Postgame Quotes: Minnesota 1, Michigan 0 (2OT)
11/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 5, 2014
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Michigan Head Coach Greg Ryan
On losing a heartbreaker in overtime ... "There was tremendous effort tonight. I couldn't have asked for any more from them -- I couldn't have asked for any more from them the either season. I mentioned to the team that we've had a lot of things fall our way late in games and maybe this was just universe righting itself. I walked away from the game thinking how thankful I am for this whole season. I'm excited -- and I told the team -- we look forward to what we hope is our 'second season' (NCAA Tournament). We'll get back, we get nine days of recovery, rest, training and get ready for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That's our next focus -- hopefully we've done enough to get in -- finishing third in the Big Ten won't hurt us and I think there's a good shot we'll be playing on. But first they need some rest. This is their third trip on the road in less than three weeks. But they put in an amazing effort tonight -- for as fatigued as they were, this was one of their best efforts of the year."
On the total team defensive effort tonight ... "It was the best it's been all year -- our pressure, and then winning the ball and committing to putting the ball on the ground in play. I thought it was the best it's been all year. Stu (Megan Hinz) was rock solid again, covering all the balls in behind the defense. The back line -- this was their best game by far. It was great to have Alyssa (Dillon) get in and get some minutes for us back there because that allows Madi (Lewis) to get up into the attack. The back line and Stu were so sharp, along with the midfield in front of them and our three forwards -- we were all on the same page all night long. It was by far the best we've done all year."
On focusing on just Michigan until the NCAA Selection Show ... "We're completely focused on improving ourselves and the first thing we have to improve on is our recovery -- we're dead tired. We'll give them a few days of just rest and recovery. They're going to feel great again, but that's going to be four or five days out before they feel that way. And it was the same last year -- we hit our second season and we caught our stride, got our energy back, so we're in a very similar situation to where we were last year when we lost to Iowa in the first round. If we get in the NCAA Tournament, this will end up being a positive from a stand point of being fresh and ready to go. We've been working on preparing for the next opponent for so long and now we'll have time to focus on us. You can see all the attacking possibilities that we have, we just have to tighten that up a little bit. We need to recognize when Madi (Lewis) and Taylor (Timko) come forward from the wing backs -- we've got to use them, and I felt like we missed them a lot tonight. They can add so much into our attack. Our quality in our attacking third will be a big focus and will get better as we get our legs back."
