Ify Onumonu
Q: How did it feel to get back onto the pitch?
I: It feels good to be back. It's been a long road, especially with an ankle injury. My expectation was 2-4 weeks and then it got to 4-6 weeks and I just kept on hearing different things every week. The hardest thing was to get mentally back into playing. It feels good overall. It feels good to be back with the team, to be out there, helping to contribute and scrap as many points as we can this next half of the season.
Q: What do you think you can add to a team that has had trouble scoring?
I: It's a learning process. This week we’re starting from ground zero. We’re focused on the next half of the season, so a lot of this week was focusing on trying to sure up our defense and then going forward we are really looking to push on offense. We had a lot more chances this game, better chances this game. I had a couple chances that probably should've been put away but those things will come at the end of the day and you just have to keep pushing. For me looking forward, I am trying to bring more of that energy into the attack. I think we have good energy defensively and it's just bringing that same energy into attack and trying to get as many forward passes as possible and to make the most of our chances. The time away allowed me to see the game from a distance and learn from the mistakes that we’ve made in trying to correct some of those.
Q: What thoughts were going through your head when you had the really close chance that was saved?
I: On that breakaway, when I had taken that touch I thought I might have taken it a little heavy, but the keeper didn’t come out. Usually I would've gone far post but I was more central and the keeper was cutting off that angle. I think she might’ve suspected that it was going to go there. I would have had to swing a little farther and possibly overcorrect to the outside of the post. I thought about going to the front post and curving it around her but she got down faster than I thought she would, I was pretty close to her. I thought she would just stay up and try to shield it but she got down pretty fast. I was thinking that maybe I should have lifted it? Maybe I should have taken a touch and gone around her? Those are some of the ones that I wish I could get back, but at the end of the day I learn from that mistake. I hold myself to high standards so normally I would have scored that. Looking forward, my goal is to get into more of those positions and put them away next time.
Q: Could you hear the fans celebrating when you came onto the field?
I: I could hear them and it felt really good. Being gone for a few months is a little nerve-wracking. You have this expectation that you don't want to mess up since it's been so long and I just wanted to play really well. I think my goal going onto the field was to just be calm and play the game and see what the game brings. Having the fans cheer my name felt really good. I didn’t realize that many people knew who I was. I feel like a recluse in most aspects so it felt really good and pumped up my energy coming onto the field. It was really enjoyable to play again today.
Q: How connected do you feel with your teammates on the field?
I: I don't think it will take long for us to connect. I adapt to the game pretty well and a few of us were in different positions at the beginning of the season. I was in the 10 role, I’ve been in the 9 role, and now I’m playing on the wing again. I’m comfortable at wing since I’ve played wing a lot of times in my career at this point. Having Ally down at the 10, that's new. Having to learn how to link up with Hannah and how to bring the best out of each other will take a little bit of time. Even today Ally was good on the dribble and taking people on so it’s just about me being ready to receive that ball and being ready to receive that slip past. With Hannah, I know she's good at the flick balls so that's about being ready to run off of her. It's just little things like that where I try to remember from training. Overall I don’t think it will take much time. I know my teammates pretty well. I’ve been watching training and I’ve been watching games. It's just about building that chemistry so that we can combine a little bit more with each other.
Zoe Burns
Q: Congrats on the shutout tonight Zoe. It feels like there was a different vibe, different aggressiveness from the team tonight, what was different about tonight that allowed you guys to get a good result.
Z: I think we were really excited about the situation, Portland has a really good team, they have really good players. I was just talking about this to someone but, it was one of those games where for us it was a win-win situation. We’re excited to learn from last week and really implement things that we were really wanting to improve and really adjusting our style defensively. It was a win-win situation, it really allows you to go for it. If it works, amazing! If not then we learn. We really went with that so it allowed us to be more aggressive and really get after it and you can see it really pay off.
Q: You mentioned the last result, obviously six goals conceded, not ideal. How did you guys go about addressing that? Especially when it seemed like there were so many ways that the goals happened. How did you guys go about tackling what went wrong there?
Z: You mentioned that they scored their goals in a lot of different ways and yes, but the breakdowns happened in similar ways. We really categorized them, and looked at our tendacities and how to fix them. We really went after it this week, breaking down how we actually want to defend and our values per say. Working on getting our principles down and that obviously really helped.
Q: Congrats on the shutout, Portland came in 5th on the table and as the 4th highest scoring team in the league and you held them to a shutout. You particularly were tasked with a large portion of that by having to defend Sophia Smith. You did an excellent job by the way. Talk about having to mark someone like Sophia Smith and how it felt.
Z: I mean it’s an honor to be honest, but I just looked at it the same way we looked at this team. I’m going to defend her either way so might as well go all in. If she blows past me, we learn and do it again and just repeat that process. If I am able to hold it to her and keep her at bay, that’s going to be a great night for me. I just looked at it as a huge opportunity. I obviously respect the heck out of her and so being able to play against her was honestly so exciting. You could probably see me smiling before the game when I saw she was on my side. It is just something that makes me so happy and excited to play because the bigger the opponent, the bigger the win.
