Julie Ertz, ACFC Midfielder
On feelings towards her return to the NWSL:
“I’m so grateful to be here. The second I walked out of seeing all these fans, being one of the first players in the NWSL, even in the time I’ve been out, to come back here and just see the growth of the NWSL is just absolutely incredible.'
“I’m growing as a first time mom coming back. I can't even thank my family enough and the support they have given me day in and day out and not even just that. Now I’m having so much fun playing with the team. Obviously, today is not the outcome that we want, but to be able to put a performance together, and having something we can grow off of. I had so much fun tonight.'
On playing in front of tonight’s crowd:
“The first word is absolutely unbelievable. It was a dream, our hope of where the NWSL could be. To be a part of a team that has really built that and the number of people when I walked by said ‘welcome home’, is a really fun embrace to have. To create this type of culture that is fans and players, have a fun interaction of just pure joy for the game. I couldn't have enjoyed the atmosphere anymore back here.”
On how the energy is since joining the club:
“This team is special. I knew it from the second I came in. This is a winning culture. This team wants to win. Every game they're trying to figure out what it is. We need to continue to grow. It's early in the season, which is great. Now it’s holding each other accountable both individually and collectively.'
“It is so fun to find the confidence in younger players as well. You have two more veteran players in this league, but to see Alyssa [Thompson] thriving in a crowd like this and doing what she loves to do. It brings confidence to each other as well and the next piece is getting that camaraderie together and really putting a full 90 minutes together.'
Ali Riley, ACFC Defender
On overall performance:
“I hate losing, but I don't think the score reflected the way we played tonight. I hope that people are excited about this team off the back of this performance.”
“It'll come. I'm very positive and optimistic. I truly believe that tonight is a turning point for us.”
On the addition of Julie Ertz:
“Her physical presence, her ability to clean up balls that fall back, winning second balls, it’s exceptional. She knows the game so well.”
“I heard Julie [Ertz] say her first impression of the team was how good people we are and how excited she is to play with us. She could feel a winning mentality, and she felt very welcomed. That means more than anything to me. That's something that I take great pride in. It’s the most important thing, that a player can come in and feel welcomed and feel like they can express themselves, like they are home.”
On the upcoming 'Angel City' documentary series on HBO:
“Viewers will be completely 110 percent convinced that this is a group of women, an ownership group, and a club that you can get behind that are amazing role models. I hope it's something that inspires other businesses, organizations, clubs, leagues, and federations around the world.”
Freya Coombe, ACFC Head Coach
On Julie Ertz's performance and her minutes:
“She had a really good presence on the ball and looked calm under pressure, which translated to the rest of the team. They were a lot calmer on the ball, so even when pressed she was able to deal with pressure really well and play out of it calmly. Having her leadership in the center to direct is huge for us.”
“She hasn't been with us for that long so in terms of knowing player tendencies and how we want to play, we’re still learning. The impact that she was able to make so early was fantastic. She has trained with us for a few short days but has shown her quality. We all know how good she can be on the ball and also off the ball. It was time for us to start her, she’s in great shape, she's done a brilliant job getting herself fit again, and is ready to go. Now it's about looking at how we can utilize her to help us win games.”
On highlights in tonight’s match:
“We could have gotten something more out of the game. We were disciplined and played for the longest period of time this season, in terms of consistency of our performance. Ultimately some of the statistics reflect that we weren’t clinical enough in the final third. In terms of the shots we were able to create that were on target it just wasn't enough.”
On Claire Emslie’s role and impact:
“Claire has been really impactful and had another great game tonight in terms of her ability to put the ball in the box in set pieces and in open play. It was great to see her getting on the ball a little bit more tonight and being able to go one-on-one at players and combine with whether it's Savannah [McCaskill] around her or Ali [Riley], having some of those combination plays. She’s got that versatility, she’ll pop up on the right side, left side and she’ll take free kicks with the right foot, left foot which keeps it unpredictable. She’s fantastic and she had the grit between her teeth and was solid defensively as well tonight.”
