University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes
December 3, 2006 | Women's Soccer
Dec. 3, 2006
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Head Coach Anson Dorrance
Opening Statement:
We are absolutely thrilled to be national champions. I am so excited that we were able to do this with a young collection of kids that just basically didn't know how to quit.... What was really neat about this year was our seniors and upperclassmen embraced this incredible freshman class that came in and, basically, the class embraced them back. We are absolutely thrilled to have beaten an absolutely amazing Notre Dame team and excited to be national champs again.
Gayle on the outstanding play of the back line:
I think we went in with a lot of focus and we prepared. We knew that they had a strong offense.... We knew that in order to be successful today, we were going to have to be very sharp, very organized and we had to communicate a lot and just be very active.
Dorrance on O'Reilly's career:
The way you have to look at her career - it's actually quite stunning. She wins a U-19 World Championship before she gets [to Carolina]. She's playing for the full national team in the summer and against Ireland breaks her leg, comes in to our season with a broken leg and actually one of her dreams broken as well because she wanted to play in that 2003 World Cup. She was just fighting to get her body back.... She absolutely killed herself, and by the end of the season she was one of our fittest players. And then started scoring goal after goal after goal. What was fun about watching her her freshman year is that as soon as she got on track and got healthy and fit, she started scoring a goal a game right through the end of the tournament, and of course it took us to the national championship. And that team was an amazing team, that 2003 team; a lot of people consider that team the greatest collegiate team of all time. And we clicked in as soon as Heather got her fitness back. So that was her freshman year.
Her sophomore year she decides to just go off to Greece and win an Olympic gold medal. What the heck? What a great way to spend your sophomore year. Her junior year she spent winning a spot as a starter on the full U.S. National Team, which is the greatest team in the world. And then her senior year she comes back to us and basically leads us to a national championship. I think that's a pretty above-average resume.
O'Reilly on what winning the national championship means:
I honestly just couldn't be happier. I think this team -- from the beginning we knew it was special. Everybody got a long so well, and everybody worked so hard for each other. I wouldn't rather win with another group of girls.
It's truly an honor to play for the U.S., of course, to play for your country and score for your country. But there's something special about playing for the University of North Carolina - the tradition involved, the dynasty that we're now proving that we're continuing. And I like playing for my school team because these are the girls you spend day after day with. They're your best friends on and off the field. There's something special about college soccer and the way that we train every day after school at 2:30. I haven't found another training environment quite like that. It's so rewarding to get this win. Today is one of the best days of my life.
Dorrance on Nogueira's standout play in the College Cup:
Let me put Casey's achievement in perspective: she's a senior in high school. She graduated a year early to come play for us, and to have a kid that young to have an impact at this high a level is just a fabulous achievement. I am unbelievably proud of her. All of us watching her get better every single week all season - it's just been fun for us to watch her become the player she is right now. This weekend for her was just off the charts.
Gayle on the emotions of winning:
This weekend means so much to me; I haven't even really grasped all the feelings and emotions of it. Not even just to bring Carolina back - it's something for the program, for the alumni. I'm so proud and so happy for [the seniors] to be able to leave with this title. They more than deserve it. And I'm so happy for our freshmen and the entire team. We really worked hard and we really came together as a team.
In perspective, right now this is probably my number one achievement. And growing up in Canada, before I even started playing soccer, this is where I wanted to be. Right now, in this moment, is where I've wanted to be my whole life. It's a wonderful feeling.
