Oct. 28, 2007
Head Coach Jerry Smith
On the match:
"I'm very proud of my team's performance at the start of the game. For the first 30 minutes, they were the more agressive team and played the better soccer. We had good control of the game. But I believe we became overly conservative with staying back and a couple of mistakes in the defensive half allowed Portland to steal the momentum. Giving up a goal right before half time is a morale buster and changes the environment in the locker room during the break."
On Portland:
"The are a very good team. They are well coached and their players move off the ball real well. At the end of the game, they were the more aggressive team."
On the freshmen's performance:
"Playing at Portland infront of a sold out crowd is a tough environment and you don't always look towards your freshmen to be the difference makers. But those that played for us today gave solid performances."
On what is needed to rebound next weekend:
"Rest. I was just talking to the team about that and we need a couple of days off. Our schedule is partially to blame. We are playing the same amount of game against the same toughness level as years past but this year the way the schedule is laid out we have a lot of tough and long road trips. We play 12 games on the road and only eight at home. We're a road weary team and we just need to rest."