What They’re Saying After the Spirit’s 2-1 Win Over the Thorns
This past Saturday, the Washington Spirit defeated the Portland Thorns 2-1 at Audi Field. After the match, Head Coach Jonatan Giráldez, midfielder Andi Sullivan, and forward Trinity Rodman spoke with the media.
On the team adapting to Portland’s strategy:
Giráldez: Good question. Good afternoon everyone. I think we were doing a good job, especially out of possession. I think today, for me, is the best game that we played so far in terms of out of possession in the first half. After one-on-ones, second half there was too many runnings. I think it was crazy, that part of the game, but especially before the injury, we were playing very, very good. I think after with Trin (Trinity Rodman) inside and Hatchy (Ashley Hatch) doing a different role as a striker. I think the first half was really, really good. The only problem we had in the beginning of the second half, it was the chance to create after the goal. We need more time to adjust a little better to do exactly what we have to do in possession and out of possession, but in general, I think we did a good job, especially out of possession today. I think we create enough chances, especially in the first half, to score more goals. We couldn’t, but in the end you score in the last minute. That’s part of football. You have to fight until the end, and today we got an important win.
On how the team is managing to “smell the goal”:
Giráldez: I like that word: Smell the goal. When you are playing, especially into the box, you need to smell it. You have to be there. You have to anticipate the defender. You have to be aware for the second ball, for the rebound, get the second ball. You have to be alive, you know. I think today we had chances out of chances — us against San Diego, we had them, too. I think today in terms of consistently, smelling the goal, smelling the situation. The last meters, we did a good job because we score two goals. For me, it’s what I said the last week: For me, the most important thing is to create and to serve the victory. It’s not about the scoreboards; it’s about creating chances and being there. Today, all the players believed until the end that we could score the second goal and win the game. I’m happy they are saying that about the smell. I like because I used that word in trainings to make sure that everyone is in on the same page.
On what he saw in Trinity Rodman:
Giráldez: We were doing good work during the week in terms of practicing the game plan, and she was not ready 100% to train everyday. Other players were available 100% to train. Even thinking during the game, you will lead in the second half, maybe other types of players and after Croix’s (Croix Bethune) injury, it was important today that all players starting were 100% available during the week. In terms of preparation, the game plan everyone available are ready to compete. Then, we had the bad news with Ouleye (Ouleye Sarr) in minute 20, but the feeling right now, so far, in that moment moving Hatch in that position and the specific role for our left-wing being a little high between center right back and right back. I think Trin was ready to play in that position, understanding that yesterday she did the whole training session, but during the week, in terms of preparation for the game plan, I feel it was a good decision starting with the 11 players that we decide. Even, I want to say that the other ones that were coming in the second half, everyone today helped us a lot to maintain the level in terms of game plan. So, I think it’s good news, especially because Courtney (Courtney Brown), Gabby (Gabrielle Carle), Hatchy, they had the opportunity to start the game today. As identity, in terms of what we want to build, as many possible players we have available to play from the beginning is very, very important. We have to compete the last game that we have including the whole team because you cannot win games only using 11, 12, 13 players. You have to include much more. Courtney, Hatchy and Gabby, they had the chance to play from the beginning. They did a good job. The players who went in in the second half, I think they did a good job, too.
On the impact of Michelle Akers being in attendance:
Giráldez: It’s a good, good news because I think she’s coming from Florida. Her being here during the game was very special. I could speak with her at the end of the game. She’s one of the best players in world history of women’s football. So, it’s a good news because everything changed a lot in the last years. I think I was explaining one time here when I arrived to Barca in 2019, I was playing just with 200 or 300 persons in our stadium. Right now, we are putting to the stadium a lot of persons, lot of supporters, and I think in terms of growing women’s football, it’s been crazy. You compare years ago, right now, it’s amazing. It’s what I said to the players before the game. I like to have a deep connection with the supporters. When you can speak with this kind of historic players and you can compare, we are lucky to be here, to be part of that, to be a part of the change that we are provoking in terms of soccer, women’s soccer. We have to enjoy what we do everyday because we are privileged. We have the option to work with so many persons in the stadium; it’s exceptional. I enjoy a lot when you win, but the connection you can create with your fans, that is unbelievable. You can win, but if fans are not here, I don’t like that. You need to be part of that and give reasons to the supporters to be back every single week because if we make them enjoy, it will be easier to compete again. Happy to have here Michelle. I can speak for a while about history, about change. It’s crazy. Everything is changing a lot, and I hope in the future it keeps changing, keeps improving because it’s a good step now.
