U.S. Women's National Team vs. Canada - Post Match Quotes

U.S. WNT vs. Canada
Post-Match Quotes – May 8, 2014
Investors Group Stadium; Winnipeg, Canada

U.S. WNT interim head coach JILL ELLIS
On the match:
“It was a tough environment and I thought in the first half we got caught on the back foot, were a little bit careless with the ball and had some anxiety at times when things weren’t as smooth. We talked about it at halftime, and I thought the response was really good. In the second half, we put Canada on their heels. I thought we created some really good chances.

“It was a fast surface, a very physical and athletic team, so they are always going to be fighting and scrapping and it’s not going to the most aesthetic game, but at times there were some good sequences and I was proud of them to come back and get the tying goal and we pressed for the winning goal.”

On facing Canada:
“When you play Canada, it’s fifty percent preparation, organization and structure and fifty percent emotion. I challenged them at halftime and said that we needed to be more of the aggressor and we definitely put some pressure on them. The other thing we talked about was composing ourselves. It was a big crowd, big atmosphere and the adrenalin was pumping and we actually needed to calm ourselves a bit and connect some passes.”

On Sydney Leroux:
“Syd’s motivated against any opponent. She’s hungry and she’s a goal scorer. She’s established herself as a regular starter on this team and proven herself. She loves the big moments and she comes through.”

On getting to play in front of a large crowd at a 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup venue:
“I told the team to take this as a learning experience. It was a tough environment, playing on turf, and this group hasn’t been together that much. Obviously we want to win, but there’s a learning curve there. We got some different players in the game, and I thought the response was really good from the subs. This team just needs some more time together to get schooled in their roles and responsibilities.”

On the subs and midfielder Allie Long getting her first cap:
“I think Allie’s done well in training and in the league. I think she came in and didn’t look out of place. Crystal added some great energy and Christie Rampone, coming in late was seamless. Press gave us a spark up top, and I thought they all did very well.”

U.S. WNT forward SYDNEY LEROUX
On the match and getting the tying goal:
“It was very physical, and I don’t think we played very well in the first half, but I think we came together in the second half and started playing our soccer. At halftime, we said we are not going to make it easy for Canada to beat us, ever. We knew we had a lot of time left and we knew the goal was coming. I feel like we needed another five more minutes (to get another goal), but that’s the game of soccer.”

On crowd of more than 28,000:
“It was great for Canada soccer, it’s great for women’s soccer and we were excited to play in front of a crowd like this.”

U.S. WNT midfielder CARLI LLOYD
On the match:
“We always know going into a game against Canada that it’s going to be physical. They had a good game plan, they compacted the middle, and it took us a little bit to find the space and our rhythm. I thought in the second half we came out more fired up, got stuck into some tackles and we went after them a bit more.”

On the large crowd:
“It was a great crowd and great preparation for World Cup qualifying and the World Cup because this was an away game, and we felt that. We just learn from it and see what we can do better.”

On coming straight out of their NWSL teams into the match:
“It’s always tough to be in the NWSL when everyone has different roles, but we are going to find our way. We’re going to find our sharpness and our fitness, so there’s no concern with that, but it does stress the importance taking advantage of the time we have together. We’re not going to have much time before World Cup qualifying so it’s important that we all the little things to take care of our bodies to be fit and ready to go.”

On the impact of the subs:
“It was great to see some of the newer players step on. Allie Long got her first cap and did a great job in the middle. I thought the subs did really well, and that’s what we need. This world cup journey is going to take every single player and we need everyone until the end.”

U.S. WNT midfielder LAUREN HOLIDAY
On the match:
“It’s always a battle. We have to match their physicality and in the first half we needed to slow the game down a bit and play our own tempo. In the second half, we did that, and got a goal back and were inches away from getting another.” 

On the match:
“In the second half, we were knocking it a little more, we were extremely aggressive. We didn’t want to lose that came and Crystal played a great ball in and Syd had a phenomenal finish. I think we had a few other chances, Abby had a few on crosses, and we came out to play and try to win the game.”