TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach G Guerrieri
Opening Statement"Obviously, I am very, very proud of our players. We didn't play the best first half. A lot of that you can chalk up to the way Auburn played and how hard they played. We just needed to clean things up. That was our message at halftime that it was going to be all about us and the way that we needed to keep the game clean again, simplify our passes, simplify everything that we do so we can do it all quicker. It's one thing just talking about but another for the players to go out and do it. Two great goals, Barb (
Barbara Olivieri) and Addie (McCain), to get the goals.
Taylor Pounds was fantastic in the middle midfield. She was kind of our engine today, and then you had a lot of cool heads like
Taylor Ziemer and (Addie) McCain and the rest. Really, really proud of them. It was big time to win this league. You look at how crummy 2020 has been on so many fronts, and we talked about how we can make this special, and these players went out and made a lot of sacrifices to put themselves in this position. And here they are, they get to lift a trophy at the end and do it at home which is really fun."
On the building of confidence to the SEC Tournament and hopes for a bid to the NCAA Tournament"These players came to Texas A&M to compete for championships and win championships. This is our 18th conference championship. Obviously, it's something that I am incredibly proud of, but we've got business to take care of. There's an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament that's on the line for whoever wins the tournament. We're going to go to the tournament and be with the only team who beat us this year, Arkansas. That's obviously going to be a challenge along with the others that we can see before that day even comes around. We'll be on the other side of the tournament field from Arkansas, but it's never easy and never a cakewalk in that tournament - ever.
Senior defender Jimena Lopez
On how the team responded to adversity when faced with such a unique season"I think that it is a testament to how well we did as a team. I think we haven't had a single positive since we started preseason, and I am just really proud of the team how they have handled themselves. Having so many freshmen and coming to college, I mean, it's hard not to go out, it's hard not to go out and meet other people. Just being locked in your room is not so fun. Big shout out to my teammates, to the medical staff, to the athletic trainers who do such a good job taking care of us. Hopefully, we can go on and win a second championship in a week.
On the confidence boost from winning the conference title"We are really happy that we got this title. It gives us confidence, and it gets us hungry to do it all over again. Through the tournament, we have the chance to be absolute champions, not co-champions, so we are definitely looking for that."
Senior midfielder Addie McCain
On today's SEC championship clinching win"This feels incredible. It's been a while since Texas A&M has done this, my freshman year was the last time when we won the SEC tournament. It's something that is hard to do and especially with everything we had to endure this season. It's an awesome feeling to get a trophy and a ring at the end of it."
On how they settled into the game"I think the first half was chaotic. With it being a championship game in our minds, everyone seemed to be a little nervous. It takes a little bit to get into your game but we were able to stay positive and stick to what we know. We knew that we would catch a rhythm and be able to do what we do best. That was the goal going out of halftime and we were able to make things work there at the end."
On Jimena Lopez's performance tonight"She is a special player. Even if we were to get another chance at a penalty kick, I would still send her out there. We have all the faith in the world in her, but it just wasn't her moment. We've needed her so many other times and she has been able to step up and be there. Our team motto has been 'I got your back' and after her missed penalty kick, we rallied around her and had her back. Which brought us to scoring our two goals in the end."
On the halftime player-led discussion"It was just a big conversation that had each of us jumping in to say what we thought. We thought we could have been applying more pressure on them and connecting more passes. Each person had a different perspective and were able to build off one another. We knew we needed to stick to our game plan and calm down. It ended up working out and that just shows how special this team can be with encouraging each other and talking."