On what he saw in Ashley Hatch:
Giráldez: First of all, she’s training very, very well. Last week, she had no chance to play because the game was different against San Diego. Today, they were what we wanted with her starting on the left and then playing as a 9. It was very specific for her, especially playing between lines and getting high sometimes when she was playing at the beginning of the game in the gap between center right back and right back. She’s trained very well. She deserved and has the chance to help us. And the second thing, because I believe a lot when you can use 14, 15, 16, 17 players, I need everyone available to compete every game. So, if you are not giving them chances, it’s not possible that the players coming from the bench can help to you or can help the team. So, today, Hatchy, Courtney and Gabby, they had the chance to play from the beginning because they deserve it. They are training very well. Hal (Hershfelt), Casey (Kreuger) and Trin, they are training very, very well, too, but in the end I have to decide. What I think, is the best for the team is use a lot of players because we are going to need them. So, if you every game are playing with the same Starting XI, maybe other players are not so available to play and to compete so when you are given chances to play from the beginning or come in in the second half. For example, Lena (Silano) today had the chance to play the last minutes. In the end, we need to include a lot of players because we are going to need them.
On Andi Sullivan’s game and her importance to the team:
Giráldez: It’s unbelievable. She’s an exceptional player. In the way that she leads everyday, she’s an example. She leads by example. This kind of player, I need her because everyday in training and the game when she’s playing, the team feels that she’s there. It’s unbelievable in terms of the leadership that she has. The understanding in terms of game plan – in possession, out of possession. Then, when she trains, she’s always at her 100%, always, every training session. I love this kind of player because you know you have to train as a professional. She’s an unbelievable player. Just not about football, at the same time supportive in the way she trains everyday is crazy. I think she deserves, has the opportunity, to go to the national team, for sure. The national team has amazing players to play, but for me, Andi Sullivan is one of the best players in this country.
On the game plan for Sophia Smith:
Giráldez: She creates chances. I think we did a good job, but she’s one of the best strikers in the world. It is the first time I have a chance to play, face-to-face and see her to 10 meters. I knew her from my past as a coach, and today I feel right that she’s one of the best strikers in the world. She can play three different positions. She creates chances. I think we defended well, but in the end, she created chances. She was capable when she receives facing the goal. She’s capable to turn herself and go forward. She’s capable to make assists, to shift. She finds it easy for finishing the game, finishing the play very, very easy. I think we struggled a lot in this kind of situation against her because even making a good job, she did a really, really good job. I appreciate the level she has because when you are pushing to us a lot, we need to demand ourselves much more. So, this kind of game is very important for Paige (Metayer), for Annaïg (Butel), for the whole team together in the way we have to manage that player. Today is a good example of what we have to do and what we can improve for the future.
On his strategy for in-game adjustment:
Giráldez: Out of possession, especially because they have (Sam) Coffey, (Han) Sugita, and (Jessie) Fleming, they are exceptional players playing inside. We wanted to make sure that those three players were not going to be comfortable in terms of position. I didn’t want to give them time to play inside. Today, force them to play one side and Leicy Santos just being there covering the passing side, and Courtney and Andi being very close from the opponent holding and midfield advances inside. I think we did a good job on that. Out of possession, maybe we were not being so aggressive as other games, but today we need that. In the end, what we need is to give tools out of possession to the players because I think we can improve on that, especially if you are seeing the last games, we were not doing a good job in terms of the way that we have in terms of shape. Today, I am very happy because we did a good job. In possession, we wanted to give other ways or tools to players, playing with Leicy and Courtney in pockets, only with Andi Sullivan as the holding midfielder. They were with the right wing, defending our center left backs, so Gabby was free and Sugita very close to defender. By the way, we decided Courtney to be a little more close from Andi to create that 2-v-1 inside and have more chances to go forward and break the opposing press. I think, in general, all the adjustments we have to do during the game, in general, my feelings are good. In the end, when you get the victory, it’s because you did a good job today.
