2010 NCAA Men’s College Cup



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2010 NCAA Men’s College Cup

Hosted by UC Santa Barbara

Dec. 12, 2010 • Final Press Conference

Game #3: Akron 1, Louisville 0

No. 1 Louisville

Opening Statement:

Head Coach Ken Lolla – “I want to start by saying how proud I am of our guys. It was a tremendous run. Our guys have been resilient all season and set a new standard for our program, not just from the standpoint of wins and the achievements on the field, but by who we are and how we do things.”

“Clearly we were not at our best today, but we found a way to hang in there. Things just didn’t go our way. Give credit to Akron. They deserve to be champions with the effort they put in today.”

“I am proud how our guys represented not only the city of Louisville, but certainly the University of Louisville and our program.”

On the Akron pressure in the second half:

Head Coach Ken Lolla – “Their pressure in the second half was pretty good. It was our inability to relieve it that made the difference today. In the first half we moved ball very well, created good chances and very well could have been up a goal. But in the second half we had trouble keeping the ball, one of our strengths, and we didn’t do that very well in second half.”

On scoring last-minute goals in each of its last two matches:

Head Coach Ken Lolla – “All season long, it’s a product of what we do for 90 minutes plus, in our last two games, the last-minute goals. It has been a product of what we did in the 89 minutes before that. It’s more to do with the type of people we have associated with our program -- never say die and always pressing forward. It’s a great characteristic to have.”

“I thought we were good today. We had some guys who weren’t at their best today for whatever reason. Collectively we didn’t move the ball well enough. And in the end we didn’t create enough chances in the second half. We absorbed too much.”

“The experience we had here has been great for our guys. We will move forward. I am grateful for the experience because we will grow from it. We don’t necessarily like it but experience In life is always useful if you take something away from it, move forward and make it better.”

On the pressure applied by Akron:

Andre Boudreaux – “As a goalkeeper, a big part is the mental aspect, we try to stay in it for 90 minutes and keep the guys in front not tuned in for 90 minutes.”

On the goal by Akron:

Andre Boudreaux – “Originated on a corner kick. Somehow, the ball came back into the box, the shot was taken from 10 yards out. There were bodies out in front, he put it to the top of the net - a good shot.”

On the frenzy of the last minute:

Aaron Harper – “..got a couple of good chances, I tried to take my chances again and put it in the net, kept it on goal and they made a good save off the line.”

No. 3 Akron

Opening Statement:

Head Coach Caleb Porter – “I’m not usually at a loss for words, but in some ways I am. I am proud of my team. It’s been a long journey. It started Sept. 14 after a bitter, painful loss to Virginia last year, which ended on one kick. For these guys to recover from that; move on and work even harder is an absolute tremendous credit to these guys. They have been hungry all year; dug deep, kept going, kept fighting and refused to lose.

This team has a rare combination of talent and winning qualities. When you put the two together, it’s a powerful thing. That’s why we won the national championship – the combination of those two things.”

“Our goal was to stay on the ball as much as possible. The master of these games is the one who stays on the ball. Going into the second half, our No. 1 priority was to stay on the ball, make then defend and be patient. We knew it would eventually come, finding a goal. We gained more and more life, spirit and energy and Scottie found the goal. In the end it got a little hectic and that’s the way it happens in soccer.”

“Last time I was in the College Cup in California, it was with Indiana and we won the national championship in 2004 (at the Home Depot Center in Carson). California has been good to me. I spent six months in California playing pro soccer and I’ve always loved it here. I would like to have the College Cup here every year. It’s been good luck.”

“I thought the referee did a great job. That’s what you want in a championship game, a referee who is experienced, a pro official and he had complete control of the game. That’s what you want – a referee with a high level of experience and that’s what we got.

Our style is to dictate the game with rhythm and possession. We’ve not played a game all season long in which a team has been able to stop that. For the most part, we’re able to control the game with our possession and we did that today.”

“I am proud of the win and obviously, it’s very meaningful, and I am equally proud of the way our guys played the game. Hopefully people will be inspired by the way we play the game and more college teams will adopt our approach. I saw Drake win that way and, if I win it, I want to win that way.”

“I didn’t put Akron on the map. I think Ken Lolla put Akron on the map. He was in the NCAA Tournament the last five years at Akron, and we’ve taken it a step further. Ken Lolla is a tremendous coach and I knew we would have difficulty against his team today. He gets his players to buy into the team concept, he’s very tough-minded and his team is extremely well coached and disciplined. It was an absolute battle out there today.”

“Our Rowdies were great and they always are. We appreciate all the Akron alumni and community who came out here to watch today’s game. At home the Rowdies stand behind one of the goals and we always score in that goal. The UCSB Rowdies were a big help and they were behind the goal in which we scored today.”

“We want to build a program for long-term success. In order to do that, you have to do things in a certain way. I brought my experience as a player and assistant coach at Indiana with me. I was fortunate to be around three national championship teams at Indiana. We play slightly differently at Akron, so I took some things from Indiana, tweaked some things, bringing in some different things that I have learned over the last five years.”

“Anthony (Ampaipitakwong) was my first blue chip recruit. Now he’s a senior and we won the national championship. When I was trying to sell Akron to him, he didn’t even know where Akron was, but he bought into the idea of what we wanted to accomplish. He was the one who kind of got the ball rolling.”

On the winning goal:

Scott Caldwell – “The last six or seven games, since the MAC tournament started, once I got the first one it just gave me the confidence to keep going forward and look for opportunities. There has been some luck involved too and that is what happened today.”

On the final minute of play:

Chad Barson – “In all honesty, I do not recall how Aaron got the ball wide open 12 yards out, the last minute was kind of crazy. Louisville was throwing players forward. Aaron got the ball and was open and luckily I was able to make a play. Somehow it came to me and I was able to clear it off the line.”

On winning the first-ever national title for Akron

Anthony Ampaipitakwong – “It’s more than anyone could ever imagine. A lot of our supporters and students have put so much faith into our team. Because it’s the first one, it breaks the ice. It means more than anyone could ever imagine.”

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