Quotes from Media Day at the 2008 College Cup
12/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Dec. 11, 2008
FRISCO, Texas - Wake Forest head coach Jay Vidovich, sophomore midfielder Corben Bone and senior midfielder Sam Cronin met with the media during a press conference held Thursday at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco.
The Deacons are preparing for their semifinal match against North Carolina, scheduled for Friday at 5:30 p.m. (ET). The game will be shown live on ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com.
A complete transcript from Thursday's press conference follows.
Wake Forest College Cup Media Day Press Conference Quotes
Head Coach Jay Vidovich
Opening statement...
"We're excited to play at the College Cup again with this team. I want to thank the committee and FC Dallas and SMU for the show they're putting on here. We're excited about playing tomorrow against Carolina."
On going for back-to-back championships...
"I'm excited about the opportunity to win back-to-back, but just to get back here is so fortunate, to be able to come on to this stage and have an opportunity to play. Obviously we have to play a game on Friday against a quality team like North Carolina. Just to chase one championship is great, but to place yourself in a position to win two is fantastic. I think we're all excited about it."
On the rematch with North Carolina...
"One of the best things about going into NCAA play is getting to play different teams and different looks. The other side of it is that when we had the conference call for the tape exchange of each other's games, (North Carolina Head Coach) Elmar [Bolowich] and I were like do we even need to, we know each other so well. Our players played together. They were youth players together. We see each other all the time. So we have a familiarity, we know each other, we know what's coming, but who knows what happens."
On the ACC having three teams in the College Cup...
"It speaks volumes for the conference once again. I think a lot of people were questioning the ACC, the strength of it this year. I don't remember a time when there haven't been two teams [from the ACC] in the College Cup. To have three is a great statement; three quality teams that can play, and obviously St. John's is another great team. As I look at the whole College Cup, I think it's going to be a special one. In the last 10 years everyone's had a championship, everyone's been here before. There is a lot of experience from the coaching staffs. The way the teams play soccer should be good for the game. It should be good for the college game that way. So, it should be a fantastic Cup for the fans."
Sophomore Midfielder Corben Bone
On coming back to play at home in Dallas...
"It's really exciting. I get calls everyday from people saying I hear you're coming back, we're coming to watch you and all this other stuff, and I'm really happy. I haven't been back to Texas. I don't get to come back too often being so far away so its good to come back and have the College Cup here. My family can come watch and I'm really excited to go after another championship here in my hometown, so I can't wait."
On playing against North Carolina midfielder Cameron Brown, who he played with on a club team...
"This is an exciting time. I talk to (Solar Soccer Club Head Coach) Kevin (Smith) all the time and we talk after games, and he will ask me how Cameron did and my thoughts about it when we played each other. I think he's really excited to watch both of us play and it will be fun to see both of us playing on the same field and having him there right next to me when we played on the same club team for so long. I think we're really similar players and it's really fun to see him on the opposite side of the spectrum and playing against each other. I think it's really fun seeing both of us here, I think we've come so long and having us both in the College Cup is a great achievement that Kevin has raised us as good players, so I think it's a good thing."
Senior Midfielder Sam Cronin
On comfort level after advancing to three consecutive College Cups...
"I think the first time, two years ago, it was all new for all of us; coaches, players, we were just soaking it all in and we had an early exit from the tournament. So our goal last year was to stay in the tournament and play on Sunday, and here our goal is the same thing and we're excited about the opportunity. We're excited about the opportunity to play on Friday and our goal is to stay alive and play here on Sunday. So we're comfortable with this being the third time for a lot of guys on our team and we're expecting to have a good weekend."
