Wake Forest vs. Michigan Post Game Press Conference
11/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Nov. 21, 2003
Recap?|? Final Stats
Michigan
Head Coach Marcia Pankratz Opening Statement:
Congratulations to Wake Forest. I thought they played a wonderful game true to them being defending National Champs. I'm proud of our team for playing such a close, hard-fought battle. Hopefully, it was exciting hockey for the fans.
Q: Can you just explain what the last two minutes of the game was like for you guys?
Stephanie Johnson: We came together a couple of times during that last ten minute segment I would say. We reminded ourselves that we needed to stay sharp and stay efficient to make the best of our opportunities in that last segment of the game. We composed ourselves and made a couple very good attacks and scoring opportunities for ourselves, we just didn't finish.
Q: When you hit that shot and it went in, did you know immediately once you hit it that it wasn't going to count because it was too high?
Johnson: Not immediately. I had to look up to see it, but I got a pretty good hold off it. It felt good at first, then I took a look and I knew,
Q: Talk a little bit about the crowd. This is a neutral site. Really it was a great crowd. Did it feed into you guys at all?
Pankratz: Well, I thought it was a nice crowd. There was lots of cheering. Of course, I can hear it because I'm on the sidelines as well. You'd have to ask the players when they're out there. If they're focused on the match, usually that's the case. But it's exciting. I thought it was a well-educated crowd, which is nice to have there and lots of enthusiastic parents and fans and that's great to see at a hockey match.
Q: Beth, could you just explain how you felt after giving up the game-winning goal?
Beth Riley: I knew that we were going to come together as a team and feed off of that and work hard and give a good attack towards the other goal. I thought we stayed connected and worked really hard after that. It was just one of those things. It went in and we stepped right up, got the ball up there and we knew what we had to do.
Q: Any solace in shutting down Dostal for the day in front of her home crowd? Riley: I think their whole team played pretty well. We weren't really focusing on one person. We were focusing on the whole team together and working to play our game and work hard.
Q: Did Wake do anything tactic wise that surprised you? Anything different? Or what was the most difficult thing to overcome?
Pankratz: I don't think tactically there were any surprises. I just think that they have very strong players and at each position they have a lot of skill and a lot of savvy and that's why they're the defending National Champs. I thought we went to toe-to-toe with them and put on a really great, competitive match for the crowd.
Q: Could you just talk about the defense tonight?
Pankratz: I'm really proud of our defense. I think it's one of our strengths and when you see such great players in Dostal and Doton and Ackerman and all of those guys right across the board, it's a lot to have to handle. I think that as a team we played really strong defense: working together and playing a really tight zone. I was really proud of them because to hold the semifinal match to a 1-0 or 0-0 game almost through the whole way is exciting and I thought we did a really nice job of that. I was proud of them for it.
Wake Forest University
Head Coach Jennifer Averill Opening Statement:
Hats off to the team. I thought that it was a hard fought game and I didn't think we were executing too well in the first half. We kind of gave them a little riot act in the second half and we started to sharpen up our skills a little bit. But, the reason why you're not executing too well is probably because your opponents are putting you under a lot of heat and I thought Michigan did a great job of really putting up the intensity and fundamentally they were really sound. The difference of the game, I think, was execution and we fortunately were able to execute on and generate some corner options to get us an opportunity to go ahead.
Q: What does it mean to you that you're home and you assisted on the game-winning goal?
Kelly Doton: Personally and honestly, it doesn't mean anything. I'm just glad that she scored. Points don't really matter to me. In all honesty they really don't. I'm just glad I could contribute to the team's success. Claire received the ball on the baseline and threw up a great shot and I got the assist, but the only thing that matters is that we got the goal
Q: During the pre-game, both of you Kellys got a pretty large crowd reaction. How does it make you feel winning a game of this nature in front of the hometown crowd?
Kelly Dostal: It's definitely great to be home. Our teammates are really excited for us that we're here. They're also excited to use the home crowd as a team advantage overall. It's pretty exciting to be here. Kelly and I have gotten a lot of recognition, however, we couldn't have done it this whole season without our teammates. They're great teammates and you really couldn't ask for anything better going into Sunday.
Doton: Just to add, I think we had more people here than we did during our home games at Wake Forest and I think the team can add to that, but the turnout was more than expected. It was more than I ever expected. It was just awesome. They kept us going, kept us energized and it was just great to see.
Q: Were there any nerves because of playing in front of the home crowd?
Dostal: Definitely you're going to get nervous just because it's tournament time. I think that we were lucky to be here. I try to use it to turnaround the nerves and use it to our advantage where you're having the home crowd support you and there are lots of familiar faces in the crowd. It's great. I don't think I was really nervous; I just used it as an exciting edge.
Doton: I don't know if it was nerves. It was just good to see everyone-that's what it was.
Q: Jen, did you have to talk to these guys and say you have to be calm and you still have to stay focused knowing that they were going to play in their backyards?
Averill: These two are pretty mature and they've been that way all season long. They're big time performers and being in the home crowd-- I think how we handled the pressure all season long being number one and not really relying on those statistics to more or less define us. I think that these two pretty much symbolize that exactly. They're playing in front of their home crowd and they know how to handle that pressure. I think they just use it as a huge compliment, but when push comes to shove they know that they have to execute. They're pretty mature.
Q: What was on going through your mind on that game-winning shot?
Claire Laubach: Just stop the ball first. I don't really know. One step at a time.
Q: How did it make you feel?
Laubach: I was just happy for the team overall that I could contribute and it's just an overall great feeling.
Q: Obviously, you'll know your opponent in the Finals on Sunday. You don't know exactly who yet. Does it matter which one you play? Do you want one more than the other?
Averill: Absolutely not. It's a great tournament and we respect every team that's in this tournament. There's a lot of talk about all four ACC teams getting here, but I think tonight Michigan certainly showed that they had every right to be here and they are an outstanding team and it could've gone either way. We feel the same way about Duke and Maryland. It doesn't matter who we play. We have great respect for them and we know that we're going to have to perform on Sunday if we want to raise that National Championship trophy above our heads. It doesn't matter; we've seen them both quite enough.
Q: This is the second straight time playing in the Championship game. Was the road harder getting here as defending champs or last year?
Doton: I think the difference from last year was that we were going after the title. I mean we were going after the title last year too, but being the defending champs you kind of have a bulls-eye on your back that everyone's out to get. Last year was difficult. This year was difficult. But like I said, the only difference is that they were hunting us and people come out a little more energized now knowing that they are going to play Wake Forest.
Q: Can you guys just talk about that last two-minute defensive stand?
Averill: A lot of water on the sidelines. I was like, "Can someone get me a cup of water?" I'll let Chewie answer that because she was on the receiving end for most part as well as Doton. Ideally you want to ice ball and stick it in your opponent's defense. We've had some nail-biters this season and I feel really confident. We've got Katie in the cage and they got that corner I think with about 1:35 could've been 1:36, I was glaring at the clock, left. I just said to myself "I could get really ticked off at this point" or I could go "sweet- that's our number one D."
Laubach: There was no doubt in my mind that we wouldn't give up a goal. Complete confidence.