ACFC Defender Paige Nielsen
On thoughts of road trip ahead of Portland:
“It's always nice to play on the road. It’s going to be a good opportunity for our team to get together and stay all in one hotel, while focusing on just soccer, what we're doing well and what we need to fix in order to grow through the rest of the season. I'm excited about what we can do on the road.”
On preparing to play against the top team right now in Portland, Sophia Smith, and their dangerous attack:
“My teammates and I were talking about the table [standings] yesterday, and we're only four games in. It's much better focusing on one game at a time knowing every team in this league is very talented. Portland is a very successful team, but we have so much talent and we saw glimpses of that talent.”
“These opportunities make me super excited to see what we can show with our talent, but also see if we can compete and win against Portland. I don’t look at the table [standings], I look at the players and the teams. Portland is such a good club and I can't wait to compete.”
On how Julie Ertz has impacted the club, and how it affects her role as a defender:
“It's going to be huge for us because she can get forward, but can also get back. We've seen Julie [Ertz] play in a center back position, so it does give us more freedom to make plays from the back. We're super excited to see what she brings again. It's only been a week, but you can tell the overall presence of her changes the comfort level back there. I couldn’t be more excited to see where we go and grow with her.”
On her ability to hit the mid- to long-range distribution, and if it’s something she has worked on:
“I have worked on it all off season with my left foot, especially if I'm going to keep playing on the left side with my right foot, I have that down. As far as my distribution, it’s great. If they continue to want me to play on the left because my left is decent, then it’s going to continue to get better.”
“We're working on shape behind the ball. If we have shape behind the ball, really organized, then it makes you a lot more confident and comfortable to play those balls.”
ACFC Head Coach Freya Coombe
On how valuable having a good left foot capable center back in the modern game:
“It’s definitely valuable. We see the advantage when M.A. Vignola, who is a left footed left back, plays in that space as well. It's valuable to have a dominant foot playing on that side. In that space Paige [Nielsen] is doing a good job at building up and working with her left a little bit more and will continue to do that to increase the accuracy of that left foot.”
On the ripple effect of having Julie Ertz, and how it has impacted putting other players in more advanced positions:
“It's something that we've been looking at, for the season. Julie's leadership definitely helps in the center of the park. Paige has been playing as an outside back and has been getting forward. She's happy in that sense in the back role to start stepping forward a little bit more.
“We just need to have good enough shape behind the board to protect against transition that we're looking at, pushing players forward, maintaining possession and sustaining periods of possession in and around the opposition's final third.”
On how the team feels after a three-game week ahead of the road trip to Portland:
“We're in a good space. We are able to rotate appropriately after those three games. The squad got through really well. They feel good and fresh. They're competing for places to have the opportunity to take on Portland.”
On the plan defensively against Portland with a threat like Sophia Smith:
“Sophia [Smith] is having another great season. She's really positioned herself as one of the top strikers in the league. If they're a good player, don't let them have a ton of time and space on the ball to do what they're good at. A key piece for us is not allowing her to get on the ball and certainly not allowing her to get on the ball in tons of space.”
