not have done before if playoffs were on the line? Maybe. But ultimately, I’m putting a team out there that I think can win, and we’re going to train in a manner that gives us an opportunity to do those things. I think that’s my responsibility. All the other aspects of what the bigger picture looks like, what it looks like coming into next year, all those types of things, they’re things that I can think about after these games. I think what these games are an opportunity for is to give our roster a chance to go out on a high, and look, professional sport, it is what it is. These may be the last two games that people ever play for this club. That could be it, and I think we have to take pride in making sure we go out and put a performance together that we feel we can get a result in. So, I’m very passionate about making sure that we do what’s right for the team that is here right now. And then after that, we can assess and decide what we need to do moving forward.”

 

On Ana-Maria Crnogorčević wearing the captain’s armband and how the new players are integrating into the team:

“I think, obviously, it’s been a tough month or so, but I do think that we’ve seen some change in habits and change in mentality. I think they’re all doing a good job of trying to come into something very last minute and help turn it around. Obviously, we got a little bump after the summer break. But I’ve said this a lot this year, I think that this group is very resilient. I think it has been very resilient. It has been hit with a lot of things throughout the year that you couldn’t write the script of, and I think what the players have done who have come in is seamlessly fit into the group, which is great, but also add a little different dynamic of, it’s OK, we’re going to be OK, and we may not see fruition of that right now, but we will do in the future and giving that positive outlook, I think, has been good for the group.”

 

On the progress of Jess Fishlock and Quinn:

“Yeah, both – I’m not sure if we’ll see either of them again this season. Maybe Jess, but I’m not sure we’ll see Quinn.”

 

On what the team wants to correct against Houston this time around:

“Yeah, I think they’ve done a good job in recent weeks of, they may not have a ton of the ball all the time, but they’re a threat going forward. They build out of a very strong defensive structure, so I think that’s what we’ll see from them. I think for us, this Houston game is just one of many where we’ve created chances and not scored. Unfortunately, since then, it’s probably gone the other way. We haven’t really been creating enough chances, so I think that that’s been a focus for us – how can we get back to creating chances and then, obviously, the big part of that is, can we take them when we do create them? But I think creating more has been a big onus this week.”

 

On the extent of Fishlock’s injury and if she can share more information:

“I mean, not really. It’s lower body. It’s muscular. But yeah, she’s close. She’s training with the team. I think everyone saw she got selected for Wales, and they’ve got a massive qualifier coming up, so I think Friday for her is too soon, but I think she will have a chance of getting minutes in those Welsh games, which is a positive for her, and hopefully, she can get through them and get some time on the field against Orlando.”

 

On Olivia Van der Jagt’s extended excused absence:

“We won’t see Olo (Olivia Van der Jagt) for the rest of the season, no.”

 

 

Defender Shae Holmes

 

On her decision to sign an extension:

“Well, it’s exciting. I think, for me, Seattle just has always been a second home to me. I’ve been here for six years now from playing at UW and I just think this team, the city, the fans, the coaches, this club, my family, everyone that had support behind me, I just think it just felt right. I think it’s been awesome. I’ve been very blessed to get a lot more opportunity this season on the field, so I think it’s just been fun to be able to grow in that way and I’m excited for the next two years because I think it just felt right for me to stay here and continue to develop under a club and a coach and around teammates that I know believe in me, and yeah, make the next couple of years still just as exciting as the first two.”

 

On her versatility across the backline and where she thinks she fits best:

“Honestly, for me, it’s like I’m versatile in all of it. Obviously, I’m left footed, so I think anywhere on the left side helps. But it’s fun because I played outside back growing up in club and with U.S. camps and all those youth things, but then center back, I got introduced to more so when I was in college, when my new coach came in, so I’m comfortable at both. I have no favorite or not, so I could see myself being an option for either of those whenever we need. I just think they’re different and maybe different games require me in different positions, but I’m never afraid to go on the right if I have to.”

 

On her perspective of the 2024 season:

“Yeah, I think it’s been tough. I think it’s definitely not lack of caring or lack of hard work. I think each game and each training I go in and I believe in each one of my teammates. We’re putting in all the work we can off the field. We’re sitting down in film for hours trying to figure out what’s working, what’s not. I think, honestly, it’s just been hard. I mean, I just think that we’ve tried a bunch of different things that just still aren’t working and we’ve gone back to things that did work and then they don’t work and then we’ve gone back to things that we haven’t tried and then they work and then it’s just an ebb and a flow. It’s hard to really pinpoint something specific. I just think it’s one of those seasons. Each time on the field, we just tell each other to just play for each other, play for yourselves and that’s all we’ve been able to do and control in our hands. So yeah, there’s definitely improvements in the off season, but I think everyone’s just excited to hit that big refresh button, but I do know that everyone’s truly cared and we put our full effort in this season. We did believe in every chance we got. So yeah, there’s nothing really specific to pinpoint on it.”

