Quotes from Tuesday's Maryland Men's Soccer Press Conference
12/16/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Dec. 16, 2008
Quotes from Tuesday's Press Maryland Men's Soccer Press Conference
A.J. Delagarza, Senior Defender, NCAA All-Tournament Team
On winning the national championship:
"It's been overwhelming. To win two national titles in four years is probably the greatest thing I have ever accomplished. The high caliber of teams and having to beat UNC three times in one year, that is tough for anyone. It's just been overwhelming so far."
Graham Zusi, Senior Midfielder, Most Outstanding Offensive Player in the College Cup
On the difference between the 2005 championship and the 2008 edition:
"Looking back on the 2005 championship, I think I was a little naïve about the whole level of what was at stake. It was almost like I benefited from not knowing what was going on and Sasho put me in the semifinal game and I got that goal. This time around I did know and was more in-tune to the surroundings and the hype. This one was very special to me. Both were, but this one was a little bit more special."
Head Coach Sasho Cirovski
On the last two days:
"I didn't get home until 4 p.m. yesterday and I didn't even make it to the office. As I said going into the College Cup, it's a happily hectic time. It's a fun busy. There is a lot of things to get done over the next week or so. We are trying to work between schedules and meet with the players and all their needs and the seniors and the combine and professional stuff as well as academic things. It's a really enjoyable time. There is an old saying that the reward for good work is more work, well this week there is a lot more work, but its good work."
On the difference between this championship and the one in 2005:
"It was an amazing accomplishment actually. In 2005, it was a little more relief to win it after being there three times. This year's victory seems almost like a greater accomplishment because we were not the favorite and we were not the team to beat in the beginning of the year. We never stopped believing."
On Maryland's style of play:
"We hate not having the ball. So we ask our players to hunt down the ball all over the field. We are not a team that is going to sit back and let another team have a lot of possession and counterattack. There's a saying defend like your life depends on it. You get into a single game elimination in the playoffs and the whole team embraced that philosophy. Casey Townsend's pressure the last five minutes of the game was phenomenal."
