Louisville-Maryland Postgame Quotes
August 30, 2014 | Men's Soccer
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
(What tonight's game was like) "It was awesome. I've been a part of watching a number of contests whether it's basketball or football or even baseball where the fans here, the Cardinal fans, wield victories on. They push the players on. I thought tonight was one of those nights. I thought there were moments in the first half where there was so much energy and so much emotion. We wanted to do well so badly that we were a little bit rushed, a little bit hurried in our play and really struggled to maintain the ball and keep possession for any period of time. But in the second half, it changed. I thought we settled down. We got the ball moving."
(On sustaining tonight's energy, particularly a populous crowd) "I hope the people tonight had a positive experience. I thought it was high level of soccer for so early in the year for two teams that are very, very good teams and legitimately could be in the final four this year. Hopefully, the people tonight had a good experience not only in the soccer aspect but the venue and all the amenities that go with it. I hope that they continue to come back and support us. We have some great games and, hopefully, the fan base continues to grow."
(On tonight's goal) "When we can get [Ricardo] wide in situations or any part of the field where it's one versus one, he's tough to handle. He's elusive. He changes direction very well. He's very good with the ball. And I thought he did a great job of creating a little bit of space for himself. The timing of Brody's run was wonderful. The magnitude of that goal, being for us the first one in Lynn Stadium and a game-winner against Maryland, I think all of that makes it that more exciting."
(On the effectiveness of Louisville's defense) "Well, I think we're mature. When you look at the guys back there, Shane [Campbell], who is a transfer, played two years at Penn State. He's a seasoned college player. We have [Daniel] Keller, who's in his fifth year. And Michael [DeGraffenreidt] played a ton of games last year. And although Tim [Kubel] is a freshman, where he came from, he doesn't play like a freshman. So it's a very seasoned group, a very experienced group."
(On areas of improvement) "I think we just need to be more consistent. The first half was a little bit hurried. Starting the game with a little bit more composure, a little bit more ability to keep the ball because again, for us, that's important in how we play. I thing creating more opportunities. I thought we created some good ones, but the way we play and what we do, we should be creating more opportunities. And having said all that, Maryland is a very good team. They'll be around at the end of the year and it's a wonderful game to play early and test ourselves to see where we're at."
Louisville Senior GK Joachim Ball
(On defeating the No. 2 team in the country in the season opener) "They picked, on purpose, a really good team. I think Maryland has shown that. But overall, we're certainly one of the best teams in the country as well. I think we've proved that as well."
(On the defense taking the pressure off) "It's huge. As a goalie, you always depend on the guys in front of you. There's always a lot of communication going on, and that's a really important part of what we do. And I think we did a really good job tonight."
(On the atmosphere in the new stadium and of the new season) "It took a little bit, but I think we handled it quite well to be fair. I think the first half was a little eratic, but I think the second half was much more like we want to play."
Louisville Junior F Ricardo Velazco
(On the play when the goal was scored) "Somebody gave me the ball out wide. I went at the defender, I saw some space and I saw (Andrew) Brody open. There was a gap in between two defenders, and that's when Andy finished it like the big man that he is."
(On Andrew Brody's Play) "He plays bigger than he is. You don't have to be 6-foot-4 in order to get a ball like that and he showed it. He got up, he was in between two defenders and finished the ball. So he was a big man in that play."
(On the energy with the large number of fans) "The energy was unbelievable. At times it was too much energy, and you saw it was really back and forth. I think next time we've got to slow it down a little bit more and don't let that energy get to us too much."
Louisville Sophomore MF Andrew Brody
(On the Velazco pass to score the goal) "I saw him going down the line, and I'll take Ricky one-to-one with anybody. So I knew if I made the run, he was going to play the ball there. He put it right on my head and the least I could do was finish it. It was the perfect ball."
(On Velazco's energy) "When we see Ricky go 1 v 1, we know that it's time to get in the box, make runs or at least open up space so we can create it for him either to beat his player and shoot or open up. So whenever Ricky has the ball, it's on another level."
(On the atmosphere of the crowd) "It was amazing. I thought the crowd just gave us that extra burst. Especially the last 10 minutes, they really helped us finish that game out. They were on their feet making noise. We could hear them, it just gave us that extra energy boost to finish the game out and get the 1-0 victory."