 

On learning from Lauren Barnes:

“Honestly, nothing but all good things. It’s been unreal to play underneath someone like that. I think coming in as a rookie last year, I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is really happening that I get to play under her and beside her,’ and I even texted her because she reposted my extension and was so happy for me. But I texted her, and I was like, ‘I just want you to know that this club doesn’t run without you and what you’ve built for this club and how you’ve pioneered this club to be the way it is. This team and the way that this club feels – culture-wise, on the field, off the field, I think it has a lot to do with those OGs, like Jess and Lu and Pinoe, and I think with those two being around another year for my second year has made the most difference and having them as a comfort blanket still as the leaders they are. So yeah, I just think I have nothing but good words for her. She’s helped in terms of critiques on the field. She’s been a voice behind me in my ear when I’ve played outside back and she’s next to me at center back. She’s just an always reliable person, on and off the field, and I think that she’s really done works for this club that are unmatched and should never go unnoticed.”

 

On having new ownership and what gave her confidence to re-sign with new leadership:

“I think in general, it’s just giving confidence knowing that we’re in a more stable spot to be able to proceed forward with next season, the rest of this season, how it went, and I just think it gives me confidence knowing the owners that we have. They care so much about this program and this club and they haven’t forgotten about the legacy we hold. They know our history, they know what this club’s about, so I think that’s ultimately what’s helped give me confidence in how they want to promote us and how they want to support us. But yeah, it’s been a short time, but you can already just tell differences and just how they come and talk to us every day. They want to be at trainings. They want to be around us. They want to ask us what we need, what they see that we need. So, I think it’s just overall been a lot more open communication. Yeah, I’m excited. From what I’ve heard from the OGs again, it’s nothing but positive steps forward for the club.”

 

On aspects of her game that have improved since her rookie season last year:

“Well, I think a lot of things. I think I get told something different to work on every week, which I think is so fun and so cool. I just think last year it was so much about – my rookie year – I think it was so much about just absorbing all I could from all the players around me, all my teammates, from the coaches, what they inputted, and this year was really about taking all that and kind of challenging myself more. So, I think in that case, like last year, it was a lot more center back. This year, it was a lot more outside back, so I think I’ve grown back into that spot. And yeah, I just think, in general, with the season it’s been, it’s been up and down, so that’s already been the challenge in itself. But yeah, I mean, I’ve gotten more comfortable about playing against certain forwards. I’ve gotten to be able to test some waters about how quickly I need to get out and break my feet down for 1-v-1 defending or soccer IQ-wise – who I’m playing with, the types of balls, the vision on the field has gotten so much better, so things like that that can always be improved year in, year out, game in, game out, but I think overall, the comfortability of being on the field and having that less of a stress to go out and show everything, I think, has been super nice and one of the strengths that I’ve gotten to develop this year a lot more playing against obviously the league’s best forwards and best midfielders and best defenders.”

 

On if she feels she has adapted to the speed of the professional level:

“Yeah, I would say so. I think, yeah, it’s every step you take higher up in the ranks of your sport is always going to increase in speed, athleticism, competitiveness, intensity, everything. So, I think after last year, getting those Challenge Cup minutes and the five regular season games, I think prepared me greatly for this year and getting the minutes that I’ve gotten. Yeah, I feel a little bit more comfortable going into games, for sure, knowing that I can hang now, instead of last year, being like head spinning, like a chicken with its head cut off.”

 

On being nominated for the Lauren Holiday Impact Award and what it means to have support from her teammates:

“Well, I think it’s amazing. I think right off the bat, when even fan voting was instantly initiated, we have QR codes in the meal room. I have people texting the group chat most of the days, saying, ‘Hey, wellness, but also vote for Shae,’ and I’ve even had some of the teammates come to some of – Claudia Longo is the MS, I’mpossible Founder and my best friend – I think they’ve even come to some of her camps with me and just have been around her and they know the person she is. So, I think them all being bought in themselves about her and her organization, I think, has ultimately been the most massive support that I could have asked for. And yeah, just the word in general. It’s speechless. It’s so fun to get to spotlight her nonprofit and just the community that she supports. And yeah, it’s just fun to have hands all in. And this club supports me all the way, and I think it’s been fun to just like promote it and get the word out constantly this month, and it’s been super fun to see the results that people are taking initiative to just support me and one of my friends from college, and everything that she supports just because they know me and they trust me. So, it’s been fun to get to showcase her like that. And my teammates have been amazing about the whole process.”