Orlando Pride head coach Seb Hines
On what the team needs to learn
“It’s the mentality for me. It's the mentality, although it's waves of attacks coming out, I do you have the mentality to step up in moments and put fear in them that they aren't going to score? And I think we're falling short in those moments. I think there's an element of fear, because we're almost thinking this is going to happen again and we have to get over that. We have to get through that. There were moments that I thought today would have been a great opportunity to get through and put the past behind us in the last couple of games. Yes, it is a positive result because we took the lead but it feels like another defeat and we have to learn from it. We have to get over that mentality because, again, we're talking about fine margins. The last couple of games were defined by fine margins towards the end. We could be looking at a couple of draws and wins, and [instead] we're looking at a draw and two losses. It's frustrating. We have a young group, and I'm pleased with the young players. The players that have come in, they were terrific. The players who haven't played in a couple of games as well. Their effort and commitment that they are all bought into what we're trying to do and I just want them to reward themselves for all the effort that they're putting in by getting points on the board.”
On defender Tori Hansen and her performance during her first professional appearance
“It's massive. We wanted to use this as an opportunity to give players game time, with the ones who haven't been playing the last couple of games to get out there and play. You look at North Carolina they put their full strength team out there. They've put a strong team out there and Tori handled it really well. She's playing against some players that she's familiar with. The likes of Kerolin up top is a difficult player to play against and I thought she was tremendous in her first game. It's always hard as a young center back coming in as your first professional game. She was brilliant, along with a lot of the other players as well.
On the competition among the goalkeeper group for the starting spot
“I'm glad you brought that up because I thought Carly was tremendous today. She made some really big stops when we need her the most. It's a difficult position because they've all done really well. And that's what we want. We want a competitive roster. We want players pushing each other. It's tough decisions that we have to make as a staff but I'd rather be in that position, than just relying on one person. So yeah, we've got a lot of thinking to do.”
Orlando Pride midfielder Summer Yates
On thoughts on the match
“I feel good, it's always good to get minutes as a rookie. My team's established trust in me and confidence that I need to play at this level. I was excited and super grateful to get the opportunity to start.”
On her assist to Ally Watt
“I think me and Ally have established a good relationship off the field and playing together every single day. I know she's going to make that run behind and I love that slip ball to her. Ally’s so fast it makes my job easy, so just finding the gaps. We've studied that a lot and we did a lot in training.”
On pressure in NWSL versus her college career
“I knew it was going to be fast, Seb and Giles [Barnes] drilled that in my brain before, it's going to be quicker. I did have a lot of missed touches but I learned throughout the game, and I think that's the biggest thing for me. It's just continuing to get to this fast pace of pro and just keep playing, it a hard competition. It's going to get us ready and we have to take it game-by-game.”
On final minutes and equalizer
“I was watching the back post. It's unfortunate and we're going to learn from it. We're going to look at the film, but it sucks and we're disappointed. That's the only thing we can do is just watch them to learn and grow from this.”
On her adjustment now that she has had more time in the league
“It happens in training. I play with some of the best players in the world. Getting to learn from Marta and Erika [Tymrak], from all these great players every single day. Them putting the pressure that I feel in games makes it easier to come into games. But also, it's different when you're playing in front of the fans, in the lights, and pressure. But I think Seb and Yolanda [Thomas] have done a great job of believing in me and believing in a lot of our rookies. That gives us trust and confidence in ourselves to go out there and do our job.”
Orlando Pride goalkeeper Carly Nelson
Overall thoughts on the match
“Obviously it’s really disappointing, we wanted to put those games away. But being back in the [United] States, playing in the NWSL again, it’s fun. It’s fun to be out here. I just wish we could pull it off.”
On playing in Orlando, in Exploria Stadium, and the overall experience
“I love Exploria Stadium. The crowd, being back, just being back home in the States with fans. Yeah, love it. It’s a good time. The fans are really loyal. The Black Swans, they’re fun. It’s a pleasure and it’s an honor to play in front of all these people and on this field.”
On all the goalkeepers starting and being able to see those before getting her first start
“The goalkeeper position is a really interesting position, [because only] one will play. We have a really good group, really competitive, also really supportive. We’re just here to help each other get better. It’s a good group.”
On how the defense handled the pressure by the Courage
“We were under the pump for, I don’t know how long it was. It was a lot. But we did well, considering how many opportunities they had. I'm really proud of the defense for staying disciplined and focused when we’re tired and we were under the pump. We just executed defensive principles pretty well. Unfortunately, one popped in a little late, but I’m really proud of the defense and how they performed tonight.”
