Maryland/St. John's Postgame Quotes
12/4/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Dec. 4, 2004
Head coach Sasho Cirovski
On the game:
It was a great game. It was what we expected the game to be in September, and it certainly played out the way we thought it was going to. St. John's is a great team, very disciplined, very technical. You couldn't put a better stage out here for college soccer.
We had two great chances in the first half and their keeper made some great saves. In the second half, we didn't have quite the same quality chances, but we had a little more of a territorial advantage and we were able to put a lot of pressure and you could sense we were strong.
You couldn't put a better stage out here. A quarterfinal game against one of the elite programs in college soccer in an environment like today is a showcase for college soccer.
I'm really proud of A.J. He had a difficult freshman year with injuries, redshirted last year and for him to come in a game like this and become the hero for us is a testament to his character, resiliency and his growth as a player.
I'm proud of our team. We given up five goals in the last 11 games, we've put different guys in different places on the back line. Our forwards and midfielders are committed to playing every play with pressure and they also play with skill. I'm just proud of our team.
On going to a third straight College Cup:
It's an exhilarating feeling. It's so hard to get there once in a single-game elimination competition, and it was difficult for us to get back there last year when we were expected to be there. People didn't know what to expect from this team at the beginning of this year, but we knew that we were a great team with a chance to be one of the greatest ever at Maryland. The pieces fit. A lot of kids have gotten better.
On the crowd and atmosphere:
I have to really thank our fans. Our student group, the soccer community and the people associated with Maryland have just been phenomenal. Week-in and week-out we have one of the best atmospheres around the country. It's a sign of respect, progress and growth of the game and that means a great deal to me."
A.J. Godbolt
On the goal:
I saw Dom on the left side and the ball coming over, and everyone kind of watched go over, and I just pushed by my guy and tried to head it on goal. Luckily it bounced between the keepers' legs.
Domenic Mediate
On the pass:
At first I pulled it back and I just crossed it because I saw everyone going in so I was just trying to hit one good. Luckily it was there and A.J. put his header on the ground and it was perfect."
Kenney Bertz
On the team's defense:
We talk as a team and obviously if you don't let the other team score that gives you then you have the best chance of winning. One of the biggest philosophies of this team is a strong-type defense with high pressure and we've been trying to be really organized and we've done a good job of that in the last part of the season. Starting out today from the back all the way up I thought we were pretty well organized and everyone was pretty committed to not making it easy on them.
On the St. John's attack after the Maryland goal:
We scored a goal and, especially in those last five minutes, we were just trying to kill the game because there was a lot of emotion going through and they were throwing everyone up and throwing everyone in the box and hope for a lob ball in and get knocked around. We've been in those situations a lot before this year and we've killed games, so we needed to stay confident and things came out our way.
On going to the College Cup for a third straight year:
It's the greatest. We've gone there the last two years and to be so close in that atmosphere, to be able to say you are able to go back again and have another shot at it is just one of the greatest feelings. It's great to have another shot for ourselves and for the program and the past players as well.
St. John's head coach Dave Masur
Opening comments:
Maryland is an aggressive team, they're a good team, talented. They work really hard. Give credit to them to be able to get the victory today.
They put the pressure on you and put you on your heels. They are very fit and mobile and are able to put pressure on you. They're backs are very solid and very decisive in their actions and make very few mistakes.
On comparing this game to the one earlier this season against Maryland:
They scored 58 seconds into that game and we made a few tactical errors. They have a great attacking side and that day didn't go well for us at all. We made some major, major mistakes in that game and we had to make sure we didn't make those today.
