ACFC Midfielder Dani Weatherholt
On the handball decision by the refs against M.A. Vignola:
“When I watched it back on the big screen, it looked like it hit the side of her. Super unfortunate for another VAR called to not go our way, but I think it is what it is at this point.”
On having Washington’s frontline covered the entire match:
“It was impressive considering their front three and [Ashley] Sanchez is the ten. We're really proud of our effort. Defensively, we've put an extra emphasis on our energy and attention to detail, as well as our communication in those final minutes. We have given up goals and you're seeing more discipline from us and I'm really proud of us. Overall, defensively we were very sharp.”
ACFC Defender Paige Nielsen
On how you comfort M.A. after that PK decision:
“We all know that M.A. had a great game. A lot of our backline had an amazing game, as well as a lot of our teammates. She knows that mistakes happen and we use these opportunities to grow. I said out there that good teams become great when you get all the small details and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”
On what Washington did defensively:
“They were really narrow and compact. They gave us the wide channels and we have to sharpen up our final third opportunities.”
On her yellow card decision:
“It was a decent tackle to be fair. I got the yellow because I stopped a counter attacking opportunity but it was 50-50. [Trinity] Rodman is a smart forward who’s going to fall if I make contact.”
ACFC Defender M.A. Vignola
'The biggest thing with our backline is we're really gritty. We're competitive and we don't like to lose. That means even in one on one opportunities. We know that they have good threats up top, but we were prepared for that. We knew that if we're going to come in and put bodies on them and not give them an easy chance, they weren't going to finish—and out there on the field, they didn't finish.'
ACFC Head Coach Freya Coombe
Thoughts on the team's performance tonight:
“We started to go very transitional in the first half. We wanted the team to have more possession and be more patient in possession. When we did move the ball well, we were able to create some opportunities. We needed to create more clear cut chances. We had a couple in transition where Alyssa [Thompson] was put through from Jun [Endo], which we just failed to capitalize on.”
“We needed to do more in order to put pressure and have more shots on target in order to win the game. However, I definitely don't think that we should have lost the game. We defended really well. We were resolute, compact, organized defensively, and limited them to chances.”
“When they did have chances, DiDi [Haračić] came and punched a couple. JJ [Julie Ertz] had a great header and was able to flick it past and out for a corner. We defended in those tough moments, and it was unfortunate for the game to be decided in the way it was.”
On the team's defensive performance:
“We asked a lot from our seven and eleven tonight, in order to come narrow, be compact and make it difficult for their eight to get on the ball. For us to be stopping their midfield from getting on the ball, where they've typically had an overload against most teams, we did a great job of that.”
“We defended well against Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman. We didn't allow them a lot of time and space on the ball, especially facing forward. At times, Ashley Sanchez was able to receive in between the lines and that was their biggest threat.”
“Ultimately, we fixed that in the second half and prevented them from having really clear chances. Defensively, we did a great job. In transition, asking our seven to eleven to be a bit deeper, we didn't necessarily have them high enough for us to go in transition. When we won the ball back, we needed to be more patient, then we would have been able to create more in the attacking third”
On M.A. Vignola's defensive performance tonight:
“She had an incredible game, did well defensively. She was able to shut them down on that side, and was able to intercept well. She got forward and led the team on shots on target. She had a couple of great efforts, and that's exactly what we want to see from her.
“It's even more unlucky because she goes away from the game just thinking about that one last moment and she deserves to take more from the game than that.”
Pool Reporter Question and Answer
Q: “The ball appeared to hit off Vignola’s body first, did the rebound off her arm warrant a penalty kick?”
A: “Although the ball struck the body of the defender first, there was a secondary motion of the arm. This movement of the arm was at/above the shoulder making the body unnaturally bigger blocking the path of the ball. A penalty kick was awarded for handball.”
