Dec. 6, 2008

NCAA WOMEN’S COLLEGE CUP
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008
NOTRE DAME COACH AND PLAYER QUOTES

Randy Waldrum, Head Coach
Opening Statement:
“Congratulations to [North] Carolina for making the final, it should be a great one. I’m excited about it. I’ve said it all along, I think the four teams here are certainly all capable of being a great champion and we’re just excited we’re one of the two with the opportunity to play for it tomorrow.”

On his state of mind in the Final Four:
“I’m really confident in our team. I don’t know that I’m never really real relaxed, I don’t know if that’s the word I’d use but I think I’m very confident in what our team is capable of doing. It’s not one of those things where some say we’re relaxed, because it’s not a lot we’re going to change at this point. You have the season and you continue to work to improve things that you need to get better on as the season goes on and once you get here just pay attention to the details and it’ll take care of itself one way or another. I feel very good about the opportunity in front of us. Having said that we know we’re playing a great team, I’m not saying that as a disrespect to Carolina in any way.”

On any extra pressure for a perfect season:
“For us, I don’t think it makes any difference. We have not really talked about being undefeated at any point in the season in front of the team. We’ve never talked about needing to win the next game to stay undefeated. That’s never been a goal of ours. It has no bearing on where we are with no additional pressure tomorrow. I think beating them earlier in the year has no bearing on the game. It was one of those games that we played well on the road against a very good team and we’re smart enough to know that can go the other way if we’re not ready to play on a given day.”

On comparing a UNC-ND rivalry to other ones such as the Red Sox/Yankees, Michigan/Ohio State:
“I think when you look back at the history of women’s soccer in this country, collegiately especially, I think that you’d have to say Carolina and Notre Dame have been two of the more storied programs over the last 15-18 years. Clearly, you can’t take anything away from the legacy that Carolina has. If there’s a rivalry I think it’s in a good way. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Anson [Dorrance] and consider him a friend on and off the field. I think there’s a rivalry out of two programs that are extremely talented and successful.”

Brittany Bock, Midfielder
On her being ready to play a full 90 minutes given her knee injury:
“I let coach know that he can be confident in me. I’m ready to play whether I play the 90 or not, I think I went to some pretty hard tackles last night and it didn’t seem to phase me. As long as I don’t cramp up or anything I’ll be good.”

On thinking earlier in the season (in September) if they’d meet UNC again:
“I think every year you want to get to the finals and there’s at least five of the same teams who are going to be within the final four. I do think at some point whether it was through a quarterfinal match, the semis, or the final that we would. They’re a great team; they’ve been up there. I think every year both of our teams expect to be here in the championship.”

Carrie Dew, Defender
On staying organized defensively against Stanford:
“I think when we went up, in a game like that you’re going to have the team throwing everything at you trying to get it back because your season is on the line. I think it’s just a matter of staying calm and trying to handle everything they’re throwing at you and communicating well and I think that’s what we managed to do.”

On the team’s composure versus UNC:
“I think that’s something we’ve been stressing all season long. Just being able to stay composed and relaxed and if we make a mistake to bounce back from that.”