Dec. 8, 2002
Recap| Box Score| Notes| Photo Gallery
Santa Clara Broncos
HEAD COACH, JERRY SMITH
On Portland
"Congratulations to the University of Portland. To be honest, I couldn't be
happier for Clive. If we can't be the National Champions, I would want it to
be my good friend Clive and the Portland Pilots.
Congratulations to them on a great season and a great match today."
On Santa Clara's performance
"I am very proud of my team. I think we played well. We settled down in
the second half and gained the momentum. I thought we had some good chances
to score; there were a couple of close shots. Chardonnay's goal was almost
over the goal line. A game this tight is a matter of inches. Again, I am
very proud of my team. We gave everything we had out there today."
On the game-winning goal
"You've got to give Portland credit. They went after the ball really hard,
got a piece of it, fought for it and put it into the net. I think Alyssa
(Sobolik) made a good decision. In slick conditions, it's hard to know
which way the ball is going to go, but you can't take anything away from
Portland's effort. They did well to get into position and put it [the ball]
into the net."
SOPHOMORE GOALKEEPER, ALYSSA SOBOLIK
On the game-winning goal
"The Portland player crossed the ball as I was coming across the goal and it
hit me. My momentum then took me away from the ball. It [the ball] hit the
post and was bouncing around. Portland then
happened to be in great position to put the ball into the net."
SENIOR MIDFIELDER, ALY WAGNER
On Portland
"Portland is such a great team. If we can't win it all, I am glad it was
Portland. Of course, we wanted to win, but you can't take anything away
from them. This [national championship] has been long overdue for them.
It's just too bad it had to be against us."
Portland Pilots
HEAD COACH, CLIVE CHARLES
On the game
"Once again, I would like to congratulate Santa Clara on a great year. They
took a good stance and the game could have gone either way. They showed a
lot of action tonight on the field. I am proud of our team. We are not a
big squad, but we work hard at what we do and they deserve this win."
On the game-winning goal
"I was completely breathless. I was sitting there dreading penalty kicks and
all of a sudden, there was a break and the ball ended up to the right
person. It felt like 10 tons were lifted off my shoulders."
SENIOR MIDFIELDER, ERIN MISAKI
On the game
"I feel that Santa Clara's goal gave us momentum and helped us realize that
we needed to get focused and win the game. Our past experiences have helped
us prepare for this game. It's an awesome feeling."
SOPHOMORE FORWARD, CHRISTINE SINCLAIR
On her two goals
"For the first goal, I kept the ball down the line, made the cross towards
the net and it found the far post. On the second goal, Kristen [Moore] made
an excellent cross. It was nice to finish off the shot. The ball was
slippery and it skipped. It was not the prettiest goal, but it counted and
that is all that matters."
SOPHOMORE MIDFIELDER, KRISTEN MOORE
On the game-winning goal
"I was setting up the cross, looked right before I sent it and saw Christine
(Sinclair). The goalkeeper [Alyssa Sobolik] gave me more room than I had
expected. It was a great relief when the ball found the back of the net.
We worked hard all season and this is an awesome feeling."
