Nov. 6, 2008
Illinois Head Coach Janet Rayfield
“It was very typical of the season. It was a hard fought match, end to end. There were chances on both sides and with these two teams to end up in a 0-0 scoreless tie with one of the leading scorers in the country and an attacking team like ours, I really think the score was indicative of the battle.”
“We battle like this all the time and I don’t have anything negative to say about how we battled tonight. To win soccer games you have to score on the chances that you have and neither one of us did that tonight. When you get into PK’s you leave it up to a coin toss and let someone else control your destiny. It’s a tough way to lose a match but it’s always tough to lose at this time of the year no matter how it is.”
“Freshman of the Year, Player of the Year in the Big Ten and our goal was just to come out here and get a shutout. We thought if we could stop her then we would give ourselves a chance and I think we did. We hit the bar with 10 seconds left. That’s about as good a chance as you’re going to get to win a match.”
Illinois Alexandra Kapicka
“We had practiced this all week (penalty kicks). It was something I knew I was going to do. I just tried to execute but unfortunately it didn’t go our way. It’s about chances and just throwing your body and hoping you get there, and yeah I stepped up and saved a couple but I guess this is just how it goes.”
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Saxton
“This wasn’t a pretty game for us, but we left our heart and soul out on the field. To walk away without a result would have been devastating; I feel bad for the Illinois team because they played equally hard without a doubt and maybe better of the play at times.”
(On playing top-seeded Penn State tomorrow)
“The only thing that I can say positive is that we beat them for the first time ever since the 90s earlier in the season (W, 3-1 at East Lansing), so our kids know they can do it. We lost one our players tonight to an injury, but I guarantee we’ll give it our heart and soul again tomorrow.”
Michigan State GK Jill Flietstra
“I was really excited, I really love PKs. I like having all the pressure on me, I think I strive under pressure, that’s where I play my best. I thought we had a chance to win it there.”