UCLA-Indiana Post-Game Quotes
December 06, 2003 | Men's Soccer
UCLA head coach Tom Fitzgerald:
Thoughts on the game:
"Obviously not to take anything away from Indiana. They came here to play, and they came here to win, and obviously that's what we expected the opponent to do. We weren't at our best tonight. I thought we played really well under the conditions. So many of our players were injured. The guys who did play did a great job. I'm very, very proud of this team for getting 20 wins this year. I never would have guessed at the beginning of the season. It's more like a bunch of old guys and a bunch of young guys, and we had to bring them all together. They did a great job. I'm very, very proud of them. I feel bad for our seniors. I didn't want it to end. But unfortunately in athletics somebody loses, and it wasn't our turn. Our year was last year."
On the matchup with Indiana:
"I wanted Ahmed [Khalil] and Evan [Corey] to go as long as they could in the second half, because Matty [Taylor] told me that his legs were a little tight. I knew it was going to be a difficult second half so I thought if Evan and Aki could maybe give us a few minutes, which they did, and gave us some good minutes. Then Matty and Chad [Barrett] came in and they had a little energy. But we couldn't get that goal. It's a disappointing loss."
On starting three freshmen in the back line (Brandon Owens, Patrick Ianni, Kiel McClung):
"We didn't have any choice. We had to pick the guys that were available to play. And because of the injuries, those were the most capable guys. I thought the guys who played did very well. I had no bones about starting freshmen. I've been saying all year that I have 28 guys who can start. Tonight the freshmen who were on the field did very, very well. I'm proud of them, but tonight it just wasn't good enough.
What he told the team after the game:
"I told them I was very disappointed for the seniors. I feel very bad for them because there is a group of nine guys who have given their hearts and souls to this program for four, some of them five years. As a coach I've only spent two years with them. It's probably the best two years of my life. I told them I'm very proud of them. The rest of the guys get to do it all again."
Thoughts on Indiana's second shot:
"The guy smacked the shot, and it hit off the post, and Indiana followed it up and knocked it in. Can't take it away from them, but we probably didn't react as quickly as we should have. Sometimes the game is cruel. Sometimes you play well and lose and other times you play poorly and win. Tonight I thought it was a very good game for both teams and exciting for the fans. They scored 2 goals, and we got 1, so unfortunately we lose."
UCLA senior forward Matt Taylor:
Thoughts on the game:
"It's my last game as a Bruin. It's not how I wanted to go out. It's unfortunate that some of the seniors couldn't play tonight with injuries."
On the last chance shot (for UCLA): "I was standing right in front of it, and the ball just went right over my head. Aaron [Lopez} won it for us last year. Unfortunately he couldn't get it to go in. It was as close as it could get and was a good opportunity. But, unfortunately it didn't go in."
Indiana Coach Jerry Yeagley
Thoughts on the game: "It was a great game, a tremendous soccer game. They're a great team. Unfortunately, it was a game that someone had to lose. I thought it was a very even game. When they scored on our first mistake and their first counter, I moved our sweeper deeper. That took some things away from them. I thought Jed Zayner did a good job of adjusting. They (UCLA) are so dangerous on the counter and with the speed they have. I felt in the midfield that was the difference. They're (UCLA) very good at falling back and getting numbers behind the ball. UCLA is very hard to score on, and it took a great shot off the post to win it. We weathered the storm for the last five minutes when they threw the kitchen sink at us. I couldn't be any happier, but also nobody gave us a shot. UCLA deserved to be number one and deserved the seed. They're a great team. They had some people missing, we had some people missing. But it was a great game. This is what changes your caliber to what it should be."
On the decision to pull Jacob Peterson: "Peterson was cramping; we almost pulled him before he hit the ball off the crossbar. Our trainer looked at him, and said he thought he could go a little longer, but I wanted to get him out of there. That shows what kind of coaches we are."
On ability to win: "Everybody has picked it up. We are much more balanced offensively. We went through Ned [Grabavoy] too much and were predictable. We have good depth like UCLA. We picked it up. If the U.S. team loses Tuesday, our missing players will be with us. I don't wish that on them though."
"There was a one shot difference, one corner kick difference, saves were equal. The stats show a tremendous game. It could have gone either way. The missed shot went wide. The stars were aligned. They threw everything and we had to weather it."
