Postgame Quotes: Michigan 2, Illinois 1
10/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Michigan Head Coach Greg Ryan
On bouncing back with a win after an overtime match on Friday ... "It was a fantastic effort because we were exhausted after the Northwestern game. That game was played at such a fast pace, and we didn't have our legs early in today's game. It was a tremendous effort from the girls to be down a goal early and fight back to get it level and then find the winner in the second half. We defended so well. Illinois had very few quality chances even though they had a lot of shots. It was just a gritty performance by our team."
On the importance of today's win ... "This win was huge for us. In the Big Ten, the worst we can do is third. And for a young team like this, that's a fantastic run this year. I don't think anybody expected us to do this well. Beating Illinois, who perennially is an NCAA level team in the Big Ten, solidified our chances to be considered for the NCAA Tournament. We had to have this win to be looked at by the NCAA, so getting it gives us that opportunity."
On Taylor Timko's play and contributions to the team ... "Taylor is young and she's so talented. She gives it everything she has. She's playing a positon she's never played before, but even though she's playing in the defense, she's scoring goals and getting assists for us. She still gets into the attack. She's had a fantastic freshman year so far, with four goals and two assists, and for us to get that kind of production out of Taylor, along with Madi Lewis on the other side of the defense -- that's just phenomenal."
