Postgame Quotes
Syracuse vs. Villanova
Monday, March 29, 2010
Carrier Dome/Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach John Desko
Opening Statement:
"I was happy with our play this evening. After last week, and how things went, I think one of our jobs today was to get our guys mentally prepared to play this game. I thought we understood Villanova pretty well. I think we shot a pretty high percentage, especially in the first half. We were a little bit patient offensively, and for most of the day, the defense was pretty stingy. We had a couple of mental errors - some of the switches on the picks. Other than that, I think our defense did pretty well. Our wings on the faceoff did a good job today. (Villanova’s) faceoff man (Nolan Vihlen) was terrific at getting the ball out and our wings did a very good job putting the ball back down on the ground and coming up with some loose balls to give us some of those possessions."
On Villanova just beating No. 11 Drexel and the way they played today:
“I think a little bit of a Dome bug might have gotten to them a little bit, but I think a lot of it had to do with our possessions and how these guys played today. Getting off the wing on the faceoff and shooting pretty smart against the goaltender. We just played pretty good offensively and the defense was stingy. I had seen Villanova on film and they have a lot of movement off the ball. They do a lot of different things – they do a lot of great things with picks, they have a number of attackmen who can switch in to the midfield, so we had been very good on inverts, and we're certainly happy with what the scoreboard showed us today.”
On mixing up offensive personnel:
“We liked everything today. I think some people that have been working very hard in practice that we haven’t been able to play as much as as we'd like, so it was great to get some other guys in – Bobby Eilers and (Pete) Coleman – we’ve been dying to get those guys in the midfield and give them some game experience. We were pretty happy to be able to do that today and get them in. We’ve certainly been mixing it up with JoJo (Marasco) on attack and in the midfield position. He’s adjusting to that very well and Chris Daniello in the midfield, like we’ve been doing all year. We had combinations of people and I thought everyone performed pretty well today.”
Jeremy Thompson, Junior, Midfield
On stepping up on offense:
“It started with the draws, and doing pretty well there, and getting a little offense off the draws. I just try and do what I can – go out and play to the best of my ability, and try and create something. I’ve been successful lately.”
On rebounding after the Hobart game:
“As a whole team, I think we were comfortable. Coming off of Hobart, it was a tough game for us. It just goes to show you every team is going to bring their best game. I think today we came out and we did what we had to do."
JoJo Morasco, Freshman, Attack/Midfield
On building on the Hobart game and getting comfortable:
“I am starting to relax a lot more and like Coach Desko said, moving me around to midfield and attack really helps me a lot seeing the field and knowing where the attackmen are and where the middies are. I am able to play with my head up and find a couple guys in the crease. Up top, I was moving the ball pretty well, so I think I’m starting to feel really comfortable with both positions and relaxing out there with shooting and passing.”
On scoring at ease:
“Every offensive guy on our team can finish and score. They were all big scorers in high school. Literally, we don’t mind who shoots the ball because we know everyone has a good chance of scoring. At one point, we were winning faceoffs and we were winning ground balls, and beating them at every aspect of the game. We were finding open looks and getting very good shots on the goalie."
John Lade, Junior, Defense
On starting his career at Villanova and how the team has changed since he transferred:
“They have a lot of young players. We knew that coming in. We knew if we got on their hands they may make some mistakes. They definitely challenged us in some situations. In the first quarter, they put a couple nice goals in. They were moving the ball really well and they were moving behind us when they inverted. They definitely presented a challenge for us and will probably be really good in the future.”
On the feeling of going against his old team:
“I had this marked on my calendar when the schedule came out because it was the first time I played my old buddies at my old school. They’re good guys and I looked forward to playing them. I’m happy with the outcome today.”
