Dec. 1, 2001
NCAA Waterpolo Championship
Game 1 - Stanford 8, Massachusetts 4
Post-game Quotes
University of Massachusetts Minutemen-
Head Coach Russ Yarworth:
Was your preparation different, coming out to California, after having not really played against California teams this season?
We didn't get to play much at that level of competition, even though the East Coast level of competition is fairly high, not playing at that level consistently has a little bit to do with it. Also, the style of refereeing is a little different than what we've seen, so there is some adjustment, which we had to make during the game. The game is much more physical, it's not hard to play that way we just need to be able to respond to it.
What about Stanford's defense?
There's only one team out East that really used the press that deliberately, so we were looking at the drop mostly. But we've worked against the press in practice so it wasn't a surprise. Stanford's a great club, they've got great athletes and a great coach. I'm really proud of these guys, we've got four fifth-year seniors and three fourth-year seniors, and they've bee n with me for three years. I've told them they could hold their heads as high as they want. They did a tremendous job against a team with only one loss - the number one team in the nation
Player J.R. VanderWall:
How did you feel out there?
I felt great, I've been preparing for this for about three years now, it's pretty much the same guys since the last time we were here. This is what I wanted to do all year. We played great, we played well as a team, and we just came up short.
Player Adam Moore:
Did you a big change in the style of play during the game?
It was very rough. We'd watched some game tapes of the Mountain Pacific [MPSF] Tournament and as we watched them we realized that it was a completely different game out here. But I think that plays into our game because we've got some big guys. And we did what we wanted to do: holding [Stanford's Tony] Azevedo to no goals through three quarter's. We wanted to make their other big players step up and they did.
Stanford University Cardinal -
Head Coach Dante Dettamanti:
How do you think you guys played out there today?
We struggled a bit in the first half and then finally wore them down. They really gave us a great game. At halftime we were up 4-2 and at no time did I feel comfortable, until we got the five-goal lead in the fourth quarter, then I could relax a little bit and put some subs in. A lot of guys played in the game, we had the six starters and five players off the bench.
Were you surprised at all by their defense in the first half?
It wasn't necessarily the defense, I think it was a combination of their goalie [J.R. Vanderwall] playing really well and the fact that we weren't taking good shots, similar to the Big Splash game against Cal. [Stanford's only loss of the season]. The goalie was taking away one side of the goal completely and we had quite a few breakaways that we didn't get goals on in the first half.
How do you prepare your guys for a game like this?
I tell them that anything can happen. It doesn't matter how you're seeded, it doesn't matter who we've played, or who they've played. How you've played in the past doesn't mean anything when you get here because this is the NCAA Championship, the four teams are all going to be tough teams. Massachusetts was ready to come out really fired up and play tough.
Player Tony Azevedo:
In the first half you had a few shots blocked was that frustrating at all for you?I started off the game a little rough, but our team played unbelievable defense and that's what we really wanted today. Missing those shots in the first quarter does get to your head a little, their goalie had a great game and UMass is one of the best East Coast teams I've seen in a long time. But our team had great defense and we put away the right shots.
Player Jeff Nesmith:
How did you feel out there starting out the game with two quick goals?I felt really good, we've been resting up all week, we only had eight quarters left with two games left in the year. So, I was just going to give it all I had for today. I got a breakaway and lobbed it over the goalie's head and then I got a lucky one when [Brian] Darrow shot the ball, I just kind of pushed it in. That's what I'm here for, I'm here for the counter-attack and the breakaways.