University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Indiana Post Game Quotes
Dec. 12, 2004
Indiana Head Coach Mike Freitag:
"First of all I would like to commend UCSB. They were outstanding on the day. They say defense wins championships and we had to defend today. I think our game against Maryland on Friday took a lot out of us. We played a very good opponent today. I think it showed our character. They kept on fighting until the end and they ended up being champions and I'm very proud of them."
"Soccer is a funny game. We played them earlier in the year and I thought it was a game we dominated. This time I thought they had a good amount of the play. Did we dodge a bullet?I'm not sure if that's a term we should use. But it's a funny old game. Our guys played like champions under tough conditions. The crowd was for the Gauchos. All I know is we won our seventh national championship."
Senior Goalkeeper Jay Nolly:
(On the final penalty kick he saved)
"I never really look at the moves. My focus is really on the ball.I get a read right away on what I'm going to do and what side I'm going to and then I stick with it. Those last two I felt they were going that way. I went all out for them and the ball was there."
(On the UCSB crowd)
"You feed off of the emotions in the stands. They are saying stuff but it just doesn't affect you. We play away half of the season and we play in front of some pretty hostile crowds so we know how to deal with it. We fed off it well and it wasn't a problem for us."
(On finishing his career a national champion)
"I don't know what else you can do, going out on top twice. It's just an unbelievable feeling and, especially to have your last play be a save to win a championship is just unbelievable."
Senior Midfielder Danny O'Rourke:
(On whether penalty kicks is a good way to decide a game)
"It's a bad way to determine a national championship, but when you're on the winning side it feels kind of good."
(On finishing his career a national champion)
"I can only reiterate what Jay (Nolly) said. I'm so proud of the guys. Just the vibe in the locker room and on the field after we won - to be able to weather the storm and for Jay, in his last game, coming up with a big save to win. It's a great day for this program."
Sophomore Forward Jacob Peterson:
(On his goal in the first half)
"It's all kind of a blur right now. I think Jed (Zayner) took it up and played a great ball in. The keeper was out so I just tried to go over him.I just saw him coming off his line. The coaches talked to me about how the keeper likes to come out early so I just tried to get it over."