SEATTLE REIGN FC at NJ/NY GOTHAM FC POSTGAME QUOTES
Sunday, June 30, 2024 • Red Bull Arena • Harrison, NJ
Head Coach Laura Harvey
On her overall thoughts on the team’s performance:
“Honestly, I thought we deserved even more than a point. I thought we were the better team in the first half. I thought we had to wait, we had to take some pressure after they scored in the second half. Disappointing on their goal, it’s a similar type of goal that we’ve conceded, which is disappointing. But, this group is resilient, they don’t give up. We had chances in the second half to score. I thought Berger was excellent for them. As you can probably tell, it is absolutely boiling here. So for the group to push and keep pushing and keep pushing and get a little bit of luck at the end with that goal, but I felt we deserved a point at minimum from the game.”
On Phoebe McClernon’s exit from the game:
“Cramp.”
On Jess Fishlock coming out of the game early:
“She had a little injury. She didn’t want to push it. She could feel her hamstring and she has history with that, so we’ve pushed her before and it’s meant that she’s out for months and we didn’t want to do that today. So, she felt it, she tried to go for another five minutes and we called it.”
On coming back late in the second half and what this result will do for the team mentally:
“Well, we got the complete opposite last week, this happened to us literally the opposite a week ago and it was gut wrenching. So, we have to use this as a platform, I think, to push on, honestly. I think we have to drive ourselves forward from this. I thought there was some really good individual performances today, but I thought collectively, we had a game plan. I thought in the first half they did not know how to solve us. Again, a little bit more quality moments in the first half and I think we would have been at least testing Berger even more than we did. So yeah, we have to use this as a platform. I think this is our first point on the road this year, so we’ll take that. Yeah, we turn our attention now, going into another home game next week against Utah.”
On if this result will be a turning point for the team:
“I felt the Portland game, we should have won. Louisville game, no question we should have won, so we were really disappointed. After those two games, we were happy that we stopped conceding goals, but we were disappointed that we didn’t win. Today, because of the way the game went, we’re really happy that we came away with a point because we felt we deserved that and did we deserve more than a point? Maybe, maybe not. But I think the bigger picture is we’ve got to win our home games, so can we get back home next week? Can we turn around and play against Utah, who are an up-and-coming team, and get three points at home? That’s going to be vital for us to steady the ship going into the summer break and we can reevaluate. Our new ownership have been very, very present, I would say, since the sale. It’s given ourselves within the locker room a real boost and I think you’ve seen that in glimpses over the last couple of weeks and the summer will give us time to be able to evaluate where we are, what we want to do, what we want to bring in so that we can elevate the second half of our season and really give it a good old push, and if we give it a good old push, the teams we’re playing are all above us a little bit and around us so we can climb that table, so that’s the bigger picture.”
Defender Shae Holmes and Midfielder Quinn
On getting a point at the end of the game:
Shae Holmes: “Super proud of the team. I think we obviously put in a lot of work game in game out, just going over the details of things and I think we spend a lot more time more recently about each person’s individual roles, but then also the collective role and I think we’ve really hammered it home this past week on the team collective and doing it together. I think that really showed. Even going down a goal, I think at this point we kind of know how that feels and we know kind of how to get out of it a little bit more and I think that’s one of the best showings we’ve had in the past couple of weeks. So yeah, just super proud of the team and everyone that put in it, especially through the weather.”
Quinn: “Yeah, I think there are definitely some positives. I think, especially on the ball, you saw in the first half, we had the quality to not only build up the pitch, but had the patience as well. I think we lost that a little bit in the second half, and so for us, it’s being able to play with that patience for 90 minutes is just a little point of improvement. I think at times we really nullified their offense, but it’s still trying to figure out how to solve the different pictures they give us quickly. But I think, yeah, definitely, just a shift that the team put in, especially in the heat, and to stick with it and grind out that point was definitely a positive.”
On the ball they sent in for the game-tying goal:
Quinn: “I definitely just wanted to get it into a good space at the back post in that area of the box and once I hit it, I thought it felt good and it was just up to my teammates to make as much chaos as possible and they did and that’s all we can do in those late-game moments.”
On what this result does for the team’s mentality going forward:
Shae Holmes: “I just think it puts us in a more positive direction going into this next week, especially before CBA break coming up and all this stuff, I think it gives us a stronger turning point and pivot to kind of continue to build off of because yeah, even though it’s not a win quite yet, that’s obviously what we’re striving for. So, I think it definitely puts us on the right foot going forward these next coming weeks.”
Quinn: “I think, for us, it’s important to get three points in games. I know we’ve been frustrated with the past two games of not getting those three points, but I still think in a hard environment, with Gotham and their quality and then as well, you take into account the heat, that’s something that’s a little bit different for us. I think it’s good to always come away with those road points. So, definitely can’t take those for granted, but we want to keep building and hopefully, we can break the gates and start getting three points in games.”