Q: Defensively, we heard from Amy Rodriguez that Jimmy, your new assistant coach, is very defense oriented. Talk about what he brings to the coaching staff. What has he done to help your backline?
Z: Jimmy is a smart guy. You could see that immediately when he came in and I love that. A lot of us were really ready to learn. I really liked his approach and acknowledgement of what we already know and doesn’t treat us like we’re stupid. I really like that, he said something this week to me that really stuck. He wanted me to push higher up the field, and he didn’t turn and say ‘do you understand?’ He asked me if I agreed. I thought that was really interesting because there was acknowledgement of what I already know, and there is a reason why I did what I did, but let's talk about it. He can convince me that he is correct, because he knows what he is doing. It allows us to be able to shift the way we are thinking so it’s not controlling every step, but more the thought process. That way we can continue to grow, I’m excited to see what happens.
Q: Last time we saw you up here was on your debut, what have been the biggest advancements that have seen you go from sub, to a full 90 starter?
Z: For me, the biggest focus these last few weeks has been how can I feel like myself in the games and around the team. Then being able to progress from there and how quick can I do that? I think that the players around me and our attitudes have really helped me to do that. Focus on really progressing even in the weeks where we did not see results. Continuing to gel and becoming more comfortable with one another. It is way more important than you would think it is. When I am flying out to confront Sophia Smith I hope that Kate is right behind me. It’s trust like that, that makes the biggest difference. So just how fast I am able to feel like myself and to continue to progress to play at this level consistently and effectively.
Q: Going from a 6-0 loss last weekend, to now this result, does it feel like a victory.
Z: Definitely, anytime that you are growing and it’s evident and not just in the scoreline. With how the game went you can see how much of a difference one week can make.
Amy Rodriguez
Q: You guys had chances where you could’ve probably won it. Are there more regrets from not being able to score or more positivity from keeping the clean sheet?
A: Obviously, that game leaves us wanting more. We were knocking on that door, waiting to burst through, thought we had one a couple of times. I am so proud of this team for getting a point, especially after the reaction from last weekend. A lot of really great moments, we worked a lot on defensive structure this week. Getting the press right and being together. You saw that a lot tonight and that affected how we then attacked. To keep a Portland side at zero, I have to say I am really proud.
Q: This team did seem a little different tonight, obviously very aggressive offensively. Had 14 shots on goal 25 total. What did you feel was different from this team?
A: There was still a missing piece in the final third, commitment to get forward, numbers joining in the box. You did see a few moments of that but I thought there were more opportunities for us especially in that first half. Again,this is a work in progress, this group everyday works towards building and growing. You saw an aggressive team out there because they wanted to win for our fans tonight. We wanted to get those three points, but again pleased that we got a clean sheet. It’s a building block.
Q: You talked about the huge difference from last week to this week, what were the key bullet points coming into this match? How do you feel the team executed on it?
A: Togetherness in the press was a big one, defensive structure. I always tell the group, it is not just one job you have to do but one and a half jobs. We lean on each other and stay nice and compact. The team really worked hard on that this week. Also just the closeness and the ability to win the back allowed us to have more of the ball and attack.
Q: Zoe did a great job defending Sophia Smith, can you comment on the backline's performance?
A: We were nervous with a player like her who is in the running for the golden boot. You never want to play against someone who is hungry for the goal like she is. Luckily her goal was called offsides. Credit to our backline and goalkeeper. But it is top to bottom. It started with Hannah Betfort and Ally Sentnor in the press. Zoe was super aggressive. Won many interceptions for us, not just winning the ball but also the first pass out of pressure. Full team performance from back to front.
Q: Ify was able to come in, can you talk about how that feels as a player?
A: I’m sure she is stoked to be back, I am super glad she was able to get her feet wet. She obviously had that chance in front of goal, every forward's dream but the goalkeeper made a good save. She has done a lot of work to get back on the pitch so good for her to get out there.
Q: You have a new assistant coach, how do you feel working alongside him? How did they affect what happened on the pitch tonight?
A: Yeah, my new assistant Jimmy came in this week. You can see the influence he had on this group defensively. Really worked on getting those defensive structures right and the press right so we can have the ball. You saw that, this is just the beginning. It is difficult to have a coaching staff change in the middle of the season but the players are not only wrapping their heads around it but leaning into it and buying into the project, as we work to revamp our second half of the season.
Q: What can you tell us about Brecken Mozingo? She is upgrading her way of play and this is the first time she’s played all 90 minutes.
A: Brecken is a true professional, she's the player that asks a lot of questions. Always wants to work on her craft. Tonight she got all 90 minutes on the pitch and it was well deserved. She was a little bit quiet tonight. She had that early opportunity in the first half, but was not able to put it away. But we have only seen very small pieces of Brecken Mozingo. I hope to see more of her, she is a true professional.
Q: Congrats, this is probably the best game you guys have played at home all season. Only missing the goal. That leads to my question: what do you think the problem is on not being able to score.
A: Getting opportunities on goal is not the problem and we saw that tonight. It’s just the final piece of being able to put it away. It is the hardest piece of the game for that reason, we will continue working on that. I am excited to see this team continuously knocking on the door. I know they are ready to burst through.
