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vs Louisville
Duke vs. UCLA Division I NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal Quotes
11/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Coach John Rennie
Opening Statement:
“I'd just like to congratulate UCLA. They're a very, very good team. I'm sure they'll do well in the Final Four and they deserve to be there. But obviously, on the other hand, we're very disappointed with the results today. We were ahead 2-1 at half time and actually UCLA had played very well and deserved to score at least one goal to make it 2-1 after we were 2-0 up. I thought we had control of the game ? they had no scoring chances in the second half that I can remember. It should have been, could have been, 3-1 or 4-1...we didn't get the third goal. They got a corner kick, we knew what they were going to do, we fell asleep and they scored the tying goal. And then at that point it's obviously anyone's game. We certainly didn't help ourselves, but we lost to a very good team.”
On what he told the team before overtime:
“Just that it's all mental at that point; it's just a matter of concentration. They had one of their players beat one of our guys one-on-one and laid a ball across and they scored. Got to give them credit for that goal ? it was a great play.”
On whether the goal coming at the start or end of overtime is more devastating:
“It doesn't matter at all. Ten seconds in or 19 minutes and 10 seconds in? it's still devastating.”
On whether Duke changed their game plan when they went up 2-0:
“It's as much of a question of UCLA when they're down two to push everyone forward. And UCLA is very good in the attacking third of the field and when you get your chances you have to finish them and we didn't do that. We did a much better job in the second half - we made a change at half time ? took a lot of their possessions away. And created our own chances in the second half and should have finished them...but that happens.”
On UCLA's second goal to tie the game:
“Well they used the same play and scored a goal in their last game. We'd watched the tape and we all knew what they were going to do we were all set, and one of our guys fell asleep and watched the ball instead of running with his man and that guy scored. It just happens in a split second.”
On the adjustments made at halftime:
“We withdrew one of our forwards into midfield. Left Mike Grella up there by himself, played Tomek (Charowski), who hadn't started, along with (Michael) Videira and Pav (Castaneda) and took away a lot of their possession game. We kept winning the ball and countering, going forward, got our chances. When you do that ? and get your chances ? and don't finish them, it's like asking for trouble. You just know that third one, that's the ballgame, and we didn't get that third one. And really, if you look at the tape, they had good chances in the first half particularly after our 2-0 lead. We hadn't played them yet, you know they're very skillful and when they get in the attacking third they're very good. So we had to make an adjustment, and we took that away from them - we just couldn't finish the deal.”
Senior captain and defender Chris Loftus
On whether Duke changed their game plan when they went up 2-0:
“I don't think so. We've gone with a game plan that's worked all year. We didn't change a lot ? especially during the flow of the game. No point in slowing down. Your two up, might as well go for the third goal. UCLA calmed down a bit. I don't think they were expecting us to score so early in the game. After the first and second goal I think they calmed down. We were working our butts off, running all over the place. Both teams were tired. I don't think we changed our game plan at all.”
On how he felt coming back from injury:
“Great. My hamstring wasn't a factor out there. My fitness, obviously I've been out for three weeks, and my fitness wasn't where it should be this time of year, but it's understandable. A couple of times my touch was a little off, but other than that I was happy.”
Senior captain and defender Kyle Helton
On the team being deflated after UCLA's first goal going into halftime:
“I mean in the locker room the guys were still pumped, it was hot, we knew they were tired. We were a little bit fatigued, but the last 45 minutes in the Elite Eight you're going to do whatever it takes to win. I felt like our guys gave a 110%.”
Players Mentioned
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Tuesday, November 12
A DOMINANT WIN OVER NOTRE DAME - MEN'S SOCCER
Tuesday, November 05
Duke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
Welcome to Duke
Saturday, October 19
