SEATTLE REIGN FC vs. WASHINGTON SPIRIT POSTGAME QUOTES
Sunday, March 17, 2024 • Lumen Field • Seattle, WA
Seattle Reign FC Head Coach Laura Harvey
On her overall thoughts on the match:
“I think first games of the season are always tough, you don’t know everything about the opponent, they don’t everything about you. I think what was really great was we scored so quickly – goals change games. We actually talk a lot about kickoff and how it can be a goal-scoring opportunity and it was. I think, in the first half, we played some excellent football. I think the most disappointing part of the first half was that we didn’t score more goals, but again, if we’re creating that many chances, we’ll be OK. The game was a little bit choppy towards the end of the first half and then same in the second half, didn’t really get going and then once the flow of the game came back, I thought that we, again, played some really good football and limited them to very limited opportunities. On another day, we could’ve had three or four [goals], so I think the biggest thing for us today was the win. I think when it’s the first game of the season, if you’re playing the best you could possibly be, I would really worry. I don’t think we were that, but it was definitely a positive and we knew we were going to have to be gritty, we knew we were going to have to be all these things, but I think the biggest highlight for me that I wasn’t really expecting was how good we played at times, just because it’s the first game of the season.”
On Ji So-Yun and her role:
“She brings class. She’s quality. She’s a very, very technically-gifted player. She understands the game, she understands English too, which is great, but her understanding of the game has made this seamless and she’s had, I don’t know, six training sessions, maybe. Her football understanding is on such a high level that anyone who was questioning her ability to play in the league doesn’t understand that about Ji. I would say, I think what she also has is she is fit, she’s quick, she’s dynamic, she sees a pass and for our team, that’s what we need. I think some of the passages of play, which created goal-scoring opportunities today would’ve been goal of the season goals and she was pivotal in almost all of them.”
On her message to the team before the season and before the game:
“I think the overall message just being we’re back, the Reign is back. That means something to us in our locker room – the queen being back and what that means being called Seattle again, it means a lot. To me, it means legacy and the legacy of this club is we win, that is what we want to do, we want to win and that’s been our message in the preseason is, how do we keep what’s made this club so special over the years going but also keeping that winning mentality going and moving that forward and try and take that extra step that we’ve not been able to do yet. But, I think that’s been the message in preseason and today was, be gritty and then halftime it was, the only thing I think we can get better at is score more goals.”
On the depth of the roster:
“Honestly, I was saying this to the staff yesterday, the hardest part of my job is telling people they are not in the [roster for gameday], it’s horrific, I hate it, every single second of it because we’ve got so much depth – there is no one that doesn’t deserve to be in it because they’re great. I think sometimes when you get in a rhythm, especially towards the end of the season, you don’t want to make a ton of changes all the time, but at this stage of the season, giving people a chance, letting people play with each other, seeing what each other can bring is amazing. There was a special part about today that we haven’t spoke about and that’s, we got a 17-year-old on the field today, which is monumental for this club and for that kid, which was great.”
On what she told Emeri Adames before she took the field:
“‘Go score kid because you’re good.’ You wait, this kid is unbelievable.”
Seattle Reign FC Forward Bethany Balcer and Defender Shae Holmes
On their overall thoughts from the match:
Balcer: “I thought the first 30 minutes we really had them on their heels and that’s the kind of soccer that we’re looking to play this year and then it kind of was just about managing the game and making sure we walked away with three points. So, it definitely got a little chaotic at times, but really proud of the group to already show that we’re resilient and can hold out games.”
Holmes: “I think a lot of us just went out there and were expecting to implement what we’ve worked on all week and all of preseason and I think when it came down to it, to really just lean back on our goals of the game and all our principles. When it got a little bit chaotic, I think it was really key for us to be able to bounce back and ebb and flow in the ways we wanted it to go. So, I’m really proud of everybody.”
On how the team’s newest signings performed today in their debut:
Balcer: “I think you saw the quality of Ji (So-Yun) and (Angharad James) Haz and Lily (Woodham), playing against them, I would hate it, I hate it in training. They’re just so clean on the ball and they give us just a different look than we’ve had in previous years. They’ve integrated so well and it’s super fun to play alongside of them and we’re kind of tiki-taki with them, so it’s really fun.”
Holmes: “They complement our team perfectly and I think even off the field, their personalities as well, we get along really great chemistry-wise, so they’re all great on and off.”
On having a penalty called so early in the game and if that has ever happened to them:
Balcer: “No. We’re always trying to score of kickoff, but it’s never worked, so this was the first time it worked and it was kind of like, ‘Oh, we’ve got a PK, so let’s put this away,’ and I think it set the tone for the game, which was exactly what we wanted to do.”
On how nice it was to get a goal that fast:
Balcer: “I think it showed how it set the tone with how we played over the course of the half, just keeping possession, being really clean on the ball and we were really dangerous. If it wasn’t for my big boat feet, we’d probably have a couple more goals, tripping over myself. I think we showed how dangerous we are front to back and that’s something that people can look forward to seeing the rest of the year.”
On Emeri Adames and what she brings to the team:
Balcer: “I absolutely adore (Emeri) Em (Adames), she fits in so well, wise beyond her years, very mature player. She’s so quick, she’s so fast, so I think that really brings just something different in our formation that we have, but she’s integrated in really well and she’s adjusted well and she doesn’t show like she’s nervous at all because she just plays with such confidence. She knows what she’s good at and I think people are going to be excited to continue watching her.”
On Ji So-Yun’s debut:
Holmes: “Well, I think she’s hilarious off the pitch. On the field, I think she has a composure to her that complements all of our midfielders, especially to play up top with our forwards – (Bethany Balcer) Boats, Jordyn (Huitema), (Tziarra King) Zee, Veronica (Latsko) – she complements them so well in her style of play and it’s just unpredictable. So, I think that’s always what you need in soccer. I think any player that has an unpredictability to them, whether it’s skill, whether it’s shooting, whether it’s taking people on in a dribble, I think she has a lot of qualities that fill a lot of gaps that we have and also enhances a lot of people and other traits that we have on the team.”