Nov. 25, 2001
STANFORD 3, SANTA CLARA 1
NCAA Men's Tournament Second Round
11-25-01 at Stanford, Calif.
SANTA CLARA HEAD COACH MITCH MURRAY:
ON HIS TEAM'S OVERALL PERFORMANCE:
"I want to thank the people that supported us all year. We got off to a rough start and it didn't look like we'd even be here but we had great support all year and that has helped the guys stay together. I'm very proud of our team and the guys never quit believing in themselves. We had tough game Friday night, having to battle through three overtimes and they could have very easily given up today, but they kept fighting. You have to give credit to Stanford as they played very hard both physically and technically."
SANTA CLARA SENIOR JEFF STEWART:
ON HOW FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAME AGAINST CAL EFFECTED THE TEAM TODAY:
"I think it definitely had a little bit of an impact, but you can't take anything away from Stanford because they played a great game. We weren't on top of our game today, and there is no excuse for that. Our legs were a little heavy, but that shouldn't have made a difference."
ON DEFENDING STANFORD'S MATT JANUSZ:
"I don't think we were targeting him specifically as their "go-to-guy". They attack in numbers, and really came at us at times. There were a few times when we lost our concentration in the back, and that was one of the key differences. He (Janusz) was in the right place at the right time on three occasions today."
SANTA CLARA SENIOR ANTHONY CHIMIENTI:
DISCUSSING HIS GOAL THAT CUT STANFORD'S LEAD TO 2-1
"I think it was a long ball played to Jamil (Walker). I don't even know if he saw me or not but it was played perfectly. It took a bad spin but I caught it at the right time and just let it rip. I thought that was a turning point for us. We came out fired up in the second half, but unfortunately it just wasn't enough."
STANFORD HEAD COACH BRET SIMON:
ON HIS TEAM'S OVERALL PERFORMANCE:
"We know this opponent would be as tough a game as we would face in this tournament. They are a team we have lost to before on this field and every game has been the way it should be with a rival. Santa Clara is a well-organized, strong defensive team and I was fearful that we could possibly play our best game and still not come out of it with the result that we wanted. Our team's focus was fantastic. I've always said in the past, that when I had coached teams that were playing on the road- that the Thanksgiving weekend is the best time to be playing on the road. It is the least advantageous time to host a game because you lose a lot of your student body and the teams have a lot of time to sit around or time to kill. Obviously today, we didn't let that happen and played fantastic."
ON THE PLAY OF THE FRESHMEN:
"We started two freshmen up front, with Darren and Matt and James Twellman coming off the bench. All week long they played very well and I think they knew that the game would be on their shoulders. They knew they were going to have to create and score goals. I think the group of attacking players had their best week of training all year. They were very sharp from their effort level to defensive help, and their finishing was also top-notch.
ON STANFORD'S POTENTIAL MATCHUP WITH PORTLAND ON FRIDAY:
"They present some very different problems than other teams that we have played. They have some very tall players and guys that are terrific on corner kicks and restarts. We look forward to playing, but not necessarily playing Portland. They are a team that is probably different than the one we played at the beginning, as they have had a great second half."
STANFORD FRESHMAN MATT JANUSZ:
TALKING ABOUT HIS FIRST CAREER HAT-TRICK:
"I think you never really expect to be at the right place at the right time three different times. It kind of happened today though. I just knew I had to work hard and it would eventually come."
ON SCORING EARLY IN THE GAME:
"I think the first goal was definitely a confidence-booster, and it was great to get a goal that early in the game because then we really didn't have to battle as much. As soon as that happened, I was confident I could score again and keep working and find holes in the defense."
ON MISSING ROGER LEVESQUE, WHO SAT OUT AFTER RECEIVING A RED CARD IN THE PREVIOUS GAME:
"Well, Roger (Levesque) has been awesome all season and it was really unfortunate he couldn't play today. Coach (Simon) was saying that all week we had known that it was going to be all on our shoulders to go out and get some goals for our team."
STANFORD SENIOR LEE MORRISON:
ON STANFORD'S PERFORMANCE TODAY
"It makes it a lot easier when you're forwards are scoring goals. It gives a cushion and a boost for us in the back. We just wanted to stay focused and play for a full ninety minutes. As long as our back line is focused, we have the ability to shut anyone out. Once we went into halftime, I think we came out and relaxed. Something we had talked about all week was that we hadn't earned the right to practice on Monday. We talked about it in the huddle before the second half and kept our focus."
ON STANFORD'S POSTSEASON CHANCES:
"This team is definitely capable of going all the way. It's a matter of us concentrating on each game and not looking past our very next game. This team is deeper than any other I've been a part of here at Stanford. We are so hard-working from player #1 to player #28, and this team can go as far as we want to. We'll spend this week getting ready for Portland and worry about the next week when it comes."
STANFORD JUNIOR ANDREW TERRIS:
TALKING ABOUT STANFORD'S DEFENSE:
"Our defense just did a great job. Coming into the game I knew Santa Clara was a direct, physical team so they would put a lot of players in the box and put a lot of balls up in the air. I had to deal with a lot of crosses, more than just shots."