Women's Soccer

2001 NCAA Women's College Cup Quotes

Nov. 18, 2001

Recap|Box Score

Saint Mary's Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe
On the game:
"I think the game was ended in the first 10 minutes, we just had a bad start. When you play a very good team like Stanford you can not have a poor start. We had a poor start and a mental breakdown. They scraped a goal early and that just hurt the confidence of the team. We have a very young team and then they got another goal, and their confidence was so hurt that they bounced back and said that it can not get any worse then this and started to play good soccer."

On his team:
"The team did a great job all year and I am very proud of them. That hurt us at the beginning of the game because we were happy to be here, and it is hard to change a young team's mentality that we have to go even further. Stanford came in with the attitude that they have to win because this is just the beginning for them."

Saint Mary's forward Katie Frattone
On the game:
"They are a great team with a great defense, and we tried to come back at the end but things did not go our way.

Saint Mary's goalkeeper Ruth Montgomery
On Stanford's Marcia Wallis:
"She is definitely a good player and has the ability to take players on and make things happen. She is a threat."

On the goals:
"They were good goals and I don't want to take anything away from them. They both were scrappy and I dove and could not hang onto the ball. It seemed like they had a little more heart and they got to the ball before I did. I dove and knocked the ball wide and they scored before we could clear it. It seemed like they were on top of things."

Stanford Head Coach Andy Nelson
On the game:
"I was very pleased with the team today. Saint Mary's came in and played a good, hard game. They are a great team, a team that no one wanted to meet in the early rounds. I felt our team handled them well, especially in the first half."

On Texas A&M:
"We played them very early, so we are probably both different teams. They are on a roll and playing very well. They are very solid all over the field, without any blaring weaknesses."

Stanford forward Marcia Wallis
On scoring two goals early:
"We were saying before the game that we just need to score in the first five minutes. We knew they were going to come out tough, so it was importance for us to establish our dominance early."

On the difference between the two meetings this year:
"We finished our chances. We went out hard and this time we knew that they would be good. We did not take anything for granted."

Stanford forward Marcie Ward
On Saint Mary's:
"I don't think they were intimidated, but we came out tough. They have improved us much and they are just going to continue to get better. They won a lot of games this year because they fought and fought and never gave up. We knew that if we came out in the very beginning, they might not be able to handle it."