University of North Carolina Athletics
Q&A With Kellie Thompson
May 10, 2002 | Women's Lacrosse
May 10, 2002
Kellie Thompson set numerous Carolina records during the Tar Heels' NCAA first-round Tournament game against UMBC on Thursday in addition to setting an NCAA record for goals in a Tournament game (8). After the game Thompson sat down with TarHeelBlue.com to discuss the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament and her performance.
On her preparation for the game against UMBC...
"I definitely didn't do anything different. This is one of our team's goals. We won ACCs, we got to the [NCAA] Tournament, and now we want to win everything that we step on the field to play. I definitely didn't do anything different. It's fun to play teams we don't play during the season. Last year we played Syracuse in the first round, this year we got to play UMBC."
On her high output in the first round of the NCAA Tournament...
"I don't think it's anything different. I just think that it's exciting to be out here at Tournament time. This is where everyone wants to be to play. I thought our team did a great job today and everyone contributed. We got everyone in; we had everyone contributing all over the field. Our defense played well. I was just in the right place at the right time."
On her record-setting performance...
"I don't even know what the final score was. I was just in the right place at the right time. My teammates found me well and our attack moved the ball well. It just opened things up for me to be there. It wasn't anything spectacular, I just did what I was supposed to do."
On whether her UNC and NCAA record-setting performance was in response to not being named to the All-ACC team...
"I don't think so. I think I'm just happy my team won ACCs. That was our first big goal. This is our second. We're getting after it."
On playing Virginia in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament...
"I don't think I'll do anything different to prepare. I think that our team is ready to play whoever it is. We'd be psyched to play Virginia. We know we didn't play our best game against them in the beginning of the season. We're probably both different teams now. We're just excited to play."
On what the Tar Heels need to do to make the Final Four...
"I think that myself and the other seniors, we've been in this position before--going to the second round and having a good win in the first round. We're really excited to be down here playing home for the second round. A lot pf players on the team have [NCAA] Tournament experience. It's not a big deal. I think we're just looking at it as our next game, another thing that we want to take care of to get to the Final Four."