On Ouleye Sarr’s injury:
Giráldez: I just heard that she felt something back. She was fine during the week. I know sometimes after the games, she feels — I don’t know how can I say that in English — but sometimes she feels something in her back. So, I don’t think it’s going to be something big, but I don’t know. I have to wait for the results to make sure that it’s just only for today.
On Trinity Rodman’s buildup to the game-tying goal:
Rodman: Hatch played me? I blacked the whole thing out. I think we did a really good job at finding the seams and looking forward first. I think that was it. As soon as we won the ball, especially when they had their numbers up, our first option was, ‘find the pocket, find the forward pass,’ and that’s what we did. I think Hatch played lights out today. Obviously, we didn’t finish as many chances as we could. She set me up a couple times, missed those. So, I’m glad that we could put it away. Again, really good. As for my finish, I was honestly focused on not getting it blocked. I was just trying to find an opening. Then, it was a last-minute decision to go near post. I was going to go far post, but they were blocking it.
On Rodman’s goal celebration:
Rodman: That also wasn’t planned. I honestly kind of regret it; it was a really long run. I thought it was a lot closer. I was looking at the booths and I was like, “Okay!” I was giving him (Earvin “Magic” Johnson) crap after because I was, obviously, asking for the lob for an alley-oop, but he didn’t get it. I still thought it was cool!
On the in-game shifts and playing alone as a 6:
Sullivan: That’s a very deep, good question. I think it’s just speaking to the evolution of the team. We are comfortable playing with one in base or comfortable with playing two in base. We can bring three if we want, too. We can rotate those players in and out, and we’re being asked to do this in-game. I think that just speaks to the growth that we’ve had through the season, through training, that we’re able to make those adjustments and that we all make them. Once one person makes one adjustment, we know how that affects the rest of the group. I think Paige spoke about this, it’s like thinking about it more as spaces and just being in different pockets. I think that helped us a lot and it also gave whoever was the 8 the freedom, if they wanted to be in the pocket or if they wanted to come down, just adjusting off that. The more flexible we are, the harder it is to scout us. We can make adjustments in game, that makes it hard to defend or predict. I think that will serve us well in the future.
On Rodman entering the game off the bench and what adjustments were made:
Sullivan: She feels great!
Rodman: I mean, we won. I did my job. Obviously, going off of what Andi said, I think we are so good at adapting to situations even if we aren’t prepared for them. Ouleye was dealing with something earlier, and she tried to push, and she was smart to pull herself out. For me, I think going in earlier than I thought, it was more so of getting my feet under me and trying to do the simple things right. Going into the second half, it was more like, “be Trin again” and get into the game. We’re always ready. Obviously that wasn’t ideal, and my legs are probably angry again, but I’m happy. The team did great, and I’m glad Ouleye could get that rest that she needed.
On the intensity of the final 15-20 minutes and mentality behind late goals:
Rodman: I think what he’s (Jonatan Giráldez) made huge for us is that we aren’t training for the game; we’re training for training. It’s training every single day with purpose. I honestly can say that I feel like our team gets better as the game goes on, even when we’re tired. I think we do have that edge over teams, and that showed today. You know that Spirit is going to score late because our quality gets better and our chances, there are so many chances towards the end. It’s just like, ‘when is the moment?’ For us, it’s just been training every day at the best of our ability. It’s not just train for the game and have to train, not train as hard, just get your body ready. No, we’re going to push each other every single training. Even in training, it’s a competition day every day, and we all get really salty when we lose. I think that’s a really good thing to embed in us for the games because then this happens.
On Rodman’s second goal and her partnership with Santos:
Rodman: The shortest one on the field gets the header. Again, Paige is so good at just taking space. It’s like, ‘Is she going to take it herself? Is she going to lay it off inside? Or, is she going to play me down the line?’ For me, I’m honestly just trying to get out of her way, and if she wants to play me she can. I saw the 1-v-1, as always, and I paused her for a little bit. Towards the end of the game, we were just trying to get numbers in the box. For me, I had a couple crosses that weren’t great, and I wasn’t picking out a player. I could see them floating in the back post. It was Makenna (Morris) and Leicy. Thankfully, Makenna missed it because it probably would have flipped backwards. I was just trying to set it up and loft it so somebody could get their power through it, and that’s what happened, so I’m very happy.
