Nov. 14, 2003

Head Coach Sasho Cirovski:
On the game:
"I'm glad we don't have to play Jorge Gonzalez anymore this year. I thought the young man was outstanding. I thought, in general, that we came in with a very good game plan and I felt like we played very well. In the opening 10-15 minutes of the game, I think it took us a little while to get a rhythm - we have been off for a week and haven't had an opportunity to train for the last two and half days or so. But I really felt like we dominated the game and pretty much did what we wanted to do. We were unfortunate not to get several more goals. We hit the post on two occasions and I thought Jorge made probably four outstanding saves of the day.

"I have to give NC State credit. They were very competitive when they came down to our place, and I thought tonight they played well. For them to play their third game in five days, I thought they showed a lot of character and heart out there.

"I am very proud of our performance. I thought it was a pretty complete performance, although I don't the score reflects the dominance we had in the game."

On the game plan:
"In soccer, you really have to focus on your own preparation. I thought we really had to come out and play within our game plan and play within the principles of the game, and all the rest would take care of itself. I thought our team defensively was very compact, I don't think we gave away much rhythm to NC State. I think NC State is a dangerous counter-attacking team - they have some terrific athletes running at you - they are a good team on set pieces, and we were able to negate that. Unfortunately, we gave away a late goal on a PK."

Comparing this game with Maryland's earlier match against NC State:
"There really wasn't a lot different. I felt after we played in the first game, I told our team and the people around me that NC State was going to have a terrific year - and they have had a terrific year, because their young players are maturing and starting to believe in themselves. With the kind of year that they have had you can see that they have really grown and matured as a team and are going to be a very good team in the coming years."

On making the ACC finals again:
"Well, it is very exciting and rewarding, but this was only act one of a two act play this weekend, and we have to make sure we come out and finish the job on Sunday. This was one of our goals earlier in the year, and now that we have the opportunity, we are going to be very focused and prepared over the next 36 hours."

Sophomore Forward Jason Garey
On his goal:
"Our whole game plan is to pressure the ball. When you pressure the ball the other team makes mistakes, and we score a lot of goals by capitalizing on the other team's mistakes. We put them under some pressure, and I read the play that he was going to play it back to his goalkeeper and he was unfortunate to have a bad touch, and I went in and finished it off."

On playing against Jorge Gonzalez:
"In the second half, I don't know how he made some of those saves. He's a really good keeper. In the first game we had, he played a really good game as well - he was stopping everything that was shot at him. It's frustrating as a forward to get in good position and not be able to finish every time, but we did what we had to do to win the game, so we're happy."