Tennessee head coach Joe Kirt
Opening statement…
“Thank you Xavier for coming and competing well for 110 minutes, and we wish them well for the rest of the tournament. For us today we had some really good times and we created some really good chances. Jaida scored a great goal to get us started We had other chances and we didn’t take them and that’s part of the game They kept competing and fighting and scored one in the first extra time and obviously we had a really good chance to equalize coming in, and they got a long shot that goes off the crossbar and they kept fighting and kept putting balls behind us which made hard, pressing and still, we saw that a few times. But they did a good job of taking their chances and we didn’t score enough today. That was the difference in the game.
Building the foundations of the future…
“I think for us, going forward, we have to keep getting tougher and more disciplined in the moment and keep putting our players in positions where they can be successful. And whether in our tactics or in our form, we must continue to develop our players and help them improve. It’s what we talk about all the time – constantly improving ourselves, being the best versions of ourselves. We must continue to do so. I have to do a great job of holding them to that. We have to improve. That’s what we’re going to do, and that’s the message to our team. We must continue to grow, learn and develop as players and as people, and we will. This is the message that goes forward. That’s how we improve. We have to heal from the sting of this. It’s incredibly difficult for all of our players. (And for) our elders Abbey (Burdette), Hannah (Zaluski), Kenz (George Mackenzie), and Lindsey (Romig), that’s never how you want to play your last game. For us, it’s about continuing to move forward in the process and improving. We have to find moments to continue making games and put them in environments to do so.”
On what the team can take with them in the future…
“I think just the hunger is probably the big problem. And then just the feeling right now sucks. We don’t want to lose on our own turf anymore.”
“I think the loss hurts us all, but I think going through the winter and spring gives us a lot of motivation to keep pushing and working hard, so hopefully we’ll keep challenging each other and we’ll improve in the spring, and it’ll show next fall.”
Xavier Head Football Coach Nate Lie
Opening statement…
“I would like to congratulate Tennessee for being here. They are a great adversary. I told this story a few times when we were watching a movie for them to be scouted, I literally had to get up and leave the room a few times because it made me nervous and nauseous. They have an insane amount of offensive talent, power and will really stretch you. And they had very good chances. Maria Galley arrived in a big way. The game could have gone the other way had they had a rebound or two. Also, a story about Joe Kirt: I’m really happy for him to have this opportunity. He and I had been assistant coaches for a while, and I think he really deserves it. We were here in 2018, and we were a new program and trying to take stock of how we treat our equipment and everything. We were making a point about the balls. All three were there (Rachel Dewey, Brooke Sroka, Molly McLaughlin). There were kicked balls over the goal in the woods and after the game, which we lost pretty badly, I went back into the woods to try to get them back, and it was early. I was bleeding when I came out, and Joe (Kirt) was there with me, and I don’t know another coach who would have ever thought of doing that. It shows his character, and his team plays with a lot of class. It was a great game. These big games come down to big wins and big players. I think fortunately we have found those moments and we have those players. I don’t know about overtime. We have five meetings this year. We found two overtime in the playoffs and scored five goals in two overtime games. Part of that could be the depth we use and are proud of. I think we used seven or eight subs for at least 20 minutes, six subs for at least 40 minutes. I think we were able to use our bench well over Tennessee, which may have had an impact on the game. They have special players that made it very scary for quite a while.
On whether overtime was schematically different or whether it was execution…
“We held on. I think Molly (McLaughlin), who plays the six for us and is a big part of our attacking talent, held on a little deeper. (We) just had more numbers behind the ball, I didn’t want to get beaten by a big ball or a mistake. We have players who can follow it and others who can dribble three of our players and still caused us a lot of problems. We didn’t change anything , whether it’s form or tactics. Talking to us about risk versus reward. We felt comfortable tonight.
Graduate Midfielder Molly McLaughlin
On how tonight’s win felt after the Big East loss last week…
“We weren’t happy with the way this game went, and we thought we left some things on the table. So it was just a matter of trying to put together a full game and picking the things that we missed in the last game and implementing them in this one. Here you are one and you are done so you have to leave it all on the field. They (Tennessee) have incredible talent, but we “We also have talent. We are a real family and I think it came to play today, and we were really lucky to get a win.”
Graduate striker Brooke Sroka
In losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year, what if tonight’s win was sweeter because of it…
“I obviously think it’s a nice feeling after last year. We like being the underdogs, and we function better when we’re the underdogs, because that’s what we grew up in this program. The simple fact Maintaining that mentality throughout has helped us improve from last year.”
Graduate Midfielder Rachel Dewey
On Maria Galley’s defensive effort…
“The defense as a whole, I really think we work well with each other. The communication struggled a bit, and I think today it really worked. Maria (Galley) really used her voice and came out strong and confident today.. She saved one where she pulled out of the box and cleaned it. It showed her confidence. I think as a freshman, it is huge because she kind of locks us right in there. I also want to shout out Natalie Bain, she’s everywhere. She’s able to go side to side really well. I think working for the person next to you is the most important thing, and we always want to do that.
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