On the halftime message before the second half:
Sullivan: There were the tactical adjustments that we talked about. I think, what we also have already talked about is the belief that it’s coming. We felt like we were defending well. We were maybe defending a little bit more than we would have liked, but it wasn’t suffering, as they like to say. We felt confident in our shape and felt like we were picking things off, so just the belief that if we sharpened things up a little bit that a goal was going to come, the goal was going to come. I think just the belief that we are going to get it done.
On the last couple weeks with new team adjustments:
Rodman: The interchange through the week of playing with different players. It’s not just, ‘Oh, this is our set starting lineup for the weekend, and that’s who you’re going to play with.’ We’re constantly switching who is playing together, so I think that helps a lot. Our depth on the bench is great, and we showed that today. There were a couple of changes in the lineup, and I think they did amazing; they did their jobs. I’d say that’s the biggest thing, practicing with different players. We’re now learning traits of each other like, ‘What does she want,’ more so than putting yourself first. It’s like: ‘Okay, what does she want to do when she has the ball?” Not: ‘What do I want from her?’ It’s a balance, but I think it’s been really good the past couple of weeks.
On Rodman’s shirt and its story:
Rodman: I get a lot of my dad’s merch, obviously. I think this shirt is really cool. It kind of symbolizes how crazy he used to be and how out there. It’s a bunch of memorable moments style-wise, which is really cool. I like to say I got my style from him, so now it’s part of the fit. That’s pretty much it.
On playing against Sophia Smith and defending such a potent striker:
Sullivan: When we are preparing for games, a lot of teams have players like a lights out forward like Soph. She’s obviously her own class. We have taken confidence from other tests we have had against other top forwards like (Barbra) Banda, like (Temwa) Chawinga, like (Delphine) Cascarino last week. It’s almost like we’andire just layering things in. Obviously, you have to put a lot of attention to her because she is so dangerous but also knowing that we have the tools to handle that and that we can do that without changing our identity or style to handle it. We can just layer in those tweaks. Our back line rises to that challenge extremely well. Even to her credit, we put a lot of focus on her, and she was still able to produce a lot on her own. That just speaks to how good of a player she is. I’m proud of how the backline handled that.
On having the support from former NWSL players, including Michelle Akers:
Rodman: For me, growing up watching all of these players, and now to be in a position to thrive as they watch is so cool to me. Watching the way they handle themselves after the fact is really cool to see. It means the world to have such a high-class player still involved is really cool. When you dedicated your entire life to soccer, it can be easy to say, ‘I’m done. I don’t want to go.’ But to see the support from them and to see that, okay, “We have passed the torch, and we’re still supporting you.’ It’s not like an, ‘Oh, we still want to be at the top.’ It’s more like, ‘We want you guys to be better than us,’ which I think is amazing, and you can feel that. It’s amazing having that support.
Sullivan: I think we recognize that we wouldn’t be here without her and so many other players like her. I think that’s also an attitude that we have as a team — not just our team, women’s soccer in general — you want improve the League, the game, yourself, but also the future. Having players like Michelle Akers around and back is another reminder of that.
On Alex Morgan’s retirement:
Rodman: Alex Morgan. That’s the word. You can say she’s changed the game of soccer, but it’s so much more than that. She has changed the world in such an amazing way with how many people that she can touch. Just investing in women and the care in that — it’s not just, ‘We’re investing to be good at soccer.’ It’s like, ‘We are investing to be good people to then affect more people while playing a sport we love,’ which I think is amazing. She’ll never get enough credit for all the things she has changed in the sport and outside the sport. Again, for me, I just looked up to her. Me and Soph were talking about it after the game. She is our mom, and were like: ‘Bye!’ The training wheels are coming off, and we’re passing the torch again. In my head, Alex Morgan is never going to retire, but now that it’s real, it’s honestly wild. Her last game is going to be crazy, for sure. But again, so grateful, and she is insane and so amazing.
Sullivan: It’s incredible how she can, like Trinity said, have an effect on the world. Also, you take personal lessons from being able to see her up close and how she interacts. Her confidence in herself is next level and her unwavering fight for what’s right — it’s the way that she stands up for herself and for her teammates and for her peers and just fights to make things better for the world — is just so incredible. It has been an honor to be around her, and be influenced by her, and take the lessons we have learned from her and carry them on.